Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing

Drizzle this Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing on all your favorite salads. It also works as a dipping sauce for chicken nuggets, pretzels, fries and veggies — or anything you can dream of. It’s thick, creamy and perfectly balanced, so it’s not too sweet or too tangy. Makes about 8 servings.

2019 Update: This recipe was originally shared in January 2014. The recipe has been updated to taste even better, and the post include new photos, as well as more tips and tricks. I hope you love this dressing!

Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing Recipe 

Ordering a big ol’ salad for lunch is one of my special treats. However, I just cannot get behind those brand name dressing packets! They are full of hard-to-pronounce ingredients and can often be too sweet or too tangy. 

Enter homemade dressing recipes. Whether it’s catalina dressing or a red wine vinaigrette, a hand-crafted dressing can instantly elevate any salad. We’re talking from a take-out salad to a salad kit from the grocery store and more! 

This Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing is my take on my favorite salad dressing from Chick-Fil-A. This copycat dressing is perfect for my Crispy Chicken Cobb Salad, but it can do so much more. 

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Beyond salads, you can use it as a dipping sauce for chicken nuggets or fish sticks, French fries and veggies. You’ll love the creamy element, and that it’s not too sweet and not too tangy — it’s just right. 

Why I love this recipe:

You’re going to fall in love with this honey mustard salad dressing!

Here are some things I particularly dig about it:

• This creamy and tart dressing is perfectly paired with any of your favorite salads. 
• It’s made with real ingredients, so you know exactly what’s in it!
• You can control how sweet and tangy it is. 
• It’s all super simple to make… and you’ve probably got the ingredients in your fridge right now!

Truth be told, I used to hate mustard. What changed my mind? All it took was a simple, well-dressed salad… and that’s all she wrote. 

That fateful day, I realized that Honey Mustard was actually incredible stuff. Ever since, I’ve taken baby steps to adding mustard into dishes that I cook.

While it’s still not my favorite sandwich condiment, I’m cool when mustard is in the mix of any dish. In fact, I no longer run away from it…

More condiment recipes to try: Hot Bacon Vinaigrette | Cajun Dipping Sauce | Fresh Strawberry Vinaigrette | Spinach Pistachio Pesto

What you need to make this recipe:

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• Measuring cups
• Blender or small blender
• Food processor (optional, for smoother texture)
• Mason jar (optional, though less effective for mixing; very helpful for storage) 
• Spatula (for scraping down the sides of the blender/food processor)
• Serving bowl or dish (for serving the dressing)

Here are the simple ingredients you’ll need to grab at the grocery:

• Olive oil — you can also use any neutral-tasting oil such as avocado oil or vegetable oil, but olive oil is classic for dressings. If you don’t love the extra virgin flavor, you can get a light olive oil which lets the other flavors shine. 
• Spicy brown mustard — spicy brown mustard is bold with a hint of heat. You could also use yellow mustard if that’s what you have. 
• Grainy Dijon mustard — we use two different types of mustard for the best texture in this dressing. Dijon mustard is sharp, tangy and comes in two textures, smooth and grainy. You can use plain Dijon if you don’t have the grainy, but I like that the mustard seed adds a little texture, as well as a different flavor. 
• Honey — I prefer to use local honey from my favorite farmers market. Store-bought honeys sometimes have additional ingredients, coloring and flavoring. Be sure to check the label to ensure you are purchasing 100% honey. 
• Plain Greek yogurt — you can also use sour cream here, but I prefer the tang from Greek yogurt. I recommend using full-fat yogurt because fat-free yogurt isn’t quite as creamy. If you do use a lower-fat yogurt, be sure to use a blender or food processor to make sure it is well-incorporated. 

Please note that this is NOT a Honey Dijon Vinaigrette. We are not adding any vinegar to this dressing, so please note there is no apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar necessary to make this dressing.

Customizations and substitutions

Vegan honey mustard dressing: If you need a vegan option, you can substitute soy or almond yogurt. For the honey, you can use a similar plant-based sweetener such as agave nectar or maple syrup. 

Dairy-free honey mustard dressing: You can omit the yogurt, but I love that it makes for a creamier dressing. You can substitute an unflavored and unsweetened almond, soy or coconut yogurt if you need a non-dairy option. 

How to make homemade honey mustard dressing

Let’s make this honey mustard salad dressing recipe! 

Toss the olive oil, spicy brown mustard, grainy Dijon mustard, honey and Greek yogurt into your blender or food processor.

Give it a good blend until everything is smooth and creamy.

Serve it on the side, drizzle it over your favorite salad or pair it with chicken tenders — or whatever strikes your fancy! 

Uses for Honey Mustard Sauce & Dressing

This is a great dipping sauce for all kinds of things. Yes, this was originally made to be a delicious dressing for green salads, but you can dip so many other things into it, such as: 

• Chicken nuggets or tenders
• Burgers
• Fried chicken
• Pretzels (soft or hard)
• Garlic Fries, sweet potato fries or parsnip fries
• Veggie sticks (carrots, celery, cucumbers, bell peppers)
• Roasted veggies, like crispy brussels sprouts
• Mozzarella sticks
• Pigs in a blanket
• Onion rings
• Tater tots
• Grilled shrimp skewers
• Crackers or breadsticks
• Roasted potatoes or potato wedges

You could also use this recipe as a marinade for chicken or pork. Slather the dressing all over and let it marinate in the fridge for about 30-45 minutes before cooking.

How to store:

Homemade dressings should be stored in a food-safe, airtight container, like a mason jar, in the fridge. They will keep in the fridge for a while, but since this one contains dairy, it won’t last longer than the expiry date on your carton. Also, it will not freeze well because of the added dairy.

Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips

One of the things I love about having homemade salad dressings in my fridge is that they are versatile and add a TON of flavor to whatever occasion you bring them!

If I were making this particular dressing for entertaining, here’s what I would do:

• Prepare the dressing a day in advance to let the flavors meld together. Store it in the fridge in a sealed container or mason jar.
• For a big party, make a bigger batch and portion it into sauce cups with lids for people to use.
• Offer a mix of dippable deliciousness like chicken tenders, veggie sticks, pretzels and fries to make it more interactive for guests. I can see this being a huge hit on a gameday at a homegate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick tips and tricks to making the best Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing

• If the dressing thickens too much in the fridge, thin it out with a little water, lemon juice or additional olive oil before serving.
• Use full-fat Greek yogurt for the best texture. Fat-free and low-fat Greek yogurt can be more grainy and harder to mix into a dressing.
• For the smoothest dressing, use a blender or food processor to mix up the ingredients. 

More salad recipes

• Cajun Cobb Salad
• Blueberry Salad Dressing
• Turkey Taco Salad
• Grilled Peach Salad with Burrata

Here’s how you make this salad dressing…