The Perfect Vinaigrette Upgrade For A Salad Bursting With Sweet Heat

Having full control of flavor, avoiding preservatives and excess sugars, and impressing your dinner guests are just some of the reasons why it pays off to make a vinaigrette from scratch rather than pick up a bottle at the store. To pull it off, you'll make an emulsion with oil, vinegar, and often mustard to stabilize the dressing. To offset those flavors, a sweet ingredient like honey often goes into the bowl, too, but if you prefer sweet heat, upgrade your vinaigrette with hot honey instead.

Hot honey is the ideal ingredient to offset the intensity of the vinegar and mustard with a touch of sweetness and add an element of spice all at once. We've even got you covered with a ranking of 16 hot honey brands like Zab's, so you don't ruin your vinaigrette with a subpar option. You can also make hot honey to have control over the spice levels with a variety of peppers. And if you only have regular honey at home and don't have time to infuse it with peppers, mix it with hot sauce or crushed red pepper flakes, then add it to the dressing. Either way, this vinaigrette upgrade only requires two or three tablespoons of hot honey per 1-cup batch of vinaigrette.

It's rather easy to make a homemade vinaigrette with a little hot honey. You'll add all of the ingredients, including the hot honey, into a mixing bowl except for your chosen oil. To make it easier, wrap a damp towel around the base of the bowl so it doesn't move much when you whisk (a tip I learned in culinary school). Next, slowly drizzle the oil in a thin stream as you briskly whisk to emulsify all of the ingredients into your sweet-and-spicy vinaigrette. You can also use a blender to make the process simpler.

Once the hot honey vinaigrette is combined, it's time to drizzle it on your favorite salad recipe. Replace the honey with hot honey in our vibrant citrus vinaigrette recipe for a fusion of flavors. Another option is to upgrade this simple and tangy Greek salad dressing recipe that works on any type of salad. And if you need a recommendation on a salad to use this vinaigrette on, add hot honey to our everyday salad with herby lemon vinaigrette recipe.