French Vinaigrette Recipe with Honey and Wholegrain Mustard
Last updated on October 13th, 2026
This classic French vinaigrette is the first dressing young British chefs learn to make in professional kitchens, because it teaches the fundamentals of dressings: balancing flavours and emulsifying. My version uses honey and wholegrain mustard, takes 10 minutes, and needs nothing more than a bowl and a whisk.
What’s in a French Vinaigrette?
Honey, wholegrain mustard, white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and a neutral oil, plus a little finely ground salt and a dash of water if it needs loosening. The honey and salt are the flavourings, and the mustard helps the oil and vinegar emulsify. Any neutral oil works; I use groundnut. It follows a 3:1 ratio, three parts oil to one part acid, which here means 300ml of oil to 100ml of vinegar. To see how those parts fit into any dressing, have a look at my salad dressing framework.
How to Make French Vinaigrette
Whisk the honey, salt, mustard and white wine vinegar together in a bowl until the salt and honey have dissolved into the vinegar. Then slowly stream in the olive oil while you keep whisking. Going slowly is what gives you an emulsified dressing rather than a separated one. Add the neutral oil the same way and keep whisking until it is all in.
Taste it on a salad leaf rather than from a spoon. I was taught that many years ago, and it gives you a much better idea of how the dressing will taste on a salad. I like a vinegary punch, but if it is a touch too sharp, add a little more honey to round off that harsh acidic edge. Add salt if it needs it, and a dash of water if it is too thick.
Why Whisk It by Hand?
You could make this in a liquidiser or with a stick blender and get a quick emulsion, but extra virgin olive oil exposed to a lot of high-speed blending can turn very bitter. As far as I’m aware that doesn’t happen with every extra virgin olive oil, and you don’t know until you try, so for this dressing I stick to the good old-fashioned bowl and whisk.
French Vinaigrette Recipe with Honey and Wholegrain Mustard
Equipment
- Mixing bowl / Bowl
- Measuring jug
- Measuring spoons
- Whisk
Ingredients
FLAVOURINGS & INGREDIENTS TO HELP WITH EMULSIFICATION
- 2 Honey
- Salt
- 2 tsp Whole grain mustard
ACIDITY
- 100 ml -White wine vinegar
OIL
- 200 ml Olive oil
- 100 ml Neutral oil
CONSISTENCY
- Water to loosen if needed
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients except the oil and water into a bowl, whisk until the salt and honey have dissolved into the vinegar.
- Whilst whisking, slowly stream in the olive oil, then the neutral oil, to get an emulsified dressing.
- Once all the oil is in, taste and adjust the sweetness, saltiness or sourness with more acid, sweetener or salt. If it is too thick, loosen the consistency with a dash of water.
Video
Nutrition
[bg-nutrition-label id=”8521″]
What to Serve With French Vinaigrette
This is a light, acidic dressing, so it suits young, tender salad leaves, which can only really handle oil and vinegar dressings. Cherry tomatoes, olives and spring onions work well on top, and so do cucumber, peppers, blue cheese, goat’s cheese, capers and fresh herbs. It is a very versatile dressing. If you want something with more body, try my sun-dried tomato dressing, or for a creamy one, my avocado dressing.
Storage
Kept in the fridge, this vinaigrette will last for about a month.
