Sweetgreen Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe

This Sweetgreen Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe is a copycat version of one of Sweetgreen’s classic salad dressings. This is a super easy dressing recipe to make at home saving you time and money.

You’ll find Sweetgreen’s Balsamic Vinaigrette on their delicious Harvest Bowl Salad, which is made with chicken, sweet potatoes, apples, goat cheese, roasted almonds, wild rice and kale. 

But this vinaigrette is so tasty on practically any salad and is a great dressing to always have on hand in the fridge. 

If you love vinaigrette dressings and want to try some more creative recipes, you’ll love this Balsamic Date Vinaigrette or this Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Jump to:

• Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients & Substitutions
• How To Make A Copycat Sweetgreen Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
• Serving Suggestions
• Expert Tips
• Recipe FAQs
• 📖 Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Sweetgreen Copycat — This recipe is a copycat version of Sweetgreen’s Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing. If you love Sweetgreen but don’t want to spend $15 every day on a salad, this copycat recipe is for you! 
• Easy to Make — All you need are 4 ingredients (plus salt and pepper), to make this dressing. Even better, you don’t even need a blender— just add everything to a mason jar and shake it up. 
• Versatile — Sweetgreen uses this balsamic dressing for their Harvest Bowl recipe, but it is actually such a versatile dressing that goes well on a variety of different salads.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Sunflower Oil: A neutral flavored oil, such as sunflower oil works well for this recipe since it won’t overpower the other ingredients. Sweetgreen uses sunflower oil, but you could use vegetable oil as a close substitute. This recipe does work with olive oil, but it will add a stronger olive oil taste.
• Balsamic Vinegar: Use a high quality balsamic vinegar that you enjoy the taste of. Not all balsamic vinegars taste exactly the same, so you may need to try different brands until you find your favorite. You can use white wine vinegar as a substitute, but it will alter the taste. 
• Dijon Mustard: You’ll need a small amount of dijon mustard for this dressing. Regular mustard does not work as a substitute. 
• Honey: Honey adds a bit of sweetness to balance out the tart vinegar. You can use maple syrup as a substitute.

How To Make A Copycat Sweetgreen Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Step 1: Add the sunflower oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon, honey, salt and pepper to an airtight container.

Step 2: Add the lid and shake vigorously until all the ingredients are well combined and you have a smooth, creamy dressing.

Serving Suggestions

You’re probably looking to make this dressing to make a copycat version of Sweetgreen’s Harvest Bowl, which is obviously delicious with this dressing. 

To make your own Harvest Bowl salad, add a base of wild rice and kale. Then add in some sliced apples, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted chicken and top it with toasted almonds. 

If you are looking to build your own salad from scratch, here are some ingredients that go well with this balsamic vinaigrette:

• kale, arugula, spring mix, romaine, spinach
• goat cheese, feta, parmesan
• cucumbers
• shredded carrots
• shredded cabbage
• roasted sweet potatoes
• apple or pear slices
• tomatoes
• avocado
• quinoa
• chicken or salmon

Expert Tips

• Use a blender. If you want to make this dressing as creamy as possible, blend the ingredients together in a food processor or blender instead of just shaking them in a mason jar. 
• Store the dressing in the fridge. To keep this balsamic dressing as sweet as possible, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. Always shake the dressing well before pouring it over your salad since it will separate after it sits for a while. 
• Make it sweeter. All vinaigrette dressings are a bit sour. If you don’t like that, you can make this dressing sweeter by adding in a bit more honey.

Recipe FAQs

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