This is the best vegan honey mustard dressing recipe! Perfect for those looking for a delicious and healthy dressing that's oil-free. With only 6 simple ingredients, you can easily make this dressing in just a few minutes.

Looking for a quick creamy dressing for your favorite salads without nuts or vegan mayo? This delicious vegan honey mustard dressing is your new go-to dressing.
Table of Contents
Why You'll Love This Recipe
This easy maple mustard dressing recipe can be whipped up in minutes using a few pantry ingredients. It’s a great ‘everyday’ salad dressing or quick sauce.
The zesty-sweet mustard flavor compliments everything from a quick pasta salad or green salad with air fryer seasoned croutons to a dipping sauce for sweet potato fries, veggie nuggets, and roasted or air fryer Brussels sprouts.
If you’ve struggled to find dressings made without added oil and find store-bought dressings that fit your plant-based diet goals, the solution is simple – homemade.
Ingredients, Notes, and Substitutions
Mustard. My personal favorite is yellow mustard, but a dollop of Dijon mustard or spicy English mustard gives this dressing a hit of heat, depending on your taste preferences.
Maple syrup. If you need a vegan honey alternative, pure maple syrup is one of the best options. You can also use brown rice syrup or date paste (follow this recipe to make your own date paste). Agave syrup (agave nectar), which is made from a plant, and contains no animal products, is considered ultra-processed, so it isn’t considered a whole food plant-based food. I’ve got a post dedicated to vegan substitutes for agave nectar. Any of those are great substitutes for maple syrup and beyond.
Lemon juice. You need something acidic to balance the mustard and sweetness of the maple syrup. I prefer lemon juice, but you can also use a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar if you like a tangy dressing. I’ve also used red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar – they bring different flavors when mixed with mustard, so you’ll want to experiment with these.
Black pepper. You can also use milder white pepper or cayenne pepper.
A note about salt. Prepared mustard generally contains a lot of sodium. I recommend tasting the finished dressing before adding salt.
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions.
Instructions and Pro Tips
Besides the flavor, one thing to love about this delicious dressing is not having to soak nuts or even drag out the blender. Just add the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk them together.
Adjusting flavors
Taste the dressing and adjust the seasonings to your liking. If you prefer a sweeter dressing, you can add more maple syrup. If you prefer a tangier dressing, you can add more lemon juice or apple cider vinegar.
And the best seasoning advice of all? Be patient. If you want to add more of any ingredient, a little at a time. If you don’t like a lot of pepper, add a pinch, taste, and continue adding.
That’s why I caution you about salt. I recommend adding salt, including sea salt, at the end for more recipes. Once you’ve over-added it, stepping back is challenging and impossible.
What to serve with honey mustard dressing
Beyond being great over salads with any greens, we love this simple recipe for making a quick pasta or pearl couscous salad. It is also perfect for making potato salad without mayo. As mentioned, we enjoy it as a dip for sweet potato fries and other dippers.
Although we are a big fan of mustard lover’s dressing for baked chickpea cutlets, this dressing is a quick fix if needed. Finally, it is great with a variety of vegan burgers.
Ready to skip blended cashew ranch dressing with your air fryer Buffalo tofu strips? Honey mustard is a delicious, lower-fat solution!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover dressing in an airtight container or sealed container like a mason jar. It lasts for about a week (if longer).
Most honey mustard recipes use traditional yellow mustard (this squeeze bottle), Dijon, or a combination. But numerous kinds process yellow mustard seeds and other ingredients into flavorful mustard. Spicy brown, whole grain, German, and hot mustard have different flavor profiles. You can use any of them or in combination with other mustards to make a delicious dressing that suits your flavor preference.
This is an easy recipe and keeps in the fridge for at least a week. I don’t recommend freezing honey mustard dressing because it gets watery and less flavorful after freezing. Besides, it takes longer to thaw than to make.
Honey comes from bees (they are animals), which means it isn’t vegan. Although many vegans and vegetarians use honey, it doesn’t fall under the guidelines of a whole-food, plant-based diet. There are dozens of great substitutes. Please refer to my post about vegan agave nectar substitutes for more information.
More Serving Ideas
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👩🏻🍳 Recipe
Best Vegan Honey Mustard Dressing Recipe (Oil-Free)
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Ingredients
- ¼ cup yellow mustard - Dijon mustard, or a combination (see notes)
- 2 ½ tablespoons maple syrup - see notes
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl.
- Taste and adjust the flavorings (see notes).
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 week.
Notes
- We use maple syrup instead of honey; however, you can also use date paste or brown rice syrup. Agave syrup (agave nectar) is ultra-processed, so we don’t recommend it. For more information, please see my post on vegan substitutes for agave syrup.
- Use any mustard or a combination of mild and spicy mustard according to your taste preferences.
- To make the dressing sweeter, add more maple syrup. If you want it to be tangier, use more lemon juice or a drop of apple cider vinegar.
- Mustard contains a lot of salt. For this reason, I recommend adding salt after tasting.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
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