Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

This post includes affiliate links; please click here to read our affiliate disclosure.

As I write this, there are 6 heads of Pirat Butterhead Lettuce ready to be picked in my garden. This is luscious, buttery, lettuce that melts in our mouth and pleases even the least salad-friendly palate. I love it.

There is one thing that makes this lettuce even better, and that is a drizzle of sweet maple balsamic vinaigrette - made with real Vermont maple syrup of course (especially the kind that you boiled down yourself in your backyard). It's kind of like salad's response to dessert.

This simple maple balsamic recipe is sweet and thick, with a little bit of a kick from the shallots but not too much spice to be kid-friendly. Our three-year-old scarfs down here salad when we top it with this dressing.

Bonus - it's extremely easy to make! There is truly no need to buy salad dressing when you have these simple ingredients in your house already!

Recipe: Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup high quality balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup REAL maple syrup

1/2 shallot (about the size of a garlic clove)

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions: add the liquids to your preferred salad dressing container (a mason jar will work just fine, but we do love the measurement markers on our Oxo Good Grips Salad Dressing Shaker), then press the shallot through a garlic press into the container. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Shake and use! This will gel up a bit in the fridge; just take it out and give it a good shake or run it under some warm water to incorporate again.