Sunshine Salad Dressing
This creamy honey-mustard salad dressing recipe is lightened up with Greek yogurt. No mayo here! This homemade dressing is easy to make, too. I love it so much that I nicknamed it "sunshine salad dressing."
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on October 1, 2024
Let’s rewind to my trip to Costa Rica last month with my grandmother. It was the last day on our group trip, and we arrived at Sibu for our final dinner together. Sibu produces the best chocolate I’ve ever tasted, and they greeted us with rum-spiked, spiced hot chocolate.
I was literally a kid in a candy store all night as they presented a lesson in chocolate history (with wine and chocolate) and moved on to an incredible dinner.
After appetizers, they handed us chopped salads that looked fairly basic at first glance—I remember lettuce, tomato, avocado, feta and dressing. Then I took a bite and forgot about chocolate for a minute. That dressing!
I immediately tracked down the owner of the place to ask about it. He said it was a “honey-Dijon vinaigrette with yogurt base” and I vowed to recreate it at home. Mind you, this dressing is quite different from a classic vinaigrette.
I started with the honey-mustard vinaigrette that I made for my cookbook, which I love as written. I reduced the oil and added plain Greek yogurt until it tasted like the dressing at Sibu.
This dressing is essentially a creamy honey-mustard dressing made with Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise. It offers a more luxurious texture than any other honey-mustard dressing I’ve tried. I’m usually skeptical of using yogurt in place of mayonnaise or sour cream (mayo and sour cream have their place), but this salad dressing wouldn’t be the same without it.
Healthy Honey-Mustard Dressing
The only problem with this dressing is that “honey-Dijon vinaigrette with yogurt base” doesn’t do it justice. “Healthy honey-mustard dressing” sounds bland, and “creamy honey-mustard dressing” doesn’t quite capture the tangy deliciousness of the yogurt.
I dubbed it “Sunshine Salad Dressing” since it brightens up my salads so well. I couldn’t keep it to myself any longer, so I’m sharing it today for all of your side salad needs. The recipe yields a lot (almost 1 1/2 cups). I don’t think you’ll have any trouble finishing it off. It makes a stellar dip for vegetables, too!
I’ve been keeping a big jar of it in my fridge for the past couple of weeks, and it goes with just about everything. Try this honey-mustard dressing with any of the following:
- Fresh greens of any kind
- Avocado
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Kale
- Carrots
- Apples
- Bell peppers
- Goat cheese, feta or cheddar cheese
- Sunflower seeds, pecans, or almonds
Don’t miss my sunshine slaw with quinoa or my roasted and raw carrot salad with avocado, which both call for this dressing. I have more salads over here.
Please let me know how you like this honey-mustard dressing in the comments! I hope you love it as much as I do.
Watch How to Make Sunshine Dressing
Sunshine Salad Dressing
This creamy honey-mustard salad dressing recipe is lightened up with Greek yogurt. No mayo here! It’s so easy to whisk this dressing together. Recipe yields almost 1 ½ cups and keeps well for 10 to 14 days.
Ingredients
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt (any % fat will do)
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- 3 to 4 tablespoons honey, to taste
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or more lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 10 twists of freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup or bowl, combine all of the ingredients as listed. Whisk until blended. Taste, and season with additional pepper if necessary.
- This dressing is intentionally bold, but if it tastes too tart for your liking, whisk in another tablespoon of honey.
- Store leftover salad dressing in the refrigerator, covered, for 10 to 14 days.
Notes
Make it dairy free: If you have a favorite unsweetened dairy-free plain yogurt, it should work well here.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
OH MY GOODNESS! I just made this dressing and it’s is superb! Bright, spicy and flavorful and so yummy! This will definitely be my go to dressing now. It’s fresh, no preservatives and the nutritional numbers are great! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It is definitely a KEEPER! YUM!!! Gotta check out the rest of your website for some more gems!
Let me try my comment again because I forgot to add stars and this one deserves 10! OH MY GOODNESS! I just made this dressing and it is SUPERB! Bright, spicy and flavorful and so yummy! This will definitely be my go to dressing now. It’s fresh, no preservatives and the nutritional numbers are great! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It is definitely a KEEPER! YUM!!! Gotta check out the rest of your website for some more gems!
THANK YOU!!I have advanced Kidney disease due to chemo. I have to eat low salt and protein…so lows of salads beans etc. Finally a creamy dressing I can easily make and TASTE GREAT and not full of process junk! I could put this on everything..I just don’t add the salt and that helps with the sodium. Honestly it doesn’t need the added salt.
Great recipe. Surely deserves 5 stars.
Delicious! Such a great addition to my summer garden salad easy to whip up in smaller batches too.
My husband and I both loved this recipe and it was very useful to be able to store in the fridge for a couple of weeks. I didn’t have any Dijon mustard so the first time I made the dressing I used English mustard and it was far too strong so the next time I used a multigrain mustard as we like the bits in it and it’s much milder. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Sylvia!
Nice dressing. I tempered with a bit of low fat mayo and was in a hurry so used garlic powder. Very tasty. Will probably not buy at the store anymore! Thanks!
This is my new go to salad dressing! So refreshing ,you can use what you have ,I used keifer and white wine, delightful and delicious. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Tamara! I appreciate your review.
I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve tried other DIY Salad Dressing recipes before and it didn’t really work for me. This is vibrant and tangy with just enough sweetness to keep me interested. I will definitely make this again. Well done Cookie and Kate!
Thank you, Lisa.
Do have the breakdown of macros? (Cal, fat,etc)
Hi Candice, the nutritional information is below the notes section of the blog. You will need to click to expand.
Hi
I really want to try to make this salad dressing. It looks absolutely amazing and yummy! I was wondering instead of the Greek yogurt if I could use the so delicious brand yogurt since it’s dairy free
can i use lightly sweetened homemade vanilla yogurt? i dont have any plain yogurt but want to make it tomorrow for mother’s day:)
Hi Shayla, I wouldn’t use vanilla yogurt in this recipe, the sweet of the vanilla will compete with the more savory notes. I have many dressings that don’t call for any dairy if you want to try another.
Made this salad dressing last week for family gathering. It tastes great with perfect blend of mustard and honey. It enhances the taste of salad so much.
It will be my go to dressing from now on.
I made it a couple times. We like it.
This dressing is crazy good. A new favorite and so healthy. Thank you so much for sharing.
You’re welcome, Michelle!
First I fell in love with your caesar salad dressing . . . now this “little ray of sunshine” looks to be a winner as well. Thank you so much! I love your blog — I’m always so happy when I’m searching for something, and you have a recipe for it!
Delicious! Love the extra tanginess that other recipes don’t have! Good Job!!
Just made it, so yummy, I didn’t have honey, so substituted with 2 tbsp pure maple syrup.
Thankyou so much, first time checking out your recipes, very impressed
I just prepared the Sunshine salad dressing and ALL I can utter is “ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!”
Thank you so much for sharing!
Amazing and super easy to make. I didn’t change a single thing! Thanks for sharing!!
You’re welcome, Dawn!
Seriously delicious! So glad to have stumbled upon this recipe.
I’ve tried many homemade dressings after moving away from bottled dressings, and this is my favorite. So flavorful and not difficult to make. I look forward to eating salads with this dressing. I’ve shared the dressing with my coworkers and friends and they all ask me for this recipe. Thank you for this recipe.
Marjorie B
You’re welcome, Marjorie! I appreciate your review.
Just made Sunshine Dressing! It is fabulous. I love the flexibility to make it sweeter or tart. My preference was on the tart side and happy I did. Only used 2 T. of honey, 2T. lemon juice and chose to leave out the apple cider vinegar. Maybe next time I’ll experiment with 1T. lemon juice and 1T. cider vinegar. This will def be a staple in my fridge. Thank you.
This dressing is delicious and has the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. I was looking for a zippy dressing to keep on hand, especially in the colder months when salads aren’t always at the forefront of my mind when I open the fridge. Works well with crisp romaine as well as softer mixed greens and spinach.
Hey Kate, greetings from Kansas City! Can you recommend a winter salad combination that the Sunshine Dressing would go well with? I’m hoping to have a bit of a prep-ahead salad for my holiday party buffet. Any suggestions? Thanks for so many great recipes over the years. I’m a big fan and an owner of your cookbook.
Here in December 2024! Made this for the first time and it was fabulous. I’m being more health-conscious so I reduced the oil to 1Tbsp the second time around and didn’t notice any problems. It’s absolutely wonderful and so refreshing.
Absolutely addictive as a salad dressing or a vegetable dip or on broiled chicken etc. my wife and daughter are addicted.
Fabulous. 10 on a 10 point scale.
OMG, this dresssing was delicious! My husband and I just devoured a salad we put together topped with some fresh chicken salad and this dressing which complemented it perfectly. Can’t wait to have more. Thank you Kate!
Awesome dressing! It not only made the rotation, it is the star of our dressing rotation!
Wow, I’m so glad I made this dressing! It’s amazing – really flavorful and bright, and easy to combine. I had it with a simple arugula, chickpeas and avocado salad for lunch and made a big batch for the whole week. Will definitely be making this often!
This honey mustard is absolutely delicious! I forgot to add the garlic clove, but still absolutely LOVE it!
Realized I only have sweetened yogurt – could I use mayo instead?
This dressing got my sons to love kale☺️
This is my go to dressing. I make it all the time. The only change I make is I use regular yogurt; full fat, plain. It’s so much better and healthier than store bought. Always trust Kathryne’s recipes.
What is the nutritional details here? Calories, fat, carbs, etc
hi! can you use this recipe as a marinade for the chicken also? making a chicken salad later- thanks!
I have made this Sunshine Dressing several times for a variety of salads. Today I drizzled it on my chick pea/orzo salad and it never fails to be just perfect. Thank you for this.
My fifth star didn’t register!! Definitely a 5!!
I used a thick creamy coconut yoghurt and it worked really well.
Nice recipe.
Great dressing recipe! I made the sunshine slaw recipe with this dressing and it was really good. I used the leftover dressing to make a kale and lentil salad, which is also delicious. This recipe will be in my rotation for sure. Thanks!
OMG this dressing is amazing. I have been on the look out for a dressing that somewhat mimics the texture of a tahini dressing as I can’t really digest tahini and this was so good! Thank you so much for the recipe!
We love this dressing for our lunch salads. We’re both teachers, so I double the recipe and it gets us through a 5 day week. If you like honey mustard TRY this recipe!
I make this regularly. My family loves it!
Such a versatile recipe – easy to create different varieties well done!
So good!
Honey and mustard. Absolutely delicious
THIS IS SO GOOD!!!! :)
I made a half recipe and immediately regretted my decision upon tasting the dressing. It’s so good I could drink it. I will be making more ASAP.
I love it. I used avacado oil instead of olive oil and added 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper. Thanks for the excellent recipe.