UPDATED JULY 21, 2025
Summer is here, bringing with it a bounty of crisp, garden-fresh veggies—perfect for refreshing salads. When it comes to making your own salad dressing, honey is a smart and flavorful addition. Not only does its natural sweetness perfectly balance tangy and savory ingredients, but it also acts as a natural emulsifier, helping your dressing blend smoothly. Unlike refined sugars, honey has a lower glycemic index, making it a healthier way to sweeten without spiking blood sugar levels.
Elevate your greens with a touch of golden goodness!
Here are some of our favourite simple salad dressing recipes:
1. Blueberry Honey Dressing
We added a touch of blueberry to elevate this traditional honey mustard dressing. It compliments crisp greens, fresh blueberries and crumbled feta cheese.
- 1/4 cup Kinghaven Blueberry Creamed Honey
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Combine all ingredients in a jar, shake well, add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
2. Honey Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette
This sweet, citrusy dressing is great for elevating taco night, drizzling over a bean medley, or adding to a beautiful summer salad.
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1/4 cup Kinghaven Raw Honey
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth then season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Creamy Honey Yogurt Dressing
This heartier dressing is amazing on more substantial veggies like broccoli or cucumbers and doubles as a fantastic dip.
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons Lemon Meringue Creamed Honey
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Whisk together yogurt, honey, and vinegar, then gradually whisk in olive oil. Sprinkle in salt and pepper to taste.
4. Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
A classic that’s delicious on just about every kind of salad, this vinaigrette is especially easy to customize to your tastes. As an added bonus, since some nutrients in vegetables need fat to be properly absorbed by the body, salad dressings that contain healthy fats like olive oil can help you absorb more nutrients from your food.
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Kinghaven Raw Honey
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
Whisk together vinegar, honey, and garlic, then slowly whisk in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Honey Garlic Vinaigrette
A riff on a more traditional balsamic vinaigrette, this gorgeous, amber-coloured dressing screams summer.
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Kinghaven Raw Honey
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Whisk together vinegar, honey, and garlic, then slowly add olive oil, sprinkling the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Honey Ginger Dressing
Bursting with freshness and flavour, this Asian-inspired dressing elevates everything from kale to romaine and pulls double duty as a marinade.
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tablespoons Kinghaven Creamed Ginger Honey
- 1/2 cup sesame oil or olive oil
Blend all ingredients until smooth.
7. Honey Lemon Dressing
This zesty lemon vinaigrette adds a burst of flavour to your veggies. It’s delicious as is and can be easily customized to a variety of palates by adding a variety of other ingredients including dill and tahini.
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons Lemon Meringue Creamed Honey
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Whisk together lemon juice, honey, and mustard, then gradually add the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Orange Honey Dressing
This delicious citrus salad dressing is perfectly suited to crisp salad greens, peppery arugula, orange or grapefruit segments, fennel, avocado, pine nuts, pistachios… the list is endless!
- Juice of 1 orange
- 2 tablespoons Kinghaven Raw Honey
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Combine orange juice, honey, and mustard, then gradually mix in olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
All of these dressings are easily (and endlessly) customizable and can be stored in the refrigerator for several days, making them perfect for meal prep. Don’t feel you have to limit yourself to salads though. If you do not have our Creamed flavoured honey on hand, that is okay too - original raw will work as well! The best salad dressings can also double as marinades for meats, dipping sauces for veggies, or toppings for sandwiches and wraps.
If you prefer to make your salad a complete meal, add some protein and heartiness with grilled chicken, chickpeas, nuts, eggs, tofu, fish, or whatever else you have on hand. Try one tonight to entice the people at your table to eat more greens!
Tip: If you find our Creamed Honey too thick to mix into the other ingredients, pop the desired amount of honey (not the full jar) into the microwave for a few seconds to soften the consistency. It may pasteurize if heated too high, but the flavour will stay rich and intact, especially in a quick microwave burst.
Looking for local Ontario lettuce?
Try Haven Greens!
Haven Greens has built one of Canada’s most advanced greenhouse lettuce operations right here on our farm in King City.
The climate-controlled, pesticide-free facility ensures every leaf is consistently crunchy, sweet, and ready-to-eat without washing. Grown year-round and harvested daily, Haven Greens lettuce stays fresh longer and offers superior quality.