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.
Absolutely Delicious! Everyone loved it.!!!
That’s great to hear, Karen! I’m glad you loved it.
Yummy, yummy! I was searching for a healthy alternative to my homemade honey mustard dressing and came across this recipe. I still used mayo as my base, as I didn’t have any yogurt, AND I just eye-balled the measurements, as I didn’t want to do a full batch, and wow, just wow! Fabulous!
I’m glad you love it, Shar! Thank you for your review.
I tried this for the first time today, and will definitely be making this over and over again!! Absolutely delicious!
I’m glad you love it, Tammy!
I’m not able to eat raw garlic so did my normal garlic infusion in the oil. I made this using that oil and when I taste tested, immediately doubled the recipe. Lovely flavor. This one going in the regular rotation. Thank you!
Round 2. It’s delicious and you probably have ingredients in hand which is a bonus. Even a farm boy will enjoy.
Was looking for a last minute salad dressing. Only had sour cream but it was delicious. Will definitely be making this again.
I’m glad you came across this recipe, Anne! I appreciate your review.
WOW this is incredible!!!
I’m glad you loved it, Misty! Thank you for your review.
Loved it. I made brusselsprout,redcabbage slaw with watermelon radish.
Pecans,cranberries.
That’s great to hear, Stacey! I appreciate you taking your time to review.
This was excellent! I put it on arugula, kale, quinoa, avocado, pistachios and green onion salad…tomorrow going to add air fryer crispy spicy broccoli and omit arugula…love the versatility and so happy to have another amazing dressing recipe! Thanks!!
Love this! This came together so well, although I forgot I didn’t have honey and had to use agave but still good! We drizzled it on salad greens but also on our dinner of roasted potatoes, sausages, broccoli and onions. I’m sure it will go well with a ton of other grilled veggies/dishes too.
Can this be frozen and how long can this last in fridge
Hi Michelle, I wouldn’t recommend it.
It was delicious
Thank you for your review, Iryna! I appreciate your review.
I LOVE this dressing! Thank you so much for sharing!
You’re welcome, Karen! Thank you for taking the time to review.
Was looking for a healthy dressing and I found this delicious one thank you
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Sid!
Made this for a steak salad and it was so good! Not too sweet and perfectly tangy
This dressing is delicious! I used regular cow’s milk yogurt because I’m not a fan of Greek yogurt. I love the zestiness- I only used 3T of honey.
Thank You for sharing how you made it, Gail!
I made the Sunshine salad dressing and absolutely love it. Will take it to work tomorrow on my salad and let my colleagues try it. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
You’re welcome, Donna! I appreciate your review.
Just made it. I didn’t have Greek yogurt on hand and substituted Mayo (I was ok w/the extra calories) and it was amazing! Went well with Arugula salad and avocado. Can’t wait to try it with yogurt. 3 tablespoons honey was perfect sweetness for me.
Wonderful to hear, Maria!
Can I use Balsamic vinegar substitute for apple cider?
Hi, you can try it although it will provide a different taste.
OMG thisdressing is DIVINE!! Just what I was looking for,a healthy, yet incredibly tasty sakad dressing! Love the zing!
Wonderful to hear, Paige! Thank you for your review.
Do you have a recommendation to sun for the Dijon mustard? I really don’t like the flavor but want to try the quinoa salad you recently shared.
Hi Stacey, this dressing is really meant to have mustard to get the right taste. You could try a different dressing. For a creamy dressing you could try my Creamy Tahini Dressing
Sounds yummy. I have to avoid sugars. How can I replace the honey? Use Splenda? Thnx
Hi Rod, I recommend this recipe as is. If you try it, let me know!
This dressing is amazing. It is about half of the calories–maybe even less–than most other dressings (oil based or sour-cream based) but it has a wonderful consistency, very satisfying mouth feel and absolutely delicious taste. This is not a “low-cal” or “diet” dressing; it is a wonderful alternative to other vinaigrettes–really simple to make, and delicious enough to serve at a wedding. Well done, Kate!!
Absolutely LOVE this dressing!!! Thank you!! I’m making my own dressing more often! So easy and delicious. great ideas for add ins
And for dairy free friends. I a fan of yours!
Debbie D from Sunshine State, Florida
Wonderful to hear, Debbie! Thank you for your review.
Wow, this dressing is money !! I can’t get over the flavor. Minor adjustments; didn’t use garlic and 2 tablespoons of honey . Making this again .
It’s great to inspire me to make my own salad.
I made it with Fage sour cream, no oil, no yogurt. Was creamy and delish with pretzels. I doubled the recipe and will use the rest for butter lettuce salad.
Hi Kate,
I absolutely love this recipe! I used Maille Honey Mustard because I didn’t have Dijon and it was superb. So good that my Boerboel licked it off the lettuce leaves but left them behind!
Wishing you every future success,
Andrea
This is a go-to in our house! It is perfect with anything, but we love it for our weekly meal-prep salad wraps.
This is my favorite dressing now. I did have to cut the salt to just a dash for my taste. It makes a huge different in the brand of yogurt I’ve found. Fage is my preference. Thank you for this amazing recipe!!
Hooray! I’m glad to hear that, Gin. Thank you for your review.
I’m so glad you sent these recipes. I just returned a bottle of Ranch to the store because it tasted so bad. Now I can make my own!
Great to hear!
I make this a lot and I’m finally leaving a comment. This dressing is unique, and we love it. I see I’m not alone, based on the comments! I could see this dressing having a cult following:).
I’m delighted you loved it, Molly! Thank you for your review.
This salad dressing is awesome. You’re right it does brighten up a salad. Thanks for sharing
Thank you SO MUCH for this recipe! I made this today and it was amazing! I make a lot of homemade dressings, and this ranks pretty high as one of my favorites! I didn’t put quite as much honey as it calls for, and it was still the perfect combination of sweetness and tang. Love it!!!!
You’re welcome, Kristine! I appreciate your review.
Hi Kate I haven’t tried this recipe yet, But I’m wondering if it could be used with your Broccoli & Quinoa slaw in order to reduce the calories?
If so would you halve this dressing recipe to put on the above salad?
Thanks
Shell
You could try it. Let me know what you think!
Tried this for my coleslaw and wow! Delicious!!
Love to hear that, Dawn!
Absolutely delicious dressing. I was out of dijon so I subbed whole grain mustard, other than that followed the recipe to a T. This will definitely be on my rotation.
That’s great to hear, Jenni!
Wonderful dressing. Perfect flavours. Guests also commented on how nice it was. I halved the recipe. Would recommend and will definitely be making this again.
Great to hear, Maria! I appreciate your review.
Absolutely love this dressing! It’s now one of my go-to meal prep items. Just enough tartness. Thank you for sharing
You’re welcome, Reesa! I appreciate your review.
I love this Sunshine Salad Dressing! Every time I need to try something new, I go to Cookie + Kate. I’m trying to get away from store-bought dressings and sauces and you helped me again. Thank you!
I used 0% Fage Greek Yogurt… amazing!! Thank you!
Great to hear, Ashley! I appreciate your review.
Such a great recipe!! It came together so easy. I thinned it with a little water (my preference) and just a splash of pickle juice. Amazing!
I’ve made this dressing twice now! I was craving a chicken Caesar wrap but instead of Caesar dressing, I did the sunshine dressing and OH BABY. Gonna eat this every day for the next week!
This is soooo good! I haven’t made this in a while so I forgot how much I love it. It is such a versatile dressing. I’m currently eating it just on some bagged coleslaw and it elevates even something that simple. Have yet to find something that I don’t like it with!
The absolute BEST salad dressing I’ve ever made!
Love to hear that, Julie!
Simply delicious! Made a similiar dressing in the past using low fat mayo but the flavour using yogurt is superior….. without the oily taste.
I love, love, love this dressing and my husband commented that it was good as well. Not many low calorie dressings taste as yummy as this one. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Wanda!
Very good! Only change was to reduce honey to 2 T. Thank you!
Very good! Thank you! (Reduced honey to1 T but decided it really needs the prescribed 2-3 T to balance the mustard, so will make it that way from now on.)
This is delicious however I can’t see it being 12 servings. Look more like 8. Did you scoop out 12 tablespoons? I’m on ww so I was just making sure it’s correct.