Creamy Maple Dressing with Black Pepper

Your autumn salads will glow with homemade creamy maple dressing. You’ll want to add it to roasted vegetables and maybe even sandwiches!

This is a luscious autumn dressing, with notes of maple, apple, stone-ground mustard, and freshly cracked black pepper. I’m so excited about this dressing, I could slurp it up like soup.

Creamy maple dressing gets a little tanginess from Greek yogurt and apple cider vinegar. Maple syrup balances the tang and adds sweetness. With generous amounts of freshly ground black pepper and coarse mustard, this dressing has plenty of peppy flavor.

How To Use Maple Dressing

With this creamy maple dressing, you won’t have an excuse for not eating healthy salads. You think winter isn’t the season for salads? Think again! You might not be eating fresh leafy green salads with ripe red tomatoes but there’s plenty of salad material right now.

Hearty greens. This dressing is perfect for winter salads like a kale and pear salad, or a spinach salad with beets, almonds, and feta. You’ll find that it’s perfect for heartier salads of winter greens like spinach, Brussels sprouts, or kale.

Grain salads. Creamy maple dressing goes well with grain salads like autumn quinoa salad, with roasted butternut squash, dried cranberries, feta, and bacon. Try it on this quinoa salad with Brussels sprouts and dried apricots.

Roasted vegetables. Add pizzazz to your roasted vegetables with a drizzle of maple dressing over warm roasted squash, sweet potatoes, roasted beets, roasted carrots, or Brussels sprouts. 

Take sandwiches up a notch Liven up a ham and Swiss sandwich with creamy maple dressing. Go ahead and add a couple slices of bacon, too, while you’re at it. Or try it on a roasted turkey sandwich with Havarti and lots of arugula. 

Ingredients in creamy maple dressing

Like most homemade dressings, creamy maple dressing is easy to make. It will take you five minutes. You’ll never find dressing this good at a grocery store! All you need is a small bowl, a whisk, and the following ingredients:

• plain yogurt, either Greek or regular
• mayonnaise (just a couple tablespoons to smooth out the flavor)
• real maple syrup, the darker the better
• apple cider vinegar
• coarse stone ground mustard (you can substitute Dijon but coarse ground mustard is really better for this dressing)
• a generous amount of coarsely ground black pepper
• salt

If you like, use a small blender, mini food processor, or stick blender to mix the dressing.

Make It Your Own

• Mayo/yogurt blend: Use all mayonnaise instead of yogurt. Or all yogurt instead of mayonnaise. Or skip both and make a vinaigrette that isn’t creamy.
• Make it tangier. Decrease the amount of maple syrup or add a bit more vinegar.
• Try balsamic vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar if you’re a fan.
• Add fresh herbs after blending the dressing. A teaspoon or two of finely chopped rosemary, thyme, sage, or oregano really amps the flavor.

Storage Tips

Refrigerate leftover salad dressing in a small glass jar with a tight lid for a week.

Shake well before serving.