Honey mustard rewards a little know-how: how to choose it, cook it, store it, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 28 recipes to cook with it.

What is honey mustard?

Honey mustard is exactly what the name says: mustard sweetened with honey, blended until the two stop fighting and turn into one smooth, gold-brown condiment. It is the dip that comes with chicken tenders and the dressing that softens a sharp green salad.

The mustard brings the tang and the slow nose-warming bite. The honey rounds it off and gives it body.

Most versions add a third element, usually mayonnaise for a creamy dip or oil and vinegar for a pourable dressing, which is why store-bought tubs range from thick and clingy to thin and salad-ready.

You can buy it in a squeeze bottle, but it is one of the easiest condiments to make at home, and the homemade version tastes brighter because you control the honey.

Ways to Use It

Reach for it as a dip first. It is the standard partner for crispy chicken, the sauce people want next to Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders, and it doubles as a sandwich spread that beats plain mayo on turkey or ham.

Thinned with oil and vinegar it becomes a dressing with backbone. That is the whole idea behind the Mixed Green Salad with Pecans, Goat Cheese & Honey Mustard Vinaigrette and the Honey Mustard-Soy Vinaigrette, where the sweetness balances bitter greens and the mustard keeps it from tasting flat.

It also works as a glaze on roasting meat. Brushed onto chicken or salmon in the last fifteen minutes, the sugars caramelize into a sticky lacquer, which is the logic behind Honey Mustard BBQ Chicken Stir-Fry and the Apricot Mustard Glazed Leg of Lamb.

It belongs in egg dishes too. It sharpens the filling in Easy Deviled Eggs and the dressing in a Cold German-Style Potato Salad, and it gives Palmiers with Honey Mustard & Prosciutto their savory-sweet edge.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

It flatters anything fatty or salty. Pork, ham, smoked sausage, sharp cheddar, soft pretzels, and roasted root vegetables all give the sweetness something to balance, and a squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar keeps it from cloying.

The most common mistake is glazing too early over high heat. Honey is mostly sugar, so a coat applied at the start of roasting scorches and turns bitter long before the meat is done. Brush it on near the end instead.

The other trap is letting the honey run the show. A glaze or dressing that is all sweet and no bite tastes like dessert, so taste as you go and add mustard until the warmth comes back.

Substitutes

The quickest fix is to make your own. Stir together equal parts honey and Dijon mustard, then loosen with a little mayonnaise for a dip or with oil and vinegar for a dressing. Push the ratio toward more mustard if you want a sharper, more grown-up version.

No honey? Maple syrup or agave gives the same sweetness with a slightly different background note. Plain Dijon or yellow mustard whisked with a pinch of sugar covers a glaze in a pinch, though it will not have the rounded honey flavor.

For a dressing specifically, a fruit-forward vinaigrette such as a raspberry or apricot one lands in the same sweet-tangy territory, just with the fruit standing in for the honey.

Buying and Storage

In the store it sits with the other mustards and the salad dressings, sometimes in both aisles, so check the label rather than the front claim. The better tubs list honey and mustard near the top; the cheaper ones lead with corn syrup and water, which tastes thinner and oversweet.

An unopened bottle keeps in the pantry for months past its date thanks to the vinegar and sugar. Once opened, refrigerate it and it holds for several months with the cap clean and tight.

Homemade honey mustard with mayonnaise is more perishable. Keep it covered in the fridge and use it within about a week.

Whisk it before each use, since the honey tends to settle, and trust a sour smell or any off color over the printed date if you are unsure.

Quick facts

In Chinese

蜂蜜芥末

British (UK) term

Honey mustard

en français

moutarde au miel

en español

miel mostaza

Recipes using honey mustard

There are 28 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 28 recipes