Basil & Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe

Nothing beats this warmer weather more than a simple and easy basil and lemon vinaigrette dressing recipe!  Pour this gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and healthy salad dressing over your favorite salad, quinoa veggie bowl, or on a sandwich.

Fair warning… you might just become HIGHLY addicted to this basil and lemon vinaigrette dressing recipe!

Seriously.

After making this lemon vinaigrette recipe for the first time, I made it three more times in just that week.

This basil vinaigrette tastes great on salads, as a marinade for chicken, and especially in a quinoa and veggie bowl.

You can literally let your imagination soar when it comes to this healthy salad dressing!

How Do You Make Lemon Vinaigrette?

Not only does this lemon vinaigrette taste incredible, but it is also SUPER simple to make.

No exaggeration here.  It is stupid. super. simple.

As long as you have a high speed blender, such as a Vitamix, or a food processor, it will be an absolute breeze!

You literally throw all of your ingredients into your blender or food processor, blend, and voila!

You have a delightful, homemade lemon vinaigrette ready to go!

What Ingredients are in this Basil Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe?

There are only a few very simple ingredients that you will need to make this basil and lemon salad dressing:

• Basil (duh!) – if you have fresh basil from your garden, this recipe is a great way to use it up!
• Lemons (double duh!) – feel free to use regular lemons, or Meyer lemons if those happen to be in season.
  • Juice and zest are used for a double punch of lemon flavor!
• Sweetener – I used honey in this recipe, but you can also use maple syrup or agave nectar if you are vegan.
• Seasonings – a simple blend of salt, pepper, and garlic powder give this vinaigrette it’s flavor.
• Oil – olive oil generally gives you the best result, but you can also try avocado oil, too!

Is Lemon Vinaigrette Vegan?

A lemon vinaigrette dressing can definitely be vegan!  However, the main ingredient you need to be careful of is the sweetener.

As long as a vegan sweetener (such as agave nectar or maple syrup) is used, then the lemon vinaigrette is vegan!

A Healthy Salad Dressing Option

What’s so great about this lemon basil vinaigrette dressing is how healthy it is for you.

It’s loaded up with fresh basil which gives the vinaigrette a bit of bulk without overloading it with calories.

A refined sugar-free sweetener is used such as honey or maple syrup.

Omega-3-packed extra virgin olive oil makes up the remainder of the base.

All of this lends to a gluten-free, Paleo, refined sugar-free, vegetarian, and easily vegan lemon vinaigrette recipe!

How Can I Evolve this Basil + Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe?

There are a few ways you can change up this lemon vinaigrette recipe:

• As mentioned previously, use maple syrup or agave nectar to make this vinaigrette recipe vegan.
• Change up the oil by using avocado oil.
• Feel free to experiment and use cilantro in place of the basil!

How Long Will this Basil Lemon Vinaigrette Last?

Make sure you seal up your lemon basil vinaigrette in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator between uses.

Since basil is a fresh herb, you will want to enjoy your vinaigrette within 4-5 days.

If you have a little lemon vinaigrette leftover, you can always freeze it in ice cube trays and pop it into soups later in the year for a bit of added flavor!

3.96 from 63 votes

Basil Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe

Nothing beats this warmer weather more than a simple and easy basil and lemon vinaigrette dressing recipe!  Pour this gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and healthy vinaigrette dressing over your favorite salad, quinoa veggie bowl, or on a sandwich.

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Course Dinner, lunch, Salad, sauce

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 169 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 cup basil fresh
• ¼ tsp. Salt
• ¼ tsp. garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp. honey or maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• ½ tsp. lemon zest
• ½ cup olive oil

Instructions

1. In a food processor or high speed blender, combine basil, salt, garlic powder, honey, lemon juice and zest. Pulse 5 times.
2. Slowly add olive oil while processing. Process for 1-2 minutes or until vinaigrette is completely smooth.
3. Store in the refrigerator between uses. Serve with a Kale Chopped Cobb Salad and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Basil Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 169 Calories from Fat 162

% Daily Value*

Fat 18g28%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Sodium 80mg3%

Potassium 11mg0%

Carbohydrates 2g1%

Sugar 2g2%

Vitamin A 210IU4%

Vitamin C 3.1mg4%

Calcium 7mg1%

Iron 0.2mg1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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