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!
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.
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
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In a food processor or high speed blender, combine basil, salt, garlic powder, honey, lemon juice and zest. Pulse 5 times.
-
Slowly add olive oil while processing. Process for 1-2 minutes or until vinaigrette is completely smooth.
-
Store in the refrigerator between uses. Serve with a Kale Chopped Cobb Salad and enjoy!
Want more recipes like this Basil Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing?
Green Beans Almondine with Garlic
Basil + Lemon Baked Salmon in Foil
Summer Vegetable Quinoa Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Teriyaki Sauce
Keto Sausage Balls
Loaded Potato Skins
Balsamic Reduction (Balsamic Glaze)
Diane says
Excellent! So yummy I doubled the recipe. Can this be stored on the counter or in the fridge? How long is the shelf life, approximately?
Thank you for sharing this healthy & delicious recipe.
Diane
London Brazil says
Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Diane! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and rating!
You should keep this in the fridge so it lasts the longest. Its shelf life will depend on several factors, so it’s hard to say. The oil will turn rancid when it is no longer good.
Susan says
I’ve made this several times. It’s so refreshing especially good with a salad or some grilled chicken
London Brazil says
Happy to hear you’ve enjoyed the dressing, Susan! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and rating! 🙂
Sol says
Sounds outstanding my poor basil plant went droppy overnight. Trimmed all the leaves I have alot of basil. Question will avocado work in place of oil? Im trying to limit my oils because of gi issues. Thank you 🙂
London Brazil says
Yes! Avocado oil is a great substitute for olive oil. Hope you enjoy the recipe! (And sorry about your plant – but yay for getting to use up that basil!)
Traci Garcia says
This recipe is delicious. I made bow tie pasta, added broccoli flourets (uncooked), carrots, romaine lettuce, purple onion and English Cucumbers. Then tossed with this dressing and added chopped avocado on top…..soooooo light, refreshing and super tasty.
London Brazil says
Oh that sounds divine, Traci! So happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and rating 🙂
Gsanto says
Delicious Need to double the recipe!! I used fresh garlic
London Brazil says
Yay! So happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and rating 🙂
Beatriz Flatt says
One of the more delicious vinaigrette I have done. Thank you
London Brazil says
Yay, Beatriz! So happy you enjoyed it so much. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and rating 🙂
Nora Dolan says
Hi, I don’t like honey or maple syrup. Antysubstitutions? Thanks, Nora
London says
Absolutely, Nora! You can always use Agave Nectar or even use regular sugar (but be sure to use a little less since it is quite a bit sweeter!)
Nora Dolan says
Thanks, I will.
Licketysplit says
I like this dressing. I’m not a fan of using balsamic vinegars in dressings as my palette tends to find it quite bitter.
For this dressing, I added more lemon and a bit more honey.
I freeze my dressings in tiny dollar store containers and simply defrost them as I use them on my salads.
London says
What a great idea to freeze them in those containers! Thanks so much for your comment and rating 🙂
Gsanto says
Very different dressing but we liked it a lot. Added a little red wine vinegar, fresh garlic, and extra lemon to mellow the sweetness. We put this on roasted veggies and grated carrots. Thank you for sharing.
London says
Yum! I bet the garlic was a great addition. Thanks so much for your comment and rating 🙂