This Lemon Basil Vinaigrette is both delicious and stunning! Fresh basil gives it its beautiful bright green color and a ton of flavor. It comes together in less than 10 minutes, it's great for meal prep, and perfect for any spring or summer salad!
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Why You'll Love This Basil Vinaigrette
Bright and flavorful - Fresh basil gives this dressing a beautiful green color and a bright and delicious flavor. It's amazing on any spring and summer salads and many other dishes. If you love pesto, you'll love this dressing! It has all the same ingredients except parmesan and pine nuts.
Easy and simple - You need only 8 simple ingredients (including salt and pepper) and less than 10 minutes to make this vinaigrette! There's no chopping and barely any prep. If you have an immersion blender, you can even make it in the same jar you'll store it in to save dishes!
Lots of uses - You don't have to use this vinaigrette only on salads! Try it on roasted or grilled veggies, meats, chicken, fish, or seafood. You can add it to pasta dishes instead of pesto, pasta salads, rice bowls, or even wraps or sandwiches.
Great for meal prep - This vinaigrette will last you in the fridge all week and you can even freeze it! This makes it perfect for meal prep and it makes putting together your meals throughout the week a breeze. I love making my own salad dressings, it's so much easing than you'd think!
Ingredients
- Lemon juice - Freshly squeezed lemon juice will yield the best flavor. You could use bottled lemon juice in a pinch as well but fresh lemons are the best.
- Basil - Fresh basil gives this dressing its beautiful vibrant green color and a ton of flavor. Because of this, dried basil won't work here.
- Extra virgin olive oil - I use olive oil for most of my dressings and vinaigrettes unless neutral oil with less flavor, like avocado oil, is needed. The olive flavor really shines in this vinaigrette and makes it taste like pesto.
- Dijon mustard - You can't really taste the mustard in the vinaigrette but it helps it emulsify and not separate.
- Honey - A little sweetener is needed to balance out the tang of the lemon and the fatty olive oil. It also helps to emulsify the vinaigrette. You can also use maple syrup or agave if you prefer.
- Garlic - Grated or minced garlic gives the vinaigrette a little bit of flavor but it's not very strong here so you don't have to be worried about any raw garlic flavor. I highly recommend adding it.
- Salt and pepper - As always, I recommend using sea salt or Himalayan pink salt and freshly ground black pepper for the best flavor.
Variations and Substitutions
- Add more herbs - You can add other fresh herbs like parsley or chives for even more flavor. Don't add too much so it doesn't overpower the flavor of the basil.
- Parmesan - You can blend in some parmesan or pecorino cheese to give this more of a pesto flavor, just without the pine nuts.
- Lemon zest - You can also add a little bit of freshly grated lemon zest for a stronger lemon flavor. Always use organic lemons for lemon zest if possible.
- Different herbs - You can follow the direction of this recipe and make it your own by using cilantro and/or parsley, chives, or other herbs instead of basil. You can even use lime juice instead of lemon juice! Take this as your base recipe and make adjustments when you want to try something new!
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Add fresh basil, fresh lemon juice, honey, dijon mustard, minced garlic, sea salt, and pepper to a tall jar.
- Use an immersion blender to blend everything until smooth. Alternatively, you can also do this in a food processor or a blender. (In the photos below, I started with a food processor but ended up moving to a jar and an immersion blender for a smoother texture.)
- Slowly start pouring in the olive oil while continuing to blend until the vinaigrette is fully emulsified.
- Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.
Expert Tips
- Vinaigrette won't emulsify? You should have no issues emulsifying this vinaigrette if you follow the recipe and use an immersion blender but if the olive oil just won't mix with everything else, add 1 teaspoon of mayo. It works like magic! This is a lifesaver for when a vinaigrette won't mix properly and you can't taste it at all. If you don't want to use mayonnaise, add more Dijon mustard instead.
- Olive oil hardens in the fridge - When you store the vinaigrette in the refrigerator, the olive oil will naturally harden. Allow the vinaigrette to soften for 5 minutes at room temperature before mixing it with your salad. You can whisk it again or shake it up if necessary as well.
Serving Suggestions
- Salads - You can add this vinaigrette to practically any salad you'd add plain lemon vinaigrette and anything that would be good with basil. I like it in this Asparagus Quinoa Salad or in this Orzo Caprese Salad. It would also be a delicious basil twist for this Greek Potato Salad with Feta.
- Pasta - You can use it in pasta dishes instead of pesto! It would be delicious in this Pesto Tortellini Salad or this Sheet Pan Asparagus Gnocchi instead of the dressing the recipe makes.
- Bowls - Drizzle it over rice bowls or quinoa bowls with roasted veggies, chicken, fish, or seafood.
- Roasted veggies - This vinaigrette is amazing on roasted or grilled veggies or potato wedges.
- Meats and fish - It would be delicious drizzled over steak, any grilled meat, fish, or seafood served along with a fresh salad and some toasted bread or a rice dish like this Herb and Garlic Rice.
- Sandwiches - Brush it on the inside of your bread before you add your sandwich toppings for more flavor. You can also drizzle it on wraps or burgers!
Storing and Make Ahead Options
This dressing is great for meal prep because it stores really well. If you're using an immersion blender to make it and you emulsify it really well, it won't even separate in the fridge. The olive oil does naturally harden in the fridge though. This is normal, just stir the dressing before every use a let it loosen up at room temperature in your bowl or in a small glass before adding it to your salad.
Store the dressing in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the dressing for up to 2-3 months in a freezer-safe container. You may need to stir or re-blend the dressing again to get it back to its original consistency.
FAQs
To emulsify this, or any, vinaigrette properly, you should first mix everything except the oil and then stream in the oil slowly while continuing to blend or whisk. If you add it all at once, it will be harder to mix properly. Using an immersion blender makes this a lot easier.
Vinaigrettes tend to be higher in acidity and they have a thinner consistency than a dressing. Dressings are usually creamy with more ingredients. The base for a vinaigrette is always something acidic like lemon juice and vinegar and oil. That being said, I often use the terms interchangeably.
Other Vinaigrette Recipes
Once you find out how easy it is to make your own dressings and vinaigrettes at home, you'll never want to go back to using store-bought ones! So if you're currently on a homemade vinaigrette kick, I highly recommend trying out any of the four below! And just in case you want to try a salad dressing that's a little different from this one, I highly recommend this Miso Sesame Dressing, it's the best!
To see all the latest ones, head over to Dips, Dressings, and Sauces.
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Print📖 Recipe
Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: Dressing
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Lemon Basil Vinaigrette is both delicious and stunning! It's great for meal prep and perfect for any spring or summer salad!
Ingredients
- ½ cup packed fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ¼-½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Add fresh basil, lemon juice, honey, dijon mustard, minced garlic, sea salt, and pepper to a tall jar.
- Use an immersion blender to blend everything until smooth. Alternatively, you can also do this in a food processor or a blender.
- Slowly start pouring in the olive oil while continuing to blend until the vinaigrette is fully emulsified.
- Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.
Equipment
Notes
Storing: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days or in the freezer for 1-2 months.
The recipe makes about 1 cup of vinaigrette which serves 6-8 people when you use 2-3 tablespoon per serving.
Veronika Sykorova says
This vinaigrette is one of my favorites! It tastes similar to pesto but without the pine nuts and it's so easy to make!