A dressing can really make or break a salad and this Easy Lemon Vinaigrette will bring any salad to life with its light and fresh flavours. It's zingy, vibrant and zesty, and really everything that you could want from a dressing. Store bought dressing just doesn't compare to this.
If you are looking for a light and fresh salad dressing that will liven up any dish, then this Lemon Vinaigrette is it. A careful blend of olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, honey and garlic, you are going to want to put it on everything. Perfect with a hot or cold salad, or even just to dip bread in to. It is super versatile, and most importantly tastes amazing.
Jump to:
Why should you try it?
- A light and fresh summer salad dressing.
- Delicious on hot or cold salads.
- Just 5 ingredients.
- Only takes a couple of minutes to make.
- Can be made in advance.
What you will need
- Olive oil - This is what thickens the dressing up and gives it that rich flavour. Use the best quality that you can afford, as honestly you will be able to taste the difference.
- Lemon - The star of this dressing - we used just the juice. Make sure it is a nice juicy lemon, otherwise you might have to use more.
- Garlic - This adds a nice kick to the dressing. If you aren't a fan of garlic, then you could leave it out.
- Mustard - This adds another layer or flavour to the dressing and adds some colour too. We used Dijon, but you could use wholegrain instead.
- Honey - You don't have to add this if you don't like sweet dressings, but we find that it balances out the tartness of the lemon.
- Salt and pepper - Finish the dressing off by seasoning it to perfection. It really just brings all the flavours together.
Step by step
One: Simply add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix well.
Health benefits of lemons
Not only do lemons have an amazing flavour and add lots of freshness to sweet and savoury dishes, but they have lots of nutritional benefits too.
Lemons are a great source of vitamin C. One 58g lemon can provide over 30mg of vitamin C. Vitamin C plays a key role in the formation of collagen, the support system of the skin and it also helps with iron absorption, as well as giving a boost to your immune system.
What to serve it with
As well as being a salad dressing, this lemon vinaigrette is the perfect way to make vegetables more exciting. We love it drizzled on greens, or even poured over roasted vegetables. If you are going to use it on a salad, here are some of our favourites that would be perfect with it:
- Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
- Couscous Salad
- Broccoli Salad
- Chicken Pasta Salad
- Roasted Cauliflower Salad
- Spicy Steak Salad
- Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
- Warm Lamb Salad
- Roasted Vegetable Salad
FAQs
This dressing will store in an air tight container for up to a week in the fridge. Make sure you shake it well before pouring.
Extra tips
- If we are serving this on a green salad, then we will make it heavy on the lemon. However, if it is a dressing for a salad that has quite strong flavours already, then we balance it out with a higher olive oil to lemon ration.
- Always use fresh lemons to make this dressing, rather than squeezed lemon juice in a bottle. Fresh lemons will always give you a stronger flavour.
- If raw garlic is too much of a strong flavour for you, you could add some finely chopped shallot instead.
More dressing recipes
| Do you want to be kept up to date on more delicious posts like this? Please subscribe to the blog mailing list (it takes 30 seconds). Click here to sign up. |
If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on the blog then let us know how you got on in the comments below, we love hearing from you!
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - we love sharing photos when people make our recipes. You can use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
DON’T FORGET TO RATE THE RECIPE ↓
Recipe
Lemon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 lemon (juice and zest only)
- 5 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 pinch sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Put everything in a bowl.
- Mix well.
Notes
- If we are serving this on a green salad, then we will make it heavy on the lemon. However, if it is a dressing for a salad that has quite strong flavours already, then we balance it out with a higher olive oil to lemon ration.
- Always use fresh lemons to make this dressing, rather than squeezed lemon juice in a bottle. Fresh lemons will always give you a stronger flavour.
- If raw garlic is too much of a strong flavour for you, you could add some finely chopped shallot instead.
Mary
Oh I love salads and they are most definitely NOT boring! The more ingredients in them the better!
Tina @ The Spicy Pear
I like the zingly lemony flavours in this vinaigrette. Great way to liven up salads.