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Home / Recipes / Condiments / Lemon Vinaigrette

Lemon Vinaigrette

5 mins
| Leave a Comment |
5 from 2 votes
Jump to Recipe 04/25/22 | Updated: 04/25/22 | by Nora
Lemon Vinaigrette Recipe Pin 1

This homemade Lemon Vinaigrette is bright and refreshing with lots of flavor from fresh lemon zest and juice. You can even make it ahead and store it in the fridge for a few days for easy meal prep!

angled overhead view of lemon vinaigrette in glass measuring jug

I firmly believe the dressing makes or breaks a salad – and this vinaigrette is a good one! It’s tangy, lemony and full of flavor. It’s my dressing of choice whenever I make a Mediterranean Couscous Salad.

Homemade dressing is so quick and easy to whip up, and it keeps well in the fridge for a few days. It’s one of my favorite things to keep on hand!

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

ingredients for lemon vinaigrette with text labels
Ingredients to make Lemon Vinaigrette: Lemon zest and juice (I ended up needing 1.5 lemons to yield the right amount of lemon juice; just a side note), olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, dried oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Ingredient notes and variations

  • Red wine vinegar: Red wine vinegar adds a distinctive flavor to this recipe, which I especially love used in combination with Mediterranean-inspired salads. But white wine vinegar is a great substitute if you don’t have the red.
  • Garlic powder: I prefer using this over fresh garlic in dressings – it’s much easier to accurately gauge, as fresh garlic can greatly vary in sharpness and taste. Especially if you’re planning to store the dressing in the fridge for any length of time, I very strongly recommend to stick to garlic powder as the intensity of fresh garlic can increase in a salad dressing over time.
  • Honey: I highly recommend using a mild, clear, runny honey here for best results.
  • Dried oregano: This is my favorite herb to use with lemon flavors, but dried thyme is a close second!

How to make a Lemon Vinaigrette

Making your own vinaigrette couldn’t be any easier – just add everything to a measuring jug, a jar (or even straight to your salad bowl!) and whisk until smoothly combined. Done!

overhead view of loom vinaigrette in glass measuring jug with metal whisk

Then either store it in the fridge, or use it on your favorite salad!

overhead view of lemon vinaigrette in glass measuring jug surrounded by fresh lemons and spoonful of salt

Recipe tips

  • Make sure to fully whisk the mustard and honey into the other ingredients, they are what help to bring the oil, vinegar and lemon juice together to form a smooth dressing.
  • Taste the dressing once finished and adjust vinegar/oil/salt to your personal taste. I do love a tart, salty vinaigrette but I left the recipe balanced so you can make your own choices here.
  • When I make the dressing for storing in the fridge, I like using an old (clean) jam jar. The lid seals tightly and the jar is easy to store!

Storage tips

Store the dressing in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Ideas for using

This is a wonderfully bright dressing that’s great for spring and summer salads. We love it on a Mediterranean couscous salad or as an alternative to Greek salad dressing in Greek Orzo Salad or Greek Pasta Salad. It’s also wonderful with a Tomato, Cucumber and Avocado Salad!

If you use dried thyme instead of dried oregano it goes wonderfully with a strawberry spinach salad, or with a grilled chicken salad!

lemon vinaigrette pouring over salad ingredients from glass measuring jug

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Or browse all of my condiment recipes!

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Printable Recipe Card
angled overhead view of lemon vinaigrette in glass measuring jug
Save Recipe Saved!

Lemon Vinaigrette

This homemade Lemon Vinaigrette is bright and refreshing with lots of flavor from fresh lemon zest and juice. You can even make it ahead and store it in the fridge for a few days for easy meal prep!
Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings
made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
5 from 2 votes
Print Add Review

Recipe details

Prep 5 mins
Total 5 mins
Servings 8 servings (2tbsp each)
Difficulty Easy

Ingredients
 

  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 4-6 tablespoons lemon juice start with 4tbsp, add more to taste
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar OR white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon runny honey
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder or more to taste
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano or more to taste; OR use your favorite fresh or dried herb
  • salt & pepper; to taste

Instructions
 

  • Combine all ingredients in a salad bowl or in a small jar.
  • Immediately use on your favorite salad, or store the dressing in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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Notes

Garlic powder vs fresh garlic: I prefer using dried powder over fresh garlic in dressings – it’s much easier to accurately gauge, as fresh garlic can greatly vary in sharpness and taste. Especially if you’re planning to store the dressing in the fridge for any length of time, I very strongly recommend to stick to garlic powder as the intensity of fresh garlic can increase in a salad dressing over time.
Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Condiment
Cuisine: European

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Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings
About Nora 
When I got married to my professional chef husband, I realized I had to step up my game in the kitchen. Now I share my favorite foolproof family recipes here on Savory Nothings: Chef-approved, kid-vetted and easy enough for everyday home cooks like you and me!   Learn more.

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Hi, I'm Nora! I wasn't always a good cook, but then I fell in love with a professional chef and learned my way around the kitchen. Now I share all my secrets to effortlessly great food here on my blog, bite-sized for home cooks just like me and you.

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