Healthy Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
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This lemon basil vinaigrette adds a bright refreshing flavor to salads, or use it as a marinade. It’s a healthy salad dressing that’s absolutely delicious!
This post was originally shared in 2018.
If you haven’t ever made your own salad dressing, I promise that it is nowhere near as difficult as you might think. All you really need is either a blender or food processor to create a delicious dressing or marinade.
Even though it’s convenient to grab a bottle of vinaigrette at the store, it’s so worth taking the time to make your own.
With homemade dressings, you choose which ingredients to use, so there are no surprises.
This delicious lemon basil vinaigrette has no preservatives, hidden sugars, or other unwanted additives in it.
Adding just a touch of the lemon vinaigrette to a salad will add a giant burst of citrus flavor, and it makes a fantastic marinade for meat, poultry, and seafood! The best part is, it only takes a few minutes to make!
Liz’s Tips for Making the Best Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
- If using a blender cup or small food processor, roughly chop the basil leaves before adding them. This will ensure there are no clumps in the dressing.
- It’s perfectly normal for the vinaigrette to solidify or separate in the refrigerator. Just sit the dressing out on the counter at room temperature for 5 minutes, then stir the ingredients together before serving.
Ingredients in Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
To make this lemon basil dressing you’ll need:
- olive oil
- lemon juice and lemon zest: Do not use concentrated lemon juice—fresh lemon juice tastes much better.
- fresh basil leaves: The size of the leaves doesn’t matter, but throw away any that feel slimy or have bruising or dark spots
- salt: For the best flavor, use sea or kosher salt, not iodized table salt
- black pepper
- garlic powder
Substitutions
Olive Oil: You can substitute avocado oil in place of olive oil.
Lemons: Personally, I have never substituted other citrus fruits for the lemon juice/zest but I think limes or oranges would be really tasty!
Basil: This recipe is meant to be made with fresh basil. If you don’t have fresh herbs it will not taste the same. Fresh parsley or cilantro would work in place of the basil.
It is also helpful to have a citrus juicer, citrus zester, and a food processor for blending the ingredients together.
How to Make a Good Vinaigrette Dressing
Making a homemade dressing is easy—it’s just a matter of balancing the flavors!
- Good Quality Oil – I typically use extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil as a base for my vinaigrette dressings.
- Acidity – You need an acid to cut the fattiness of the oil. Citrus juice, vinegar, or mustards typically work great.
- Spices – Premade spice mixes like these are great, but a teaspoon or two of Italian seasoning will also work great. Truthfully, you can’t go wrong.. so mixing in a little bit of garlic power and your favorite fresh or dried herbs will also do the trick.
- Sweet – I’ve found that occasionally adding something sweet like a bit of honey, jam, or juice can really add a lot of flavor to a dressing as well.
Serving Suggestions
The dressing tastes great on pretty much anything, but I especially love the bright lemon and basil flavors on a strawberry avocado goat cheese salad. Here are other ways to use it:
- As a dressing on strawberry spinach salad, Mediterranean quinoa salad, or blueberry salad
- To marinate chicken, turkey, fish, shrimp. It’s delicious on vegetable kabobs and grilled vegetables in foil, too.
storage
Refrigerator: The lemon basil vinaigrette will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. After that, the basil will start to deteriorate and the lemon may taste too acidic.
Note: The dressing may solidify and/or separate in the refrigerator. This is perfectly normal! Just sit the dressing out on the counter at room temperature for 5 minutes, then stir it together before serving.
Freezing: Because there are fresh herbs in it, I do not recommend freezing the dressing.
How to Store Basil Dressing
Storing: The lemon basil vinaigrette will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. After that, the basil will start to deteriorate and the lemon may taste too acidic.
Separation/solidifying is normal in the refrigerator! Just sit the dressing out on the counter at room temperature for 5 minutes and stir it up before serving.
Freezing: Don’t freeze this dressing. It will not freeze will
Lemon Vinaigrette Recipe FAQ
Lemon dressing is simply made of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, some dried spices and fresh basil.
Citrus dressing will last for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. It’s best eaten fresh.
Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅓ cup packed fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, blend all ingredients until smooth.
- Pour over your favorite salad or use to marinate poultry, seafood, or pork. Enjoy!
Notes
- If using a blender cup or small food processor, roughly chop the basil leaves before adding them. This will ensure there are no clumps in the dressing.
- It’s perfectly normal for the vinaigrette to solidify and/or separate in the refrigerator. Just sit the dressing out on the counter at room temperature for 5 minutes, then stir the ingredients together before serving.
Nutrition Facts
Other healthy dressing recipes
Looking for other homemade dressings? Check out these Healthy Dressing Recipes.
I absolutely love this dressing over riced cauliflower, my mouth salivates just thinking about it! I use it with shredded chicken too.
Is this good over fresh greens cherry tomatoes and mozzarella – like a cprese salad taste?
I think it would be good, but I’ve never tried it!
I Love this salad dressing. Sometimes I
mix it with ranch. But, I do not eat a salad at home without it.
So glad you like it, Tammy! Thank you!
I made this and added some other fresh herbs from my garden (basil, spicy oregano, Greek oregano, and English thyme)!! Very easy to make and very delicious!!
This is a perfect blend of favors and very easy to make. A family favorite
OMG! All the money I spend on primal kitchen or Tessamae dressings and this was so easy and delicious!!! My son an his fiancé were over for dinner and they loved it! My new go to dressing for sure!
So happy you like it, Liz! Thank you!
Does this store well in the fridge if I were to premake it for the week? How long would you say it stays good?
Looks so yummy! Can’t wait to try!
This basil dressing will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, after that the basil will start to deteriorate and the lemon may taste too acidic.
This dressing is best enjoyed same day!
I’ve been using this as well for a marinade for chicken and it’s incredible. Also makes a great dipping sauce for steak kabobs!
So glad you enjoy it, Lana! It is the perfect marinade or dressing!
Delicious! I used 2 T lemon juice this time instead of the 3T,, and I liked it better. It’s a really quick, easy, and refreshing dressing.
Thanks, Liz! Glad you enjoyed it!
Do you
Think it would be as good with lime instead of lemon?
I think it would be!
I make something similar with lime and cilantro instead of lemon and basil and it’s delish!
Under nutritional facts, why would you use 1 oz. instead of how many tablespoons per serving? Who is going to measure out 1 oz? Commercial dressings use tablesppons
Hi Barbara – I updated it to include both ounces and tablespoons. If you use google you can easily find that 1 oz = 2 tablespoons. Thanks for the feedback!
Made this and we loved it. Very fresh tasting.
No reason for lemons to just sit in the bin. Thanks for the recipe!❤
Thank you Linda! This is definitely a great way to use up lemons if you have a bunch on hand!
This was super easy to make and absolutely delicious. I used it on arugula with fried eggs and blueberries for breakfast.
I’m glad you liked it Lana! That sounds delicious!
Try it and loved it! Loved how easy it was to make!
So glad you liked it, Ellen 🙂