The Best Lemon Herb Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe

This easy lemon herb vinaigrette recipe goes with everything and is a basic cooking essential to have in your line-up. It’s a versatile dressing full of fresh herbs and flavor, with just the right amount of zing.

The beauty of homemade salad dressing recipes is that you can use them in so many ways. Try this on a simple side salad, leafy greens, steamed new potatoes, or grilled vegetables, and they come to life. Salad doesn’t need to be boring, it can excite the taste buds just as much as anything else.

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📖 Ingredients List

The basic components of a good salad dressing are oil, acid, sweet, salty, and aromatics (like herbs or spices). Then, we also need emulsifying agents but some of the components are multitaskers and double up.

1. Dill, Taragon, Mint, thyme or Basil – This is your main herb, and it will be the dominant flavor. Choose one that best complements the dish you are dressing or the main dish you are serving alongside it. Dill works with fish and chicken. Tarragon also works with fish and chicken but also complements steak well. Thyme works with chicken and lamb. Mint is great with lamb, or dishes with a Middle Eastern or Asian profile. Basil is a summer all-rounder, I love it on tomato dishes or those with a Mediterranean profile.
2. Parsley – This is one of the dressing’s base herbs. Fresh parsley is one of those fresh herbs that works with anything; it is a great all-rounder and helps heighten all the other flavors.
3. Chives – Fresh chives have a mild garlicky/onion taste and add a bit of oomph and depth to the lemon herb vinaigrette.
4. Fresh lemons – Both lemon juice and lemon zest add fresh lemon flavor and enhance everything else for a bright flavor.
5. Shallot – This has a sweeter, milder taste than onion, which is why chefs love cooking with it so much. The shallot will pickle slightly in the simple vinaigrette dressing.
6. Olive Oil—I use mild olive oil or a neutral oil like canola oil in most of my salad dressings. The only time I will use a strong-flavored oil like sesame oil or coconut oil is if it fits the flavor profile of the accompanying dish. Extra-virgin olive oil can have a strong, bitter taste so I often avoid it for this reason.
7. White wine vinegar—You can also substitute apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, or sherry vinegar in this lemon vinaigrette recipe, but avoid vinegars like balsamic.
8. Mustard Powder – This is just ground mustard seeds so it has a much stronger taste than mustard. You can substitute one teaspoon of mustard powder for one tablespoon of Dijon mustard. Mustard is an emulsifier, so it allows the oil to mix with the other ingredients.
9. Honey or powdered sugar (optional) – if you like your dressings on the sweeter side, a pinch of powdered sugar or a drop of honey will soften the lemon herb dressing.
10. Salt and cracked black pepper – I prefer flaky sea salt in my salad dressings, as it will dissolve into the vinaigrette.

👩🏼‍🍳 Instructions

1. Finely dice the shallot and chop the fresh herbs.
2. Measure the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard powder, and lemon zest into a jar or small bowl and shake vigorously or whisk to combine. It should fully emulsify and become creamy.
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and then stir in the fresh herbs.
4. Toss with salad leaves, or drizzle over freshly cooked vegetables.

👩🏼‍🍳 Chef’s Tips & Serving suggestions

Once you have this basic herb vinaigrette dressing down, you can adapt it to suit a different flavor profile. The same simple ingredients create the base, but then use different herbs depending on what else you are serving. For example, I love it with dill in the springtime on a potato asparagus salad on the side of a juicy citrus herb spatchcock chicken. Or I use tarragon and toss it with salad greens on the side of a juicy steak. You can also mix this lemon herb vinaigrette with a bit of mayonnaise and use it to dress coleslaw or cold cooked meats like leftover chicken.

❄️ Storage & Freezing

Once you have added the fresh herbs to this lemon vinaigrette dressing, it is best served as soon as possible. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 2-3 days.

A useful kitchen hack is to make the dressing and freeze it in ice cube trays for future use. Simply defrost as many servings as you need and mix in the fresh herbs before serving.

🥣 Equipment

I make this lemon herb vinaigrette dressing in an old (clean) jam jar or small mason jar and give it a good shake with the lid on to emulsify. It really is the only piece of kit you need for homemade dressings other than a knife, some tablespoons, and teaspoons!

❓Recipe FAQ

🍽 Salad recipes

Try this lemon herb salad dressing on some of these tasty dishes.