There’s a good chance you have all of the ingredients on hand for the delicious lemon vinaigrette dressing. It’s light, fresh and an easy go-to because it works on just about any salad.
Another #EBFbasics recipe coming at ya! I kicked off this new series on Eating Bird Food with quick pickled onions and now I want to share a vinaigrette that works in so many recipes!
I was introduced to the world of homemade dressings thanks to my aunt… at least from what I remember. We typically had store-bought dressings at home and not healthy store-bought salad dressings — my favorite was Catalina, which is essentially liquid sugar disguised as a tomato-based dressing. The first time I had a homemade vinaigrette was at my aunt’s house and I’ve been obsessed with homemade dressings since (check out some of my personal favs here). One huge reason I love salads so much is homemade dressings. #gamechangers
If you’re typically just an oil and vinegar gal when it comes to salads, promise me you’ll give this basic lemon vinaigrette a try! It will take your salads to the next level even though it is so dang simple. And it goes well on just about any salad. If you don’t have a go-to vinaigrette recipe, this can be yours. This could also be used as a base vinaigrette recipe – build on this to make your signature vinaigrette. I have used it in bowls and even as a dipping sauce for chopped veggies.
A few notes on this recipe:
I love adding a hint of sweetness to my salad dressings just to round out the flavors and make salads more satisfying to me. If you don’t like adding sweeteners or are watching your sugar intake, you can always leave the sweetener out, use less or use a natural zero-sugar sweetener like stevia instead.
I chose to add oregano to this base recipe because I’m a big oregano fan, but feel free to spruce this dressing up with any herb of your choice!
This recipe can be whisked, blended in a blender or even shaken up in a mason jar. Pick whichever method is easiest for you.
What’s your go-to salad dressing? Any requests for the next #EBFbasics post?
A light, fresh and an easy lemon vinaigrette that works on just about any salad.
Ingredients
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup (or stevia, to taste)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 Tablespoon fresh)
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup + 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
Whisk together all ingredients except the olive oil in a small bowl. Slowly pour olive oil into the bowl and whisk together until emulsified. You can also blend everything together in your blender or shake the dressing together in a jar.
Make sure you don’t save this dressing for long periods of time in the fridge. Raw garlic in a closed container will create an aerobic environment causing potentially contaminated garlic to release botulism toxins (the layer of oil will only aid to this). Wouldn’t want anyone to accidentally get botulism from not knowing the potential danger!
ok guys – i did make this yesterday and it was FANTASTIC!! this will be my new dressing for quite a few dif. things (marinating chicken in, salad greens, cucumber /tomato/ onion salad….) YUM. (I did use some lemon stevia to add a lite touch of sweet.) I used it on the cucumber… salad let it sit for an hour in frig. and the whole bowl was gone! Thx for the recipe. 🙂
Your post with your 6 favorite salad dressings is what got me started on making my own vinaigrettes at home, and I haven’t turned back to store-bought once since! Love how many options there are too 🙂
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How do you store this if there is some leftover? Countertop or fridge?
Hi Amber. Definitely store it in the refrigerator. 🙂
Make sure you don’t save this dressing for long periods of time in the fridge. Raw garlic in a closed container will create an aerobic environment causing potentially contaminated garlic to release botulism toxins (the layer of oil will only aid to this). Wouldn’t want anyone to accidentally get botulism from not knowing the potential danger!
ok guys – i did make this yesterday and it was FANTASTIC!! this will be my new dressing for quite a few dif. things (marinating chicken in, salad greens, cucumber /tomato/ onion salad….) YUM. (I did use some lemon stevia to add a lite touch of sweet.) I used it on the cucumber… salad let it sit for an hour in frig. and the whole bowl was gone! Thx for the recipe. 🙂
★★★★★
omg! sounds amazing! I make my own dressings and am always looking for a new one to enjoy…. am going to mak this aften. THX!!!! 🙂
Your post with your 6 favorite salad dressings is what got me started on making my own vinaigrettes at home, and I haven’t turned back to store-bought once since! Love how many options there are too 🙂