Homemade lemon basil vinaigrette recipe
This lemon basil vinaigrette comes together in 5 minutes and is so much better than anything store-bought. The citrus and herbs give this homemade salad dressing so much flavor!
I’ll give you variations and substitutions where I can, plus helpful tips and tricks for success. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.
You may also be interested in my orange ginger dressing and my sherry lime vinaigrette recipes. For ease of browsing, you can find all of my salad recipes in one place.
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Lemon basil vinaigrette
This lemon vinaigrette dressing is absolutely full of flavor from the basil, mint, and lemongrass. Homemade vinaigrettes are one of the easiest things to make. If you are not confident in the kitchen, this is a great place to start. A handful of ingredients and 5 minutes is all it takes to make something delicious.
The perfect vinaigrette ratio
The ratio of oil to acid is 3 parts oil to 1 part acid. In this case, the acid is citrus juice. It can also be vinegar. This ratio will give you an emulsified vinaigrette, meaning that it will not separate as quickly as vinaigrettes that are shaken or whisked together.
That’s the only rule to remember. From there, you can make endless variations.
Ingredients
- Herbs – Basil, mint, and lemongrass give this vinaigrette a ton of flavor.
- Substitutions: Swap out the herbs for any others that you love.
- Olive oil – Make sure it is an olive oil that you like on its own, because you will taste it in the finished dressing.
- Lemon and lime – For extra citrus flavor, use the zest as well as the juice.
- Shallot – Shallots have a mild onion flavor that pairs very well in homemade vinaigrette.
- Honey – A little sweetness to balance the citrus.
- Salt and pepper – Everything needs to be seasoned.
How to make
Here’s a quick summary of how to make lemon basil vinaigrette. Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe.
- Prep – Gather all of your ingredients. Add everything except the oil to a quart-sized jar or container (I’m using a deli container).
- Blend – Give the ingredients a quick blend to break up the herbs and mix everything together.
- Emulsify – Very slowing add the oil in a thin stream while blending.
- Store – Transfer vinaigrette to an airtight container, or serve immediately.
Lemon basil vinaigrette FAQ’s
Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, this herb vinaigrette will last about 10 days.
You can use any oil that you prefer. I like a combination of avocado oil and olive oil, as it lightens up the flavor a bit.
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Variations and substitutions
- Herbs – You can use this herb vinaigrette as a jumping off point to endless variations. You can swap out the herbs I used for parsley, cilantro, Thai basil, dill, etc.
- Citrus – The lime juice can be swapped out for orange or grapefruit, or omitted entirely, and you can only use lemon. There are endless ways to make it your own.
Serving suggestions
This lemon vinaigrette recipe is good on more than just green salads. We love it as a quick marinade for grilled chicken, fish, or vegetables. The basil gives it a beautiful color. It is also a great dressing for this summer grain salad.
Helpful tools and equipment
- An immersion blender is perfect for making a quick vinaigrette.
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Lemon basil vinaigrette
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ shallot minced
- 1 teaspoon lemongrass finely chopped, if using fresh
- ¼ cup basil leaves
- 3 tablespoons mint leaves
- 2 tablespoons honey *see note
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice *see note
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 1 ½ cups olive oil *see note
Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients except the oil in the blender, or in a quart-size container if you are using an immersion blender.
- Blend on low speed for 15 – 20 seconds to break up the herbs and mix everything together until it is uniform.
- Increase speed to medium and very slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture in a thin stream (while blending), until it is fully incorporated. *You will notice that it visibly becomes thicker once you start to reach the emulsification stage.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Notes
- You may need to give it a shake to mix it up again if it separates. This will happen after it’s been sitting in the fridge.
- To give your dressing a spicy zing, try using hot honey instead of regular honey.
- Instead of lemon and lime juices, you can use 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Just stick to the 3:1 ratio!
- For extra citrus flavor, add 2 teaspoons of lemon and/or lime zest to the dressing.
- Olive oil can be a little heavy, so a good option is to mix it with a lighter flavored oil like avocado oil.
Nutrition
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Originally published 4/20/12, most recent update 4/2/25.