This creamy Lemon Vinaigrette recipe tastes like salad dressing from an upscale restaurant! It’s easy to make and works as a veggie dip too!
After making homemade salad dressing, I started eating more salads because the dressing brings the salad to the next level! I also keep fresh-cut vegetables in the refrigerator and use this dressing as a yummy dip.
What You’ll Find In This Post
Lemon Vinaigrette Ingredients
The ingredients needed for lemon vinaigrette salad dressing are simple, and most of them are already in your kitchen!
- Olive Oil: We used olive oil to make this recipe, but you could substitute another oil, such as vegetable oil or grapeseed oil.
- Lemon Juice: For the best results, use freshly squeezed lemon juice to make this vinaigrette. But in a pinch, you can substitute bottled lemon juice.
- Grated Parmesan: You’ll want to use freshly grated Parmesan cheese is the best results. You can grate it yourself or find it already grated in the deli section of your grocery store.
- Mayonnaise: The mayonnaise makes the dressing creamy and helps bring it all together. We used Hellman’s mayonnaise, but you can substitute it with Miracle Whip, but it will alter the flavor.
- Honey: Since there is a lot of lemon juice in this recipe, the honey cuts down the tartness. You can skip this ingredient or substitute it with another sweetener if you prefer.
- Ground Mustard: Coarse ground mustard works really well in this recipe, but we often use dried ground mustard since we always have it on hand.
- Seasonings: For this recipe, we added dried parsley, garlic powder, coarse ground black pepper, and sea salt for the seasonings. Fresh parsley and minced garlic cloves could be used as well.
How To Make Lemon Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
To make this homemade creamy lemon vinaigrette salad dressing, you’ll need a powerful blender or a food processor. Either one of those kitchen tools will blend all of the ingredients together, creating a delicious creamy dressing.
Squeeze juice from the lemons until you have 1/2 cup of juice.
Put all of the ingredients in a powerful blender (or use a food processor) and blend on high speed until creamy.
Transfer the dressing to a small pitcher for serving and pouring on salads. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve, and stir before serving.
If you want a thicker vinaigrette to use as a veggie dip, place it in the refrigerator. The dressing will thicken in the fridge. You can also stir in a tablespoon of powdered ranch dressing mix to thicken it even more!
Frequently Asked Questions
A vinaigrette is a combination of an oil such as olive oil or grapeseed oil and an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice. It is used as a salad dressing or marinade.
The dressing needs to be properly stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If it contains sour cream, buttermilk, eggs, or fresh ingredients such as minced onion, minced garlic, or herbs, it should be used within 2-3 days. Dressing made with mayonnaise or freshly squeezed citrus juice should be used within 3-4 days.
Yes, you substitute the lemon juice with lime juice or another citrus juice such as orange or grapefruit.
The honey will help cut the tartness, but you can also add use less lemon juice or add additional olive oil.
More Dressing Recipes
- Homemade Ranch Dressing is so much better than the bottled kind!
- Poppy Seed Dressing is perfect on a strawberry spinach salad.
- Chipotle Ranch Dressing is a delicious dip as well as a dressing.
- Use Italian Dressing on a copycat Olive Garden Italian Salad.
Salad Recipes To Make
- Make a 7 Layer Salad ahead of time to bring to a potluck or party.
- Macaroni Salad is a classic choice that is popular year-round.
- Taco Salad is an easy weeknight family dinner choice.
- A Tomato Cucumber Salad is filled with fresh summer veggies.
Lemon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- ¾ cup olive oil
- ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice about 4 lemons
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Squeeze enough juice from the lemons until you have ½ cup of juice.
- Put all of the ingredients into a powerful blender or a food processor.
- Blend until smooth.
- Pour into a pitcher for serving. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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