This Homemade Honey Lemon Vinaigrette is light, bright, and lemony - sunshine in a jar, honestly. It comes together in about 5 minutes with ingredients you probably already have, and we make a fresh batch almost every week. It's the kind of dressing that genuinely makes you want to eat a salad. 🤤
⭐ "Best lemon vinaigrette I've made! I've swapped this for all others. Thanks so much!" - Dina
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This Lemon Honey Dressing Goes on Everything 🍋
Here's the thing about this honey lemon vinaigrette - it's not hard, but it feels fancy. Simple pantry staples, five minutes, and suddenly your Tuesday night salad feels a little bougie. It's one of those recipes that makes you feel like you're doing something really nice for yourself, even when dinner is just mixed greens and whatever's in the fridge.
What makes it so good? The balance. Fresh lemon juice brings the brightness, honey rounds it out with just enough sweetness, and Dijon mustard gives it a little zing while helping everything emulsify into a smooth, creamy dressing. We add a touch of apple cider vinegar and dried oregano for depth - it's simple, but it's not boring.
Toss it with a quick arugula spinach salad or green bean feta salad, drizzle it over grilled chicken, or use it as a light marinade for salmon. It's beautiful with anything that has a little sweetness or a peppery bite - try our grilled peach salad, or apple arugula salad. Chamere's go-to is a big bowl of greens with whatever we've got on hand - don't overthink it, that's the whole point. 😉
🍯 Ingredients for Honey Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing
This recipe keeps things beautifully simple - just a handful of pantry staples that pack a lot of flavor!
How to Make Lemon Honey Vinaigrette 🍋
This comes together fast - no cooking required!
- Step 1: Add the olive oil and apple cider vinegar to a food processor or blender.
🫒 A note on your oil: Extra virgin olive oil adds great flavor here, but it is a strong flavor. If you prefer a lighter, more neutral dressing, swap it for avocado oil or canola oil. If you do use olive oil, use something good quality - it's the base of your dressing, so you'll taste it!
🍎 Apple cider vinegar is our go-to, but not your only option! White wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, or white balsamic all work beautifully here. Each one shifts the flavor a little - white balsamic is softer, red wine vinegar adds more depth. Use what you have!
- Step 2: Add the fresh lemon juice, honey, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, dried oregano, kosher salt, and ground black pepper.
🍋 Always use fresh lemon juice! Bottled lemon juice falls flat in a vinaigrette - the fresh stuff makes a huge difference. Roll the lemon on the counter before cutting to get more juice out of it.
✨ Want extra zing? Add some lemon zest! Zesting the lemon before juicing it adds a brighter, more concentrated lemon flavor. It's a small step that takes the dressing from great to really great.
- Step 3: Process or blend until completely smooth and emulsified. You want a creamy, uniform dressing with no separation.
💡 No food processor or blender? No problem. You can absolutely whisk this by hand or shake it in a mason jar. If whisking, add everything except the olive oil first, then slowly stream the oil in while whisking vigorously - this helps it emulsify. Heating the honey for a few seconds first also helps it blend in more easily.
- Step 4: Let the dressing chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes before serving if you can. This helps the flavors develop and come together, plus, the dressing might be a little warm from all the blending.
🍯 Adjust the sweetness to taste. We like ours with a good drizzle of honey, but add more if you like it sweeter, or pull back a little if you prefer more tang. There's no wrong answer here!
Drizzle over your favorite salad and enjoy! Try it with our blackberry salad, cabbage carrot & herb salad, or alongside lemon herb chicken for a light, fresh dinner.
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If you make this Easy Honey Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing, we'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment below and rate the recipe. Share with us by tagging us on Instagram! We love seeing your creations! 📸
📖 Recipe
Homemade Honey Lemon Vinaigrette Recipe (5-Minute!)
Equipment
- food processor (or a blender, mason jar, or just a whisk!)
Ingredients
- ½ cup oil 4 oz
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey to taste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender.½ cup oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Process until completely smooth and emulsified.
- Chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes if possible, then drizzle over your favorite salad and enjoy!
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Notes
- No food processor or blender? Whisk it by hand or shake it in a mason jar! If whisking, add everything except the olive oil to a mixing bowl first, then slowly stream the oil in while whisking vigorously. If using a jar, add everything, seal tightly, and shake until smooth. Heating the honey for a few seconds first helps it blend in more easily.
- Always use fresh lemon juice. Bottled lemon juice falls flat in a vinaigrette - fresh makes a huge difference.
- Oil options: Extra virgin olive oil adds great flavor, but if you prefer something lighter, avocado oil or canola oil work well too.
- Vinegar options: White wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, or white balsamic can all be swapped in for the apple cider vinegar. Each shifts the flavor slightly - white balsamic is softer, red wine vinegar adds more depth.
- No Dijon? Stone ground mustard works as a substitute.
- Herb swaps: Try dried basil, thyme, or Italian seasoning in place of oregano.
- Sweetener swap: Maple syrup or agave nectar both work in place of honey. The flavor will shift slightly - maple adds warmth, agave keeps things more neutral.
- Salt: We use Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If using Morton's or table salt, start with about half the amount and adjust to taste - it's significantly saltier by volume.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. Do not freeze. If the dressing separates, just give it a quick shake or whisk - it comes right back together.
- Try this vinaigrette on: arugula spinach salad, green bean feta salad, apple arugula salad, or alongside lemon herb chicken.
SUSAN HURWITH says
Very simple and very tasty!
Briana says
So glad to hear you love it Susan! Thanks for the feedback! 🙂
Sara says
I don't like the taste of olive oil, do you have suggestions for alternative?
Briana says
Hi Sara,
Yes, as stated in the substitutions section, avocado oil or any neutral oil would work great. Enjoy! 🙂
Robyn Enders says
Try using Avacado oil...very light and neutral taste
Chris says
I didn’t have honey, so I swapped out and used real maple syrup. Delicious!
Briana says
So glad to hear about the swap you made, and so happy you enjoyed it!
Trudy says
This is my go to dressing for every day salads. Awesome!
Briana says
That is so awesome to hear Trudy! Thanks so much for letting us know how much you like it! 🙂
Lindsey Blanks says
Absolutely delish and so simple! Made it just as the recipe stated 🤌 This will def be in our rotation.
Briana says
So happy to hear this Lindsey! Thanks so much for trying it and for letting us know what you think!! 🙂
Mary Ellen says
What type of greens and toppings are suggested with this dressing?
Jennifer says
This is amazing!! I will be making this again and again. Yum!
Briana says
Thanks so much for your review, Jennifer! We're so glad you enjoy it so much! 🙂
April says
A flavorful dressing that I have made over and over again since I found this recipe!
Briana says
That is so awesome to hear, April! Thanks so much for your review! 🙂
Tan says
It’s very tasty dressing. I like spicy so I put in 5 big cloves of garlic and 1 tablespoon of spicy vinegar with 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. It turned out great for me. Thank you!
Briana says
That sounds delicious Tan, thanks so much for your review! 🙂
Veronica says
This is a fabulous recipe. The only thing I do different is add fresh basil instead of oregano. It’s so fresh and everyone asks for the recipe.
Briana says
Fresh basil sounds so good in this! We're so happy you enjoy it so much, thank you so much for the awesome comment! 🙂
Chellie Lynn says
Absolutely delightful! I am on a keto diet so this is perfect for a healthy diet, PLUS it's truly delishous!
Briana says
Aww yay!! We're so glad to hear this, Chellie! Thanks for the comment 🙂
Heather B says
This is absolutely delicious and my go to dressing for pasta salad…. well any salad!
Briana says
This is so great to hear Heather! Thanks so much!! 🙂
Dina Alley says
Best lemon vinaigrette I’ve made! I’ve swapped this for all others. Thanks so much!
Briana says
You made our day, Dina! So glad you enjoy it and thank you so much for the kind review! 🙂
Elena Murphy says
I wanted a special dressing for my homegrown lettuce and this was perfect! It will be my new favorite!
Jaime says
How big is a serving if it makes 12 servings? Looks so good!
Briana says
Hey Jamie, We're not exactly sure, but to find out, you could weigh the entire amount of dressing with a food scale, and then divide by 12. We didn't actually do it ourselves, but we feel like it's a very solid amount of dressing when we make it!
Penny says
Love it!
Briana says
Thank you so much Penny!