Fresh Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette
You know what makes or breaks a salad? A really good salad dressing…and this fresh lemon dijon vinaigrette has a bright, zesty flavour that goes well with so many different salad combinations! It’s an easy dijon dressing that you’ll use again and again.
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I never buy salad dressings. Making your own is SO easy and will save you A) a ton of cash and B) from having a graveyard of half used salad dressings. And the dietitian in me wants to tell you that making your own dressings means you can use extra virgin olive oil, my go-to oil, because commercial dressings never use the stuff.
Sauces and dressings are the stuff that brings so many plant-based recipes together, adding another layer of flavour. And I use this lemon dijon dressing A LOT. It gives my herby lentil salad its signature zip!
Like the saying goes, “What’s a vegan’s favourite food? It’s sauce!”
Funny, but also true. You’ll notice that there are a lot of dressing and sauce recipes in Good For Your Gut cookbook…because, sauce…and so I thought it was time I start bulking up the selection here on the website, including this juicy, tangy fresh lemon dijon vinaigrette.
How to make this next level fresh lemon dijon vinaigrette
We kinda use the words dressing and vinaigrette interchangeably, but a vinaigrette is made from an oil and an acid. Often that’s a vinegar…but I make a lot of vinaigrettes with lime juice and lemon juice because I love the fresh taste.
But/and/also, my oldest has this thing against vinegar. Can’t stand the smell of it…and therefore will not eat any dressing that smells like vinegar. Hence, I am now a fresh lemon vinaigrette kind of person.
You might have questions about the sugar here…so let’s go there. Believe the dietitian when I say, using 1-2 teaspoons of sugar in a dressing that’s going to help you LOVE eating piles of fresh vegetables is a non-issue. I use plain cane sugar, which helps neutralize the acidity of the mustard and lemon. Diabetic? Try monk fruit, a great alternative sweetener.
Tips, Tricks + Suggestions
- Do NOT sub yellow mustard for dijon here. Totally different flavour profile.
- No lemons on hand? Use a smaller amount of a milder vinegar here, like 3 tablespoons white wine or champagne vinegar. You could also use apple cider vinegar (perhaps 2 tablespoons to start) and adjust sugar as necessary to balance out the acidity.
- Try this maple dijon variation! Just swap the sugar for maple syrup for a luscious maple flavour.
- This dijon dressing keeps for a week! Just bring it to room temp, shake and enjoy.
More deliciously simple salad dressings!
- Nourishing Maple Tahini Dressing (5 min!)
- 5 Minute Creamy Balsamic Dressing (Vegan)
- Healthy Vegan Caesar Dressing Recipe
- Nutritional Yeast Dressing with Dijon and Maple
- Homemade Garlic Vinaigrette
Fresh Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, or avocado oil
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2-3 teaspoons cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add your oil, lemon juice, Dijon, sugar, salt and pepper to a jar or bowl.
- Place lid on jar and shake (or whisk in bowl!) until well combined. Can be stored in fridge for up to one week.
Notes
14 Comments on “Fresh Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette”
I mixed up a batch of this dressing so I could use it in the Marinated White Bean Side Salad you can find on this site and the dressing is amazingly simple and totally delicious!
Yay!! So glad you like the dressing..and the salad 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a rating and review, it really helps others discover the recipe.
Made this last Thursday and we’ve been using it ever since in all our salads. It comes together very simple, it’s easy and it’s so delicious! Thanks for sharing!
It’s maybe my number 1 standard dressing in this house!! SO glad you like it Mari.
That is a lovely dressing thank you. How long does it last before it goes off please?
So glad you like it! It will easily keep for 3-4 days in the fridge.
I’ve made this several times now because it’s so addictive!! I topped w crab meat the first time-delish! Today I just added tuna to my bowl. The lemon dressing is so good I could eat it by the spoonful! Thx
Oh I am so glad you like it! I agree…it’s so dang craveable 🙂
Way to much mustard for this recipe
I really love the richness of the extra mustard, but it does require the sugar to balance the acidity! You could totally cut the mustard amount in half if you like!
So simple and tastes amazing!
So glad you enjoyed it Elaine! A good dressing really makes a salad 🙂
Desiree
Hi Desiree,
You have so many helpful ideas that I wanted to share one that has worked well for me.
For the Lemon Dijon dressing, soups etc., I usually have on hand a bag of organic (i.e., I zest the peel) lemons. I zest them all, then halve lemons and grind the juice manually. The zest and juice is poured into ice cube containers, frozen, then cubes are placed in plastic bag for future recipes. The zest in combination with juice heightens the flavour.
Same process with limes – again organic when zesting rind.
Virginia
That sounds amazing, Virginia. What a great tip!