The Best Honey Lemon Vinaigrette in 5 Minutes or Less

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I love making salad dressings from scratch. With all the added sugars, preservatives, and processed oils in store bought dressings, it's so much healthier and simpler to whip up a batch whenever I need it. This honey lemon vinaigrette is simple, healthy, and suuuuppeer yummy. I can’t quite get enough of that sweet lemon honey flavor. 

My favorite kinds of salad dressings are the kind that only take a few minutes to whip up. Here are some other favorites if you’re a fan of delicious tasting salad, like me.

• 3 Ingredient Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
• Quick Caesar (no raw egg)
• Traditional Caesar (with raw egg)
• Sesame Ginger Dressing
• Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing

How to Make Honey Lemon Vinaigrette

This recipe is my favorite kind….so simple, yet it has so much flavor. You just mix it all together in a bowl or mason jar, then pour it over your salad.

Tools Used

• Mason jar with lid or bowl and spoon

Ingredients Used

• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Mustard (yellow, or dijon)
• Honey (or maple syrup)
• Salt - we love this kind because it hasn’t been stripped of the trace minerals

Ingredient Substitutions

Honey

Swapping honey and maple syrup in this recipe is totally fine. Maple syrup works for a vegan lemon vinaigrette dressing. Use what you prefer, or what you have on hand. Swap in a 1:1 ratio.

Lemon Juice

If you're out of fresh lemons, you can swap bottled lemon juice. I think swapping the lemon for lime or orange would also be tasty (although then it would be a lime vinaigrette or orange vinaigrette dressing). I’m a big proponent of using what you have, so use what you have, then let me know in the comments below what works best for you.

Olive Oil

I love using olive oil in my salad dressing because of the Omega 3s and health benefits. If  you use extra virgin olive oil, you may taste the olive flavor (I like it in salad dressings). If you’d prefer not to taste that flavor, you can use a light olive oil. You could also easily substitute a different oil if you’d rather. I’d recommend avocado oil for a mild flavored oil.

FAQ & Troubleshooting

Is vinaigrette dressing healthy?

Vinaigrette salad dressing is typically oil and vinegar. Sometimes there's other ingredients added, too. In this case it's lemon juice, honey, and mustard. It's a great simple salad dressing recipe that's extremely healthy.

Does olive oil and lemon juice dressing need to be refrigerated?

I would recommend keeping this lemon vinaigrette dressing in the refrigerator to ensure it stays fresh. However, if you leave it on the counter overnight, you don’t need to worry about it going bad like you do some dressings. If it separates in the fridge, just shake it up in the jar until it’s combined again. In theory, homemade vinaigrette dressing can go bad, but I’ve never had that happen because we use it up within a week or two of making it.

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