Lemon Dill Vinaigrette

Use up your fresh dill in this simple dill vinaigrette that’s made with just a handful of staple ingredients. Made with fresh lemon juice and Dijon, this dressing is bright and tart, making it the perfect vinaigrette for a green salad on the fly. It’s also incredibly versatile—if you don’t have lemon on hand you can use any light vinegar like white wine vinegar or rice vinegar.

Why This Recipe Works

This super simple vinaigrette is bright, fresh and great on just about any green salad.

When it comes to homemade vinaigrettes, we usually make them with equal parts oil and acid (citrus juice or vinegar). But for this recipe, we pulled back on the lemon juice a bit to give the dressing a thicker, more creamy texture. (Don’t worry, it’s still very much a lemony dill vinaigrette!)

Additionally, we load up the vinaigrette with fresh dill, a bit of shallot and Dijon which adds flavor and emulsifies the vinaigrette. 

Ingredients 

Oil 

Extra-virgin olive oil is always our choice for no-cook methods. It adds tons of flavor, and depending on the brand and origin, it can add fruity, spicy or even citrusy notes to your dressing. 

Lemon 

Fresh lemon juice is so key when it comes to homemade vinaigrettes! Fresh is always best. For even more lemony flavor, consider adding some minced lemon zest to the vinaigrette too. If you don’t have fresh lemons, feel free to use white wine vinegar.

Shallot

99% of the time we will be adding minced shallot to our vinaigrettes. We like the oniony/garlicky flavor it adds. Feel free to use garlic instead, but only add 1 small clove. 

Dill

Fresh dill is the star of the show here! We do not recommend using dried dill weed—it’s just not nearly as flavorful. If you’re in a pinch, use 1 tablespoon dried dill weed and adjust to taste with more as needed. If you do grab some fresh dill you can use any leftovers in our Dill Pickle Pasta Salad, our Healthy Dill Ranch Dressing, Nicoise Salad and our Lemon Butter Salmon with Dill Peas.

Dijon mustard

Dijon is a classic ingredient in vinaigrettes. It adds a delicious savory note while also emulsifying the oil and lemon juice (or vinegar) together. Do not use prepared yellow mustard. You can substitute with whole-grain or stone-ground mustard if needed. 

Honey

We’ll always use a natural sweetener when it’s possible. Honey and maple syrup are two of our favorites for sauces and dressings. Just a couple of teaspoons of honey is all that’s needed to balance out the flavors of this dill vinaigrette. 

How to Use This Dill Vinaigrette

• Drizzle it over our Tuna Nicoise Salad or Salmon Nicoise Salad—dinner perfection!
• Toss it with some white beans and fresh herbs to make a version of this bean salad. 
• Take our Simple Fennel Salad and add a bit more pizzazz by tossing it with this dill vinaigrette!
• Nix the creamy dill ranch for this dill vinaigrette in our Butter Lettuce Salad.
• Drizzle it over large chunks of feta cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers for a super easy Greek salad.

More Vinaigrettes to Try

Our Classic Vinaigrette is a great recipe to keep on hand and riff on. Use it as a reference for ingredient ratios, but make it your own with different herbs and spices.

This Mustard Vinaigrette is super-savory and great drizzled over a hearty French Lentil Salad.

Try this Toasted Cumin Vinaigrette with our show-stopping Apple Walnut Salad.

Sauces & Dressings

How to Make a Simple Mustard Vinaigrette Recipe 

Salads

French Lentil Salad with Feta

Side Salad

Apple Walnut Salad

Sauces & Dressings

Classic Vinaigrette Recipe