Bright, fresh, and ready in just 10 minutes, this Lemon Herb Dressing is made with fresh herbs, honey, olive oil, and lemon juice for a light, flavorful dressing you’ll want to drizzle on everything.
A few years ago I made it a goal to start making more homemade salad dressings and rely less on the pre-packaged bottles lining the refrigerator door. Don’t get me wrong—there are still a few classics I love and keep on hand. Like Litehouse Ranch will always have a spot in my fridge, but once you realize how easy homemade dressing is to make, it’s hard to go back.
This Lemon Herb Dressing is one of my favorite ways to use up fresh herbs when my garden is overflowing. The combination of bright lemon juice, fragrant herbs, honey extracted straight from our hives, and olive oil creates a light and refreshing dressing that’s perfect during the warmer months. It’s delicious tossed with a simple green salad, but it also doubles as a quick marinade—I’ve even used it on chicken with shallots, lemon slices, and garlic for an easy dinner that turned out absolutely divine.
Ingredients
- Lemon – Fresh lemon juice gives this dressing its bright, tangy flavor. You’ll also use a little lemon zest for extra citrus flavor.
- Olive Oil – A good quality extra-virgin olive oil adds richness and balances the acidity of the lemon juice while creating that classic vinaigrette texture.
- Fresh Herbs – I use fresh herbs I picked directly from my garden like parsley, dill, and green onion.
- Honey – A small amount of honey helps mellow out the tartness and acidity from the lemon and creates a perfectly balanced flavor.
- Dijon Mustard – Dijon mustard adds a subtle tang and helps emulsify the dressing so the oil and lemon juice blend together smoothly.
Directions
In a pint size mason jar (with lid) add the lemon juice and lemon zest. Followed by the honey, dijon mustard, and olive oil. Next up, add the freshly chopped chives, parsley, and dill; followed by salt and pepper to taste. Seal lid and shake until all ingredients are well incorporated. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.
FAQs
Whenever you mix lemon and olive oil together as long as it’s refrigerated it will be good for 1 week.
2 large lemons typically will yield ¼ cup of juice.
This dressing recipe makes about 1 cup of dressing or about 8 –two tablespoon servings.
Tips & Tricks
Here are all my tips and tricks whenever I make my own homemade Lemon Herb Dressing.
- Yield – This recipe makes 1 cup of dressing.
- Serving Size – The typical serving size for salad dressing is 2 tablespoons.
- Blender – To save a few minutes for making this recipe you can easily use a blender so you don’t have to chop all the fresh herbs.
- Lemon – This recipe tastes best with freshly squeeze lemon. If freshly squeeze is not an option you can use a lemon concentrate.
Dressing Recipes
Still craving more fresh salad dressing recipes? Here are a few more of my favorites!
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Lemon Herb Dressing
Equipment
- Mason Jar
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons Honey
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Fresh chives chopped
- 2 tablespoons Fresh parsley chopped
- 2 tablespoons Fresh dill chopped
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Add the ¼ cup Lemon juice and 2 teaspoons Lemon zest to a pint-sized mason jar with a lid.
- Next, add the 2 teaspoons Honey, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, and ⅓ cup olive oil. Stir in the 2 tablespoons Fresh chives, 2 tablespoons Fresh parsley, and 2 tablespoons Fresh dill. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Seal the jar and shake well until the dressing is fully combined. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Yield – This recipe makes 1 cup of dressing.
- Serving Size – The typical serving size for salad dressing is 2 tablespoons.
- Blender – To save a few minutes for making this recipe you can easily use a blender so you don’t have to chop all the fresh herbs.
- Lemon – This recipe tastes best with freshly squeeze lemon. If freshly squeeze is not an option you can use a lemon concentrate.
Sommer @ A Spicy Perspective says
Lovely dressing and shots! 🙂
Katie says
Thanks Sommer for the kind compliments!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
I love a good homemade dressing and this definitely fit the bill, Katie 🙂
Katie says
Thanks Kiran!
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies says
I’m very picky about my salad dressings. They cannot be too heavy; they cannot be to vinegary. This one sounds absolutely perfect!
Katie says
I agree with you Kiersten–it’s hard to find the perfect salad dressing (unless you make your own)!
Julia @ Live Pretty says
Love this recipe! Combines so many of the best ingredients for dressing. Can’t wait to try!
Katie says
Thanks Julia! I had a blast talking last night!
Marie Poulin says
I eat a lot of salad. I love healthy dressing with lemon and herb. Thanks
Julie @ Table for Two says
LOVE the lemon dressing!! it’s always so much better to make your own as you can control everything that goes in it. this sounds like it’s got GREAT flavor so the salad would be extremely delicious and not boring at all!
Katie says
Julie you got it! I love knowing exactly what is in my food!
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
great looking dressing & salad – I love making my own dressings & customizing the flavors just how I want them.
Katie says
Thanks Averie!
JulieD says
Love, love lemons! Can’t wait!! And I love Everyday Food, great magazine, isn’t? This dressing looks awesome and I love the photographs, Katie!!
Katie says
Thanks Julie! I love the iPad version of EDF! I love how dynamic it is. You know I work on my photography daily!