This lemon Dijon dressing (or lemon Dijon vinaigrette) is the perfect everyday salad dressing to keep stocked in your fridge! It’s zesty, fresh, and easy to make in 5 minutes or less. It pairs well with green salads, grain salads, and can also be used as a marinade for fish, shrimp or another protein.

Jar of lemon dijon dressing next to lemon halves

As a Registered Dietitian, one of my top tips for making vegetables taste amazing is to add a delicious homemade sauce or dressing.

This vinaigrette-style lemon dijon dressing is the best everyday simple salad dressing recipe you can keep in your back pocket. It’s bright, tangy, zesty, and fresh!

It’s made with pantry ingredients and it pairs perfectly with just about any salad recipe.

It would taste fantastic with my raw cauliflower salad, apple cranberry walnut salad, or roasted beet salad!

This recipe is vegetarian, gluten free, nut free and soy free.

This dressing takes just a few minutes to prepare. It makes about half a cup of salad dressing – enough for one BIG salad to serve a crowd, or several individual sized salads.

lemon dijon dressing ingredients measured out on a light backdrop

Ingredients in lemon Dijon dressing

  • Lemon: Fresh lemon juice is key – don’t use pre-bottled!
  • Dijon mustard: This type of mustard originates from France. It has a tangy, sharp, and slightly spicy flavor. Lemon juice and Dijon mustard are a fantastic flavor combination.
  • Extra virgin olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is less processed than regular olive oil, and therefore it maintains more flavor. EVOO is ideal for homemade salad dressings, adding grassy, fruity, peppery, and nutty flavor notes.
  • Shallot or garlic: Minced shallot or garlic adds a delicious bite to any homemade vinaigrette.
  • Honey: A bit of liquid sweetener cuts the acidity of the lemon juice. You can use maple syrup instead to make a vegan vinaigrette.
  • Salt and pepper

Did you know? Mustard doesn’t just add flavor to salad dressing, it’s also an excellent emulsifier! Mustard and other emulsifiers encourage the oil and acid (lemon juice) in dressings to stick together without separating.

Kitchen equipment needed

You don’t need anything fancy to make this salad dressing! Just a small mixing bowl, a small whisk or fork, a knife, a cutting board, and a jar for storing the dressing.

A lemon juicer is very helpful, but not completely necessary, for squeezing out lemon juice.

Step-by-step instructions

salad dressing ingredients in a glass bowl before being whisked
1. To a small mixing bowl, add lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey, shallot, salt, and pepper.
small whisk in a glass bowl of salad dressing
2. Whisk everything together to combine.
Lemon dijon salad dressing in a glass bowl with a small whisk
3. Slowly pour in the extra virgin olive oil, whisking vigorously until the dressing is cohesive and emulsified.

More homemade salad dressing recipes

Storage

Homemade salad dressing doesn’t contain any preservatives, so it won’t last as long as a bottle of store bought dressing.

Keep this dressing in a jar with a lid for 7-10 days in the fridge. It may separate while stored – give the jar a good shake to re-combine the ingredients.

Since olive oil is an unsaturated fat, it may harden in the fridge due to the cold temperature. If this happens, just let the jar sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes, or run the jar under warm water to bring the olive oil back to liquid state.

Serving suggestions

This is a simple vinaigrette salad dressing that will work with any salad recipe. Try it with some of my favoirtes:

This dressing can also be used to marinate shrimp, salmon, fish, chicken, or another protein.

jar of lemon dijon dressing with lemon halves, shallot, and a dish towel

Extra virgin olive oil nutrition & health benefits

Extra virgin olive oil is one of the healthiest oils to eat because it is packed with heart-healthy unsaturated fatty acids.

One tablespoon of olive oil provides 14 grams of fat, but only 1 gram is from saturated fat.

The majority of the fat in olive oil comes from heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids.

Monounsaturated fat in the diet can help lower the “bad” LDL cholesterol in your blood, thereby reducing your risk for heart disease and stroke.

Extra virgin olive oil vs regular olive oil

Extra virgin olive oil requires less processing than regular olive oil.

Because of this, EVOO retains more beneficial plant compounds such as lignans and flavones. These are antioxidants that help keep our cells healthy and fight inflammation.

Since it is less processed, EVOO has more flavor and aroma than regular olive oil.

Extra virgin olive oil has a lower smoke point than regular olive oil, so it shouldn’t be heated over 400°F. These properties make it ideal for salad dressings.

Let me know if you love this post by leaving a comment or star rating below, and check out Instagram and Pinterest for more healthy lifestyle inspiration. Thanks for stopping by!

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Jar of lemon dijon dressing next to lemon halves

Quick Lemon Dijon Mustard Dressing with Honey

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  • Author: Alex Aldeborgh, RD
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: about 1/2 cup of dressing 1x
  • Category: sauces and dressings
  • Method: No bake
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegetarian
Print Recipe

Description

This lemon Dijon dressing (or lemon Dijon vinaigrette) is the perfect everyday salad dressing to keep stocked in your fridge! It’s zesty, fresh, and easy to make in 5 minutes or less. It pairs well with pretty much any salad recipe, and can also be used as a marinade for fish, shrimp or another protein.

Ingredients

Scale
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 tbsp shallot or garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • Few grinds of black pepper
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  1. To a small mixing bowl, add the lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey, shallot, salt, and pepper.
    salad dressing ingredients in a glass bowl before being whisked
  2. Whisk the ingredients together.
    small whisk in a glass bowl of salad dressing
  3. While whisking vigorously in a zigzag motion, slowly drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil. 
    Lemon dijon salad dressing in a glass bowl with a small whisk
  4. Continue whisking until the dressing is emulsified, and the lemon juice and olive oil are not separating.

Notes

Storage

Homemade salad dressing doesn’t contain any preservatives, so it won’t last as long as a bottle of store bought dressing.

Keep this dressing in a jar with a lid for 7-10 days in the fridge. It may separate while stored – give the jar a good shake to re-combine the ingredients.

Since olive oil is an unsaturated fat, it may harden in the fridge due to the cold temperature. If this happens, just let the jar sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes, or run the jar under warm water to bring the olive oil back to liquid state.

Keywords: lemon dijon vinaigrette, lemon mustard dressing, lemon dijon salad dressing, easy homemade salad dressing, simple salad dressing recipe, easy salad dressing recipes