Lemon Vinaigrette Recipe Without Mustard

This lemon vinaigrette recipe has bold, citrusy flavor with just a handful of ingredients! Everyone will love this quick salad dressing.

Looking for a killer citrusy salad dressing? Here's a favorite that's quick to put together and tastes like a million bucks. This lemon vinaigrette tastes like pure lemon . It makes gives all salads a refreshing zing, with only 4 ingredients! (Plus salt, of course.) This easy lemon salad dressing is just begging for you to make a salad. Come, we'll show you how it's done!

The ingredients you'll need

You only need 4 ingredients for this lemon vinaigrette: plus salt, which we're assuming you'll already have on hand. It's hard to get big citrusy flavor in a vinaigrette, since other flavors can overpower the delicate lemon flavor. Though we typically make vinaigrette with vinegar, we've landed on a great way to make this lemon vinaigrette sing without using added vinegar. The ingredients you'll need are:

Fresh lemon: do not substitute purchased bottled lemon juice! The flavor is not comparable.
Olive oil
Dijon mustard
Garlic

How to make lemon vinaigrette

This lemon vinaigrette recipe is genius in its simplicity. Whisk together the ingredients, and you've got a pure lemon flavor. Here's how to do it:

Whisk together lemon juice, Dijon mustard, garlic, and salt. Use a medium bowl and whisk together the non-oil ingredients first. We love using Dijon mustard in our homemade salad dressing recipes. Not only does it add great flavor, it helps to create a creamy emulsion.
Whisk in olive oil gradually until thickened. Just whisk in the olive oil 1 tablespoon at a time until that creamy emulsion forms! The resulting lemon salad dressing is so zesty and delicious, you'll want to put it on every salad you make. And because of that lemon zest paste, it stays super bright yellow too!

Want more with lemon? Try these 15 Zesty Lemon Recipes.

Best salads for serving lemon salad dressing

The best thing about this lemon vinaigrette recipe? It's so versatile! It pairs with a variety of different cuisines: Mediterranean, Italian, American, French, and more. Here are a few of our favorite ways to use it in salad recipes:

Drizzle it over classic Nicoise Salad for a zingy flavor
Substitute in Kale Salad or Best Tossed Salad to make it deliciously fresh
Try it on a berry salad, like Strawberry Spinach Salad, Blackberry Salad or Blueberry Salad
Spoon it over Avocado Salad or Tomato Salad
It even works on a pasta salads, like Antipasto Salad

More vinaigrette salad dressings

The vinaigrette is our top type of homemade salad dressing: ever! Though we love creamy dressings like Ranch and Caesar, the vinaigrette is the most versatile for salads of all kinds. Here are our top vinaigrette salad dressings to try:

Try the pristine and tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette (fan favorite!)
Opt for popular Dijon Vinaigrette or Shallot Vinaigrette
Go fruity with Strawberry Vinaigrette or Raspberry Vinaigrette
Try other citrus with Easy Lime Vinaigrette or Citrus Vinaigrette
Use summery produce with Quick Tomato Vinaigrette or Fresh Basil Vinaigrette

This lemon vinaigrette recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.

Description

This lemon vinaigrette recipe has bold, citrusy flavor with just a handful of ingredients! Everyone will love this quick salad dressing.

3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons olive oil

In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, and kosher salt.
Gradually whisk in the olive oil 1 tablespoon at a time, until creamy and emulsified. If desired, season with additional salt (or add ½ teaspoon dried oregano for an herby spin).

Category: Salad Dressing
Method: Whisked
Cuisine: French

Keywords: Lemon vinaigrette, Lemon salad dressing, How to make lemon vinaigrette

Last updated: February 2020

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Meet Sonja and Alex Overhiser: Husband and wife. Expert home cooks. Authors of recipes you'll want to make again and again.