• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Eat the Bite
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Welcome to Eat the Bite!
  • Recipes
  • Appetizer/Snack
  • Side Dish
  • Breakfast/Brunch
  • Sandwiches
  • Beef
  • Chicken
  • CSA SERIES
  • Entrees
  • International
  • Pasta
  • Pizza
  • Pork
  • Salad
  • Seafood
  • Stuffed Chicken Breast Series
  • Sweet Things
  • Vegetarian
×

Home » Salad

Fresh Summer Basil Vinaigrette

Published: Aug 25, 2021 · Modified: Apr 21, 2023 by Stacey

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe
My summer basil vinaigrette has the perfect amount of tang to top countless salads!

For a super picky salad dressing person like myself, the only way to go is to take a few minutes and make your own salad dressing. Yes, I realize the grocery store shelves are lined with a grillion options to choose from. I've tried many of the options that exist and regretted most of them. Which is why knowing how to make a basic vinaigrette (and this summer basil vinaigrette in particular) is essential to home cooking.

Summer Basil Vinaigrette is Easy Once You Master the Basics

Ultimately, you will combine oil, vinegar and some kind of thickening ingredient (commonly mustard or honey). Vinaigrettes are really that simple. There are only a few ingredients and you can pretty much add whatever you want to it. For my summer basil vinaigrette, fresh basil is the star of the dressing. I first made this dressing for my Jonah Crab & Asparagus Salad with Basil Vinaigrette back in the Spring - which I highly recommend you try!

For the best outcome, you will need a mini food processor to make this vinaigrette. Mine is on the fritz so I did rough chop my ingredients before adding them to the food processor.

Put everything in the mini and blend away!

I love this vinaigrette for salads because I am absolutely in love with fresh basil. I do tend to use more basil in the summer months when I can get it fresh from a local farm. But you can really make this any time of year with fresh basil from the grocery store. When fresh herbs are added to a salad I am in my happy place. It's such a nice pop of extra goodness. And I realize that can get a little expensive, but to me it's worth the splurge. I also recently purchased cute, little bottles for my dressings and I store them in the fridge for all my salad needs.

My Big Pitch to Making Your Own Salad Dressing

As mentioned above, why spend the money on store-bought dressings when you most likely have at least the basic vinaigrette ingredients right in your pantry? And does anyone ever finish an entire bottle of salad dressing from the store? Kudos if you do, but to me they seem to linger and rot after a while and a lot of it ends up wasted. You can stop the waste now and start making easy salad dressings right in your own kitchen. Am I starting to sound like an infomercial?

In short, making a vinaigrette is very easy and involves fresh ingredients. You get to control the ingredients and flavors. Once you get in the habit of whipping up your own salad dressing, it will be hard to go back to the bottled stuff. So I highly recommend you give it a try!

Looking for More Salad-y Things? No problem!

  • Hearty Summer Salad
  • Johan Crab & Asparagus Salad w/Basil Vinaigrette
  • Warm Goat Cheese Salad with Toasted Pine Nuts & Dried Cherries
  • How to Make Homemade Croutons
  • Thai Lettuce Wraps with Rotisserie Chicken
  • Sweet & Tangy Blood Orange Vinaigrette

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Tasty Summer Basil Vinaigrette


  • Author: Stacey
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 1 cup 1x
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Description

This tangy summer basil vinaigrette is the perfect topping for any number of salads. Easy to make and ready in no time.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 cups basil leaves
  • ¾ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup white wine vinegar
  • ½ clove garlic
  • 1 tablespoon shallot (or other onion)
  • zest from ½ a lemon
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Instructions

  1. Put the basil in your food processor.
  2. Rough chop garlic and add to food processor.
  3. Rough chop shallot and add to food processor.
  4. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, Dijon mustard. 
  5. Add olive oil and white wine vinegar.
  6. Blend well then taste. Since there is Dijon mustard in the dressing and that is already a bit salty I usually don’t add any additional salt here. If you think it needs a pinch of salt, then go for it. 

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

« Stove Top Stuffing Chicken Rolls
Cheddar Herb Buttermilk Biscuits »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Want to hear about more deliciousness from Eat the Bite?

Sign up for my newsletter and never miss a recipe!

I'll send the latest and greatest right to your inbox!

Social Media Stuff

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

What's for Dinner?

overhead view of pineapple pork butt bowl with coconut ginger rice

Pineapple Pork Butt Bowl with Coconut Ginger Rice

Cheap and Easy Dinner Chicken Thighs, Carrots, Potatoes & Onions - overhead view of baking dish right out of the oven

Cheap and Easy Dinner: Chicken Thighs, Carrots, Potatoes & Onions

Tasty Homemade Pizza Dough with Chicken, Pesto, Fontina & Tomatoes: four slices of both kinds of pizza on a platter

Tasty Homemade Pizza Dough

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Roasted Tomatoes, Goat Cheese and Leeks: front view of the whole dinner - platter of chicken, extra cheese sauce and steamed broccoli

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Roasted Tomatoes, Goat Cheese and Leeks

trim obvious flaps of fat first

How to Trim the Fat From Chicken Thighs

Pesto Pasta with Olives: overhead view of family-style platter of linguine with pesto, olives, shiitakes, artichokes, mozzarella, toasted pine nuts and sun dreid tomatoes

Pesto Pasta with Olives, Shiitake Mushrooms & Artichokes

Recent Comments

  • Stacey on Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Romesco, Dill Havarti & Arugula
  • Teresa Cross on Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Romesco, Dill Havarti & Arugula
  • Stacey on Sheet Pan Drumsticks with Roasted Carrots and Cumin Potatoes

Footer

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Eat the Bite on the Foodie Pro Theme