Homemade Lemon Herb Vinaigrette
Want to have complete control over what’s in your salad dressing? It’s really easy to make your own lemon herb vinaigrette! You probably have most of the ingredients that you need, in your pantry and refrigerator.
Thickener
I use a bit of guar gum, as a thickener. Guar gum has gotten a bad rap, and you wouldn’t want to eat heaps of it, but it’s fine in small amounts. It’s one of the cleanest thickeners you can use, as it comes from a bean. You can skip it if you’re not keen on gums, though.
Sweetener
I use xylitol (birch sugar) in this recipe, for health reasons, but you can use regular sugar or maple syrup, instead, if you’re not worried about it being low-carb. Or, you can skip the sweetener, altogether, if you prefer.
Vinegar
I use apple cider vinegar, because I’m always trying to get more of it into my body, without feeling like I’m taking medicine. Sneaking it into a salad is a really clever way to do that.
A Musical Blessing
BTW, isn’t this cello salad dressing bottle charming? I got it at a local thrift store for $2! It didn’t have a stopper, but that was easily remedied, because I had an old wine cork that just fit into the top. This is perfect for holding my salad dressing. I’m a musician and I always wanted to learn how to play the cello, but that never quite happened. I was busy playing trombone in every band possible and studying voice, so it’s not like I was missing out on my musical dreams. Still, I just love the whimsical feel of this cello bottle and I knew I had to have it, when I saw it.
Lemon Herb Vinaigrette
Equipment
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 Whisk
- 1 dressing bottle
- 1 mini sieve
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 lemon lemon juice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground sage
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 dashes ground black pepper
- 2 tsp xylitol
- 1/2 tbsp mustard
- 1/16 tsp guar gum
Instructions
- Put everything into the mixing bowl, except for the guar gum.
- Mix with the whisk, until ingredients are encorporated.
- Taste.
- If desired, add more salt, pepper, xylitol (or sugar), vinegar, or seasonings.
- Using the mini sieve, sift the guar gum evenly over the mix, making sure to avoid clumping.
- Stir guar gum into the dressing and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Pour into a dressing container and refrigerate.
- Remove the dressing from the refrigerator 15 minutes before using, to allow the olive oil to liquefy.
- Shake vigorously before using on your salad. 2 tablespoons per person is a generous serving and you may not even need that much. Use your discretion.
- Toss the salad with the vinaigrette. Plate and serve.
Notes
What to Use it On?
This lemon herb dressing can be used in many different ways. In addition to tossing salads in it, you can marinade meat with it. You can dip veggies into it or use it as the base of a creamier party dip.
Check out these vinaigrette ideas on Epicurious.
Try this lemon herb vinaigrette on my Turkey Pomegranate Salad (pictured here) for a post Thanksgiving treat.
Or have it with any salad, when you want something zesty, any time of the year!
