Easy, 7-Minute Blender Fresh Lemon Vinaigrette

This easy lemon vinaigrette uses the blender for a quick 7 minute recipe. Fresh lemon juice and herbs make this a versatile and delicious salad dressing.

Be sure to check out more of my vinaigrette recipes including my easy mango vinaigrette, 5 minute blender white balsamic vinaigrette and easy raspberry vinaigrette.

Vinaigrette in the Blender

Using a blender to mix up a vinaigrette makes quick work of the recipe but has a few more pluses.

• This recipe includes shallot and garlic but you won’t need to chop or use a garlic press. Just peel them and drop in the blender whole.
• The speed of the blender beats a little bit of air into the dressing and creates a creamier texture than if you mix by hand.
• And last, you surely have seen your vinaigrette quickly go from combined to separated. No matter how hard you shake it, it separates pretty quickly. The air created by the blender helps to keep it from separating a little longer.

Ingredients

Fresh lemon juice is key to the flavor of this dressing. Bottled lemon juice can be super convenient but just doesn’t taste the same as freshly squeezed. You’ll need to squeeze two to three lemons for this recipe, but that is as difficult as it gets. The blender will do all the other work for you.

Extra virgin olive oil is the traditional oil for a vinaigrette. I love the richness of a good olive oil but it can be a little bitter.

So I prefer to combine it with a neutral flavored oil like avocado, sunflower, light olive oil, canola. The neutral oil also helps to keep the vinaigrette from solidifying when refrigerated. EV olive oil almost always turns solid when chilled.

Lemon is a great flavor partner to herbs. My favorite herb with lemon is thyme. Just a half teaspoon of dried thyme adds a subtle minty flavor to the vinaigrette. Oregano is also wonderful with lemon. So use whichever one you prefer.

Shallot is a traditional vinaigrette ingredient and adds a fresh, pungent pop of flavor. Since this dressing mixes up in the blender, there’s no need to chop the shallot just cut a chunk and throw it in the blender.

A small clove of garlic adds more depth of flavor to the dressing. And again since it’s going in the blender, just smash the clove with the heel of your hand, remove the peel and throw the whole thing in the blender.

Between the sour lemon, bitter olive oil, shallot and garlic some balancing ingredients are needed. A sweet element is an excellent way to balance the sour and bitter.

I prefer to use agave syrup because it incorporates easily. If you don’t have agave, any other sweetener will work including honey, maple syrup or plain old sugar.

Finally salt is another ingredient that enhances other flavors and balances bitterness. The recipe calls for ¼-½ teaspoon. Start by adding ¼ tsp and taste once the dressing is mixed up. If it’s too bitter or just needs a little more flavor, add more salt a few pinches at a time and taste as you go.