• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Roots and Radishes

  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Subscribe
  • Recipes
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Subscribe
    • Recipes
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Sauces & Spreads

    Small Batch Homemade Basil Vinaigrette

    June 15, 2021 by Tera Leave a Comment

    Sharing is caring!

    17 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet
    Homemade basil vinaigrette in small Weck jar with spoon

    This post contains affiliate links for products I genuinely recommend, which means I earn a small commission at no cost to you.

    This homemade basil vinaigrette is a clean and delicious salad dressing that's also perfect as a sauce for bowl recipes, pasta salad, or even drizzled over meat or fish! Reminiscent of pesto, this healthy salad dressing will help you use up that summer basil in a just whir of your blender.

    Homemade basil vinaigrette in small Weck jar with spoon this recipe

    Okay, who hasn't had the majority of some freshly purchased or picked herbs go bad before they could use them?! I sure have, so I'm always looking for delicious ways to use up fresh herbs that I can't use up through cooking alone. This small batch homemade basil vinaigrette is a versatile salad dressing, so you can use it on any salad or pasta salad. You can even drizzle over meat or fish!

    The Ingredients

    Homemade basil vinaigrette is super easy to make and allows you take advantage of fresh summer basil! For ingredients, we have all the usual vinaigrette suspects, plus fresh basil! Here's what you need...

    • Extra virgin olive oil - A standard base for any vinaigrette!
    • Red wine vinegar - A little bit of vinegar brings an acidic balance to any vinaigrette, creating delicious flavor.
    • Dijon mustard - Just a small amount helps emulsify vinaigrette and add flavor.
    • Shallot
    • Garlic
    • Maple syrup or natural cane sugar - Just a teaspoon to balance out the flavors!
    • Lemon
    • Fresh basil leaves - Because this recipe makes a smaller batch, you'll use up about a cup of packed basil leaves. But, if you want to use more basil or have more homemade vinaigrette on hand, feel free to double the recipe!
    • Salt
    • Pepper

    Would it be totally crazy for us to swap basil out for other herbs?? Indeed, it would not.

    Homemade basil vinaigrette ingredients in a blender before blending

    How to Make It

    Making this basil vinaigrette is as easy as a whir in the blender! All you need to do is combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Feel free to taste and adjust, too! If you feel like it's bitter or too vinegar-y, add a bit more maple syrup or natural cane sugar. If you feel like it could use a flavor pop, try a bit more salt. The beautiful thing about homemade vinaigrette is that you can make small adjustments to get the exact flavor you want.

    • Homemade basil vinaigrette ingredients in a blender before blending
    • Homemade basil vinaigrette in a blender after being fully blended

    Storing Vinaigrette

    I recommend storing this vinaigrette or any others in an airtight glass container or mason jar for up to a week. I used a small Weck jar for this batch! Being a smaller batch, it is very to use this up within a week.

    Serving Vinaigrette

    This basil vinaigrette is more than just a salad dressing! It is delicious drizzled over meat, seafood, or roasted/grilled veggies. Don't forget about pasta salads, or even a dip for (grilled?!) bread. If you think you'll need more throughout the week or want enough for a salad to serve a crowd, you can easily double this recipe.

    Homemade basil vinaigrette in small Weck jar with spoon

    More Basil Recipes!

    Reduce food waste this summer by whipping up that fresh basil into this delicious vinaigrette, or incorporate more basil into your meals throughout the week. Here are some of my faves:

    • Peach Basil Balsamic Chicken and Goat Cheese (skillet meal!)
    • Late Summer Veggie Pasta Salad
    • Fruit Caprese Pasta Salad
    • BLT Panzanella

    Or, you can't go wrong with some good old homemade basil pesto.

    Print

    Small Batch Homemade Basil Vinaigrette

    Homemade basil vinaigrette in small Weck jar with spoon
    Print Recipe

    This small batch, homemade basil vinaigrette recipe is perfect for using up fresh summer basil! Use it as a healthy salad dressing or even for pasta salad or bowls.

    • Author: Tera
    • Prep Time: 5 min
    • Cook Time: 0 min
    • Total Time: 5 minutes
    • Yield: 4 oz. 1x
    • Category: Salad dressing
    • Method: Blend
    • Cuisine: American

    Ingredients

    Scale
    • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar 
    • ½ shallot, roughly chopped
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 1 tsp maple syrup or natural cane sugar
    • 1 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
    • ½ tsp salt (taste and adjust)
    • ⅛ tsp pepper

    Instructions

    1. Blend vinaigrette: Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender, and blend until smooth.

    Notes

    1. Serving ideas: Serve basil vinaigrette with any salad, pasta salad, grilled/roasted veggies, meat, or seafood. Even dipping bread (grilled, anyone?) is delicious as an appetizer.

    Keywords: basil vinaigrette, healthy salad dressing

    Did you make this recipe?

    If you loved this recipe, please consider giving it a star rating (below)! Star ratings help Roots and Radishes recipes reach more people, which helps support the continued production of our content. Also, we'd LOVE to see what you make! Tag @rootsnradishes on Instagram and hashtag it #rootsnradishes

    More Sauces & Spreads

    • Healthy Homemade Caesar Dressing
    • Very Cherry Vinaigrette
    • Easy Lemon Dill Hummus
    • Basic + Awesome Tahini Sauce

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply 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

    Yum

    Welcome to Roots and Radishes, a food blog for healthy home cooks! Here you'll find healthy, simple whole foods recipes. I'm Tera -- the author, recipe developer, and photographer behind this site. Have a look around!

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Popular Right Now

    • Simple Coconut Chia Granola
    • All Butter Chickpea Flour Pie Crust
    • Vinegar Cucumber Salad
    • Spelt Flour Banana Bread

    Make This for Fall...

    • Simple Sautéed Apples
    • Healthy Pumpkin Granola
    save 20% at feastdesignco.com

    Connect with me

    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Snapchat
    • TikTok
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for recipes and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Services

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 Roots and Radishes on the Foodie Pro Theme

    Copyright © 2023 Roots and Radishes on the Foodie Pro Theme

    17 shares