1 Minute Dijon Lemon Dressing (No Oil)
Discover this quick and easy 1 minute, no-oil, Dijon Lemon Dressing. A zesty blend of Dijon mustard and fresh lemon juice that effortlessly enhances salads, grilled delights, and roasted veggies with a delicious burst of flavor.
This 1 Minute Dijon Lemon Dressing is one that I have shared with many of my clients, friends, and family, and it is a staple in our household. Hopefully, this lemon Dijon dressing will be your new favorite salad dressing because it is simple, delicious, quick, and healthy. What more could you ask for?
When it comes to healthy eating, dressings can make or break your meal. Many store-bought dressings, or dressing in restaurants, are laden with saturated fats and sugar, which compromises the nutritional integrity of an otherwise healthy meal. What once was a nourishing choice quickly becomes a less-than-ideal option.
Making your own dressings doesn’t take much effort, and ensuring homemade dressings are healthy is very simple. All it takes is a small mindset shift, embracing whole real ingredients while sidestepping the less nutritious ones.
No Oil Dressings: A Healthy Habit
Yes, not only is it possible to make dressings without oil, but it’s actually quite easy. Once you learn how to make oil-free dressings, you will be hard-pressed to go back.
Oils of all kinds, vegetable oil, canola oil, avocado oil, and yes even extra virgin olive oil, are all considered processed food.
Now, is that to say we should never use oil? Well…that is going to be your personal choice but the way I look at it, you do not NEED oils to maintain a healthy diet.
Similar to Dr. Michael Greger from NutritionFacts.org, I like to think of oil as the table sugar of the fat kingdom. To make table sugar, manufacturers process beets and remove almost all of its nutritional value. The same is true for oils, processed from real, whole food.
Why not just consume the whole food and learn to cook without oils? It will save you calories and more than likely spare your arteries (1).
4 Steps To Create A No-Oil Dressing
There are a few things to consider when you remove oil from your homemade salad dressing recipes. Here are my three steps to creating a no-oil dressing.
Create A No-Oil Dressing In 4 Easy Steps:
1. Acidity
First, you will want to determine what kind of acid you’d like to use in your dressing. The most common are vinegar and lemon juice.
Some acidic options are balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, apple cider, vinegar, and white wine vinegar, as well as pure lemon juice, lime juice, or orange juice.
2. A Carrier
Next, oil is a carrier so it helps to distribute flavor evenly throughout the dressing. When you remove the oil, you will need to replace it with something semi-viscous.
There are plenty of options in this regard. You can use ingredients that work like a natural emulsifier such as mustard, miso, tahini, or nut butter.
3. Sweet
Finally, a touch of sweetness helps to mellow out the acidity in your dressing. Examples of these are ingredients such as maple syrup, date syrup, or honey.
You can also use non-nutritive sweeteners that do not spike your blood sugar such as stevia, monkfruit, or allulose.
4. Flavor Enhancer
You have now made your own salad dressing without oil! The last step is to enhance its flavor by using either fresh or dried herbs. This will bring everything together in a beautiful creamy flavorful dressing.
You have many options here but some of my favorite herbs for dressings are oregano, thyme, dill, tarragon, sage, and basil.
3 Simple Kitchen Tools
Small bowl
Measuring spoons
Small whisk or fork
That is it, now isn’t that easy?! 😉
1 Minute No Oil Dijon Lemon Dressing Recipe Ingredient List
This recipe calls for just a few simple ingredients:
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp pure maple syrup
1/4 tsp dried dill
salt & black pepper to taste (optional)
1 Minute No Oil Dijon Lemon Dressing Recipe Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a small bowl, and whisk until combined.
- ENJOY!
Lemon Vinaigrette Recipe Notes and Tips
How To Store
For best results, this no-oil lemon Dijon vinaigrette should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. I like to use a small mason jar to store homemade dressings.
If you make more than one serving, it will last for approximately 5-7 days in the fridge.
More healthy recipes, and caregiver support for you to enjoy
Let’s be social
I hope you will try this 1 Minute No-Oil Dijon Lemon Dressing, and share it with your friends and family.
Please consider giving this great recipe 5 stars and comment below. I’d love to hear from you and learn how you are using my 1 Minute No-Oil Dijon Lemon Dressing!
Printable recipe card for you to enjoy
1 Minute Dijon Lemon Dressing (No Oil)
Equipment
- Small bowl
- small whisk – or fork
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp dried dill
- salt & black pepper to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Ass all of the ingredients to a small bowl, and whisk until combined.
Notes
- Feel free to double, triple, or quadruple this recipe. It’s as easy to make for four as it is for just one serving.
- Feel free to swap out maple syrup for honey or date syrup.
- Feel free to swap out the lemon juice for vinegar, such as apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, etc.
- If you prefer a different herb, please modify this recipe according to your personal preference.
- Feel free to also use fresh herbs instead of dried ones if you desire.
- This dressing stores best in an airtight container in the fridge.
- SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
- Drizzle over a simple green salad, like arugula salad or kale salad. Toss and serve.
- Drizzle over freshly roasted veggies.
- Serve as a dipping sauce with fresh-cut vegetables.
- Drizzle over grain bowls with cut-up veggies.
- Use as a dressing for pasta salad
- ENJOY!
Nutrition
References:
- https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/oils/
