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With bright, fresh flavor, this Lemon Dill Dressing is super easy to throw together and is delicious on greens and veggies as well as chicken, fish and shrimp!
Summer has (unofficially) arrived here in North Carolina and we've watched the barren, cold mountains around us transform to brilliant spring green and now take on the deeper hues of early summer. We're planning to enjoy lots of light, lean meals from the grill and an array of salads drizzled with this delicious Lemon Dill Dressing.
Super simple
The dressing's super easy to make, with just a few everyday ingredients. It's not a throw-everything-in-the-jar-and-shake number, but almost as simple. You want to thoroughly mix the Dijon mustard, fresh lemon juice and garlic together before adding the oil because otherwise, the dressing can separate a bit. That's the only trick for this bright, flavor-filled dressing.
This Lemon Dill Dressing is so versatile and wonderful with lots of different types of greens, veggies and entrees. I love to serve it drizzled over this Arugula Salmon Salad with Israeli Couscous.
One ingredient you might not have in your pantry or refrigerator is fresh dill. Don't try to substitute the dry version, as it just won't be the same. The combination of fresh dill and lemon is such an amazingly fresh burst of summery flavor.
What's a good quality Dijon mustard?
You'll also want a good quality Dijon mustard for this Lemon Dill Dressing. What makes a mustard Dijon? And what's a "good quality Dijon"? So glad you asked!
Dijon mustard is named after the town of Dijon, in the Burgundy region of France. The area around Dijon has been a center of mustard making since the early Middle Ages. Dijon mustard traditionally consists of mustard seeds, white wine and spices. It has a tangy, more robust flavor than it's milder, yellow mustard cousin. The spicier flavor of Dijon comes from the brown and/or black mustard seeds that are used to make it. Yellow mustard seeds are much milder in flavor.
According to reviews from Cooking Light, Saveur, Serious Eats and Cooks Illustrated, some of the best Dijons in the world are Grey Poupon, Edmond Fallot (Thomas Keller's top pick) Maille, Amora (favorite mustard of David Lebovitz) and Pommery Meaux. Each one has different flavor characteristics, so you might want to try a few and then pick your own favorite. I personally love Maille. If you can find Maille mustard that's made in France, it's especially delicious. I used to stock up when visiting my daughter in London, but have recently discovered the French version on Amazon!
I've found that generic, grocery store brand Dijon mustards generally don't have great flavor. The one exception is Trader Joe's Dijon. It's actually made by a mustard maker (moutardier) right outside the city of Dijon in France. The TJ's mustard is made with brown mustard grains, which are left whole, rather than ground up, giving the mustard a nice texture and a bold flavor. It's delicious and very reasonably priced.
Why not olive oil?
When you read the recipe, for this Lemon Dill Dressing, you'll see that it calls for a mild-tasting oil (like sunflower, safflower, avocado, canola, grapeseed or vegetable oil). You might be wondering, why not olive oil? If you're a regular Café follower, you know that I love olive oil and use it in lots of recipes. I found that in this recipe, however, it seemed to fight with the lemon and Dijon flavors. If you have a very mild flavored olive oil, it will be fine. Otherwise, stick with one of the mild-flavored oils mentioned above.
So there you have it; a delightful salad dressing to get you through the hot months ahead. Keep a jar of this Lemon Dill Dressing stashed in the refrigerator and fresh, light dinners will be easy to prepare and enjoy any time!
Cafe Tips for making this Lemon Dill Dressing
- What to do with this Lemon Dill Dressing?
- Make our Arugula Salmon Salad with Israeli Couscous!
- It's delicious drizzled over grilled chicken, shrimp or fish
- Serve with any type of green salad.
- Drizzle it over roasted veggies like asparagus, carrots, green beans...
- It's delicious combined with chunky sliced cucumbers for a super simple salad.
- Combine a few tablespoons with cooked couscous or pearl pasta for a delicious side.
- Use it as a dipping sauce for warm focaccia or bread.
- I really like the big beautiful bunches of fresh dill that you find in the produce section of many larger grocery stores. The price is about the same as the small plastic cartons that you find at many stores and it's so much fresher. Several of my local grocers carry it this way. I also find these bunches of dill at Whole Foods.
- This dressing will keep well in the refrigerator for at least a week stored in an airtight container.
Thought for the day:
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Psalm 46:1-3
What we're listening to for inspiration:
If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations and ideas for variations.
With bright, fresh flavor, this easy Lemon Dill Dressing is perfect with greens and veggies as well as chicken, fish and shrimp!
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 medium garlic clove finely minced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup mild-flavored oil sunflower, safflower, avocado, grapeseed, canola, vegetable
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
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Whisk together the lemon juice, mustard, honey, garlic, salt and pepper until completely blended.
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Add oil in a slow steady stream, whisking continuously until thick and creamy. Add dill and stir well.
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Refrigerate until ready to use.
Ian says
Against my better judgement I used canola oil instead of olive oil, as instructed. One of the worst things I've ever tasted. Had to be thrown out immediately
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Ian,
Hmm, I wonder if your oil was rancid or poor quality. Canola oil is a neutral-flavored oil and should have no flavor - that's what allows the flavors of the lemon and dill can shine in this recipe.
Mary B says
I cannot leave a rating because I have not made the recipe yet. It sounds delicious to me. I am writing this message because I have NEVER seen the online "recipe creator" replying to the comments. I am impressed! To me, it shows you care.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Mary, for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment. We do try to respond to every comment as our readers are very important to us! Hope you enjoy the dressing!
Danielle Howarth says
This dressing was delicious! I put it on a Mediterranean salad with chicken, quinoa, cucumbers, tomatoes and feta and it was the perfect compliment. We were even dipping our pita chips in it!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, for sharing your review, Danielle - so happy you enjoyed it 🥰
Renee E. Wallace says
Absolutely terrible taste. Followed recipe exactly. I had to throw it out.
Chris Scheuer says
So sorry you did not enjoy this recipe, Renee - as you can read from the comments, so many others have loved it. However, everyone has taste.
Petra says
Love all your recipes. How long can I store this dressing in the refrigerator? Thanx.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Petra, this dressing will keep well for 5-7 days.
Mieke says
Lovely salad dressing. Also loved the thought for today scripture!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
So happy to hear that, Mieke!
Jeni says
I thought I had lost this recipe and panicked! But it is found and all is well - whew! This is one of my new favorite summer salad dressings, thank you so very much! I did the ratios a bit differently for my own liking, but imagine the original recipe is perfect, too. Here's what I did: half of the mustard, double the honey, and almost double the lemon juice to make up for less mustard (I like lemon more than mustard, and also prefer sweet). Olive oil worked out great for us! Thanks, again!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
So glad you enjoyed this, Jeni! Thanks for your review!
Pow says
whoa this is way too salty D:
Wish I tried 1/4 tsp first
Chris Scheuer says
Did you use kosher salt or regular? I can see how regular salt would make this salty but 1 half teaspoon of kosher salt is the proper proportion for the other ingredients in this recipe.
Jeanne Shinn says
I left the salt out and added more honey and it was good
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks, Jeanne!
kim says
Love this site. I really enjoyed the worship song you posted also!!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
So glad to hear that, Kim!
Christine says
I’m so happy I came across this recipe while searching for some thing to use my fresh dill. I immediately made this and just finished having my salad and I’m in love! Thank you for such a beautiful recipe. I used whole-grain Dijon mustard and creamed honey. Absolutely delicious!
Chris Scheuer says
That's great, Christine! Thanks for letting us know!
Terran says
This is my new favorite!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Terran!
Anne M. says
I just made this dressing. Really good. I'm obsessed with dill and grow it in the summer. Very tasty and refreshing.
Chris Scheuer says
That's great, Anne! Thanks for letting us know!
Chris says
I've never ever been able to make a good salad dressing, this is fool proof and delicious!!
Chris Scheuer says
Awesome! Thanks for letting us know, Chris!
Chris David says
Lovely recipe - quick, easy and fresh. We didn't have the salad and dressing on the side, just squeezed some lemon over the top.
visit us: https://www.beckandbulow.com
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Chris!
vivian says
Lovely dressing. I am much more fond of lemon based than vinegar based dressings for a green salad. Served on a salad with quiche for a great light summery meal. To add to your mustard facts (as a proud Canadian) most of the mustard seeds in Dijon, as well as other mustards, are grown in Canada. In Hamilton, where I live, we have an annual mustard festival. Thanks for a great recipe!
Chris Scheuer says
That's so cool, Vivian! Thanks for letting us know!
melona will says
I was making dill pickles and had so much dill left over and saw this recipe so decided to try it to use up my dill. Super easy, followed the recipe exactly. Delicious. Can’t wait to try it with salmon
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for your review, Melona!
MJ says
Thank you for this informative post and super easy, tasty salad dressing. It is Perfect for summer salads.
Chris Scheuer says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, MJ!
Cindi says
This dressing was delicious! So light! A perfect dressing!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Cindi!