Zesty Lemon Pepper Dressing (Vegan!)

This easy Zesty Lemon Pepper Dressing is vegan, made with eight ingredients, and ready in five minutes. Perfect on salads or as a marinade!

As I’ve mentioned before, I am firmly in the homemade salad dressing camp. There’s simply no comparison between a freshly emulsified dressing or sauce compared to the gloopy, overly sweet stuff from the supermarket. With a blender and 5 minutes, this too could be your journey. Perhaps this incredible Zesty Lemon Pepper Dressing could even be your conversion story.

Lemon Pepper Dressing Ingredients

Lemon Juice and Zest: I beg you to use fresh lemon juice. Seriously. This is the first rule for creating amazing homemade dressings. The zest amps up the lemon flavor even more for a true citrus experience.

Olive Oil: In this type of recipe, I do believe a quality olive oil is important. I encourage you to purchase the nicest one you can afford. One of my favorite budget-friendly options is the trusty Kirkland Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Costco.

Honey: Use maple syrup if you’re vegan! Otherwise, I really love honey for this dressing.

Dijon Mustard: For a bit of zip and tang.

Garlic: But of course.

Salt and Pepper: Emphasize on the pepper! It’s a big part of this dressing’s flavor profile. It adds such a nice bit of earthy spice to the whole thing.

How to Use This Dressing

• Salads: This dressing obviously shines on salads packed with leafy greens and crunchy vegetables. I recommend it with this Cherry Feta Salad or my Ultimate Spring Salad.
• Grains: You could easily use this dressing on a number of grain bowls or salads, such as this Strawberry Mint Quinoa Salad.
• Marinade: I am imagining this as a marinade for chicken or fish. Yum!

If you make this Zesty Lemon Pepper Dressing, be sure to leave a rating and review and let me know what you end up using it for! I love hearing and getting new ideas from you. You can also always find me on Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok.

More Sauces and Dressings

• Super Simple White Wine Vinaigrette (Vegan!)
• The Only Tahini Sauce You’ll Ever Need (Vegan!)
• Ingenious and Simple Vegan Dill Pesto (7 Ingredients!)

Zesty Lemon Pepper Dressing

This easy Zesty Lemon Pepper Dressing is easily vegan, made with eight ingredients, and ready in five minutes. Perfect on salads or as a marinade!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Equipment

• Blender or Food Processor (optional)

Ingredients

  

• ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• zest of one lemon
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp honey (sub maple syrup if vegan)
• ½ tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic peeled and minced
• ¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp sea salt

Instructions

 

• Place all dressing ingredients in blender or food processor and blend on high for 30 seconds to 1 minute to ensure everything is well-combined and emulsified. Alternatively, you could place all ingredients in a mason jar with lid tightly shut and shake until all ingredients are well-combined.
• Serve on your fave salad or bowl and enjoy!

Notes

Storage: Will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. 

To make vegan: Use maple syrup in place of honey.

Keyword black pepper, dairy-free, dressings, gluten free, lemon, lemon juice, lemon zest, sauces, vegan, vegetarian

Photography by Hope Agresti