Basil Vinaigrette

Basil Vinaigrette is perfect for drizzling on tomatoes, veggies, chicken, or fish and I think this easy recipe tastes like summer in a bottle! And I’ve been making this basil-flavored dressing for many years now with the extra-simple ingredients here, and it’s been such a hit on the blog as well!

PIN the Basil Vinaigrette recipe to make some later!

Basil Vinaigrette is my Friday Favorites pick this week, and this is a recipe that’s a summer treat for me! This dressing that I’ve used on many summer salads through the years was invented in the early days of my blog, after I had picked a salad spinner full of basil from my herb garden. I chopped the basil up in the food processor with olive oil, froze some of the chopped basil, and then made a big batch of basil vinaigrette by adding the rest of the chopped basil/olive oil mixture to my favorite low-sugar vinaigrette!

This couldn’t-be-simpler dressing is one of the reasons I plant six or eight basil plants every year, even though now I have to grow my herbs out on the patio. And I love tomatoes no matter how you serve them, but fresh garden tomatoes with Basil Vinaigrette takes the summer tomato thing to a whole new level. Add some goat cheese, fresh Mozzarella, or Feta Cheese, and I could happily call that dinner!

And if you don’t have any basil growing in the yard, it’s not too late to grab a basil plant at the grocery store to grow inside; I hope you enjoy trying this recipe!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• chopped fresh basil
• extra-virgin Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• low-sugar vinaigrette dressing

What dressings do I use for this Basil Vinaigrette recipe?

My Basil Vinaigrette dressing uses purchased vinaigrette as the base or the dressing, and the flavor comes from the chopped fresh basil so this is amazing even with a purchased dressing. I’m partial to Le Parisien Vinaigrette Dressing (which I can find at Costco in Salt Lake) and I also love this with Newman’s Own Classic Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link). But use any low-sugar vinaigrette you prefer to make Basil Vinaigrette! Of course this would also be delicious with homemade vinaigrette dressing if that’s how you roll!

What things are good with this tasty basil dressing?

Basil Vinaigrette is good on so many things that when fresh basil is in season I find myself making it over and over. Of course I love it on fresh tomatoes, and it’s a great dressing to use on many kinds of summer salads that include tomatoes. I love it over grilled chicken and fish. It’s also delicious on grilled or roasted vegetables.

How low in carbs is this Basil Vinaigrette recipe?

This delicious summer dressing only has 2.7 net carbs in two tablespoons of dressing!

Two Methods for Making Basil Vinaigrette:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Pick basil, trim leaves away from the stems, and wash basil leaves and spin dry in a salad spinner (affiliate link). You can dry with paper towels if you don’t have a salad spinner, but dry the basil well.
2. Measure out one cup of basil leaves.
3. Put the basil into the Food Processor (affiliate link) with 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil.
4. Process until basil is finely chopped and coated with oil.
5. This is the Le Parisien Vinaigrette Dressing that I use when I make this, and if I don’t have that I prefer Newman’s Own Classic Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link)! But any flavorful low-sugar vinaigrette will be great for this recipe.
6. Combine 1/4 cup chopped basil puree and 3/4 cups vinaigrette dressing to make the basil vinaigrette. (Photos in this post are double that amount. You can freeze extra chopped basil and pull it out of the freezer to make basil vinaigrette later!)
7. For a simpler version of this recipe just finely chop fresh basil with a chef’s knife and mix with the vinaigrette dressing. Either version will be amazing!

Some recipes where I’ve used Basil Vinaigrette:

• Grilled Zucchini Caprese Salad
• Antipasto Artichoke Salad
• Hearts of Palm, Olive, and Feta Salad
• Tomato, Olive,  and Fresh Mozzarella Salad
• Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad

See all my recipes using Fresh Basil:

I’ve been a fresh basil fan for many years; check out Cooking with Fresh Basil for all my basil recipes and tips for growing and using basil!

Continue to Content

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Yield: 8 servings

Basil Vinaigrette

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

This Basil Vinaigrette tastes great with fresh garden tomatoes, grilled vegetables, grilled fish, or grilled chicken. And this favorite summer dressing is something I've made every summer for years and years!

Ingredients

Ingredients for Basil Puree (freeze the extra)

• 1 cup (tightly packed) fresh basil leaves, washed and dried well
• 1/2 cup (or less for stronger basil flavor) best quality extra virgin olive oil

Ingredients for Basil Vinaigrette

• 3/4 cup low-sugar vinaigrette dressing (see notes)
• 1/4 cup chopped basil puree (see below) or Fresh-Frozen Basil (see notes)

Instructions

Making Basil Puree:

1. Pick fresh basil, trim the leaves away from the stems with Kitchen Shears (affiliate link), and wash the basil and spin dry in a salad spinner (affiliate link). You can dry with paper towels if you don't have a salad spinner, but dry basil as well as you can.
2. Measure out one cup of basil leaves, pack it tightly in the measuring cup.
3. Put the basil into the Food Processor (affiliate link) with 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil.
4. Process until the basil is finely chopped and coated with oil.

Making Basil Vinaigrette:

1. Combine 1/4 cup of the chopped basil puree and 3/4 cups vinaigrette dressing to make the basil vinaigrette.
2. You can freeze the extra chopped basil and pull it out of the freezer to make basil vinaigrette later!
3. For a simpler version of this recipe just finely chop fresh basil with a chef's knife and mix with vinaigrette dressing. Either version is amazing!
4. Use the Basil Vinaigrette to drizzle over sliced tomatoes, tomatoes topped with goat cheese, or tomatoes layered over fresh mozzarella, or serve over roasted or grilled veggies, grilled chicken, or grilled fish.

Notes

I love to make this with Le Parisien Vinaigrette, which is only sold in Utah and surrounding states.  Another good choice for a low-sugar dressing is Newman's Own Classic Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link).

This is just as good with Fresh-Frozen Basil if you're making it at a time when fresh basil isn't available.

Recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

2 tablespoons
Amount Per Serving Calories 153Total Fat 15.2gSaturated Fat 2.2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 13gCholesterol 0mgSodium 4.4mgCarbohydrates 2.8gFiber 0.1gSugar 2.4gProtein 0.2g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions
This Basil Vinaigrette recipe will be low-carb and Keto as long as you choose a dressing with not more than 2-3 grams of sugar per serving,  and it’s diet-friendly for the original South Beach Diet as well. 

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Fresh Herbs to find more recipes with basil! Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
Basil Vinaigrette first posted in 2008! Since that time I’ve made it over and over every summer, and it’s a huge favorite in my extended family as well! The recipe was last updated with more information in 2025.

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