Basil Vinaigrette

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

PIN this amazing summer basil dressing to make some later!

I’ve shared recipes that use Basil Vinaigrette ever since I first posted this recipe, but recently I picked a salad spinner full of basil from my herb garden, chopped it up in my food processor with olive oil, froze some of the chopped basil, and made a big batch of basil vinaigrette with the rest.

That’s when I decided to take some better photos of the finished dressing and remind you about this amazing summer dressing that’s made with fresh basil. This dressing is absolutely one of my favorite things about summer and one of the reasons I plant six or eight basil plants every year.

And I love tomatoes no matter how you serve them, but fresh garden tomatoes with Basil Vinaigrette drizzled over them takes the summer tomato thing to a whole new level. Add some goat cheese or Feta 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; enjoy!

What dressing 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 I think 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 this tasty dressing! And of course this would also be delicious with homemade vinaigrette 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 for 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. Scroll down to see some photos and recipe links for a few of my favorite recipes that use it.

Want to see all my recipes using Basil Vinaigrette?

Just enter “basil vinaigrette” into the search bar on Kalyn’s Kitchen to see all the recipes where I’ve used this favorite summer 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 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.
5. This is the Le Parisien Vinaigrette Dressing that I use most when I make this! But don’t stress if you can’t find this where you live; any flavorful low-sugar vinaigrette will be fine.
6. Combine 1/4 cup of the chopped basil puree and 3/4 cups vinaigrette dressing to make the basil vinaigrette. (Photos in this post are double that amount.)
7. You can freeze the extra chopped basil and pull it out of the freezer to make basil vinaigrette later!
8. 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!

Favorite Recipes I make with Basil Vinaigrette (starting top left)

• Grilled Zucchini Caprese Salad
• Summer Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese
• Tomato, Hearts of Palm, Olive, and Feta Salad

Even More Recipes with Basil Vinaigrette:

• Tomato, Olive,  and Fresh Mozzarella Salad
• Green Bean Salad with Sausage and Olives
• Butter Bean Salad

Continue to Content

Print

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.

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. (Photos in this post are double that amount.)
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 to drizzle over sliced tomatoes, sliced tomatoes topped with goat cheese, or sliced 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?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions
As long as you choose a dressing with not more than 2-3 grams of sugar per serving, this recipe is low-carb and Keto, and it’s diet-friendly for the original South Beach Diet as well. With the right dressing this summer treat can easily be gluten-free, vegan, and Paleo 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:
This Basil Vinaigrette recipe was 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 2024.

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