This vibrant and mouthwatering vinaigrette is made easily in a food processor or blender, and is the perfect blend of savory and sweet. Once you start making homemade salad dressings, you’ll see how much better they taste and how easy they are to make!
This is one of my Dressing recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
If you’re eating more salads these days, then you know that nothing can make or break a great salad like a great dressing!
There are so many varieties of bottled salad dressings on the shelves at the grocery store, and I won’t lie and say that I never use them… in fact, I do often.
But then I make this vinaigrette and remember how much I love homemade dressings.
And let me tell you, this basil shallot vinaigrette is SO much better than a bottle from the store!
How to make basil shallot vinaigrette?
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Add ingredients to food processor. There’s no particular order here, just add them all.
- Process. I like to pulse it a few times, then process until well combined.
- Transfer to jar. You don’t have to use a mason jar, any airtight container will work.
- Stir in extra basil. This is optional, but I do recommend it.
Helpful Tip!
I love to make this dressing in a food processor, since it does such a great job of really blending the ingredients together, and creating a smooth emulsion. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also use a blender, or just really finely mince everything and give it a good whisk.
Variations of this recipe
- Shallot – in place of the shallot, you could use a red onion, although you’ll probably want to use a bit less, since red onion has a much sharper flavor. You can also use more or less shallot, depending on your preferences.
- Mustard – if you’d rather use a different mustard, you could use a whole-grain or “country style” Dijon. I don’t recommend skipping the mustard, as it’s what creates an emulsion which holds the oil and vinegar together.
- Vinegar – instead of red wine vinegar, you could use apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar, in an equal amount.
- Sweetness – everyone has their own version of how sweet they like their dressing, so if you’d like more or less sweetness, adjust the amount of honey accordingly.
- Basil – fresh basil is an amazing herb, so please feel free to adjust the amount of basil leaves to your tastes. Just know the more basil you add, the greener your dressing will be.
- Oil – we love using olive oil, but you could substitute that with avocado, grapeseed, flaxseed, or canola oil if you’d prefer.
FAQ’s
I know it’s frustrating to have your homemade dressing not last as long as the bottles of dressing from the store. But those bottles contain preservatives, which allow the dressing to last longer. Homemade dressings don’t contain those added preservatives (yay!), so it’s best to eat them within a week.
Shallots are a member of the allium family (which is comprised of onions, garlic, and chives), and the flavor is similar to a cross between a red and yellow sweet onion. Shallots are less sharp in flavor than a red onion, and are great to use a vinaigrette since they’re more delicate in flavor.
Making a vinaigrette ahead of time
Salad dressings are great to make ahead of time, since all the flavors can really meld together.
Plus it’s one less thing to do when you’re making dinner!
Storage
Leftover salad dressing should be refrigerated in an airtight container and enjoyed within a week or so.
More Salad/Dressing Recipes:
My Favorite Food Processor!
You can use any food processor or blender for this recipe, but I’ve had this model for years and really love it. It’s easy to take apart and clean, and the large capacity means I don’t have to break larger recipes down into smaller batches!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 small to medium shallot peeled and chopped
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 10 medium to large fresh basil leaves divided
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Add shallot, red wine vinegar, honey, mustard, salt, pepper, half the basil leaves, and olive oil to a food processor or blender.
- Process/blend until well combined.
- Pour into mason jar or other salad dressing container.
- Finely mince the remaining half of the basil leaves, then stir into salad dressing.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to a week, or serve over your choice of salad.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
- I estimate this recipe makes about 3/4 – 1 cup of salad dressing, which you’re free to divide into as many servings as you’d like.
- If you’d prefer, you can add all the basil to the food processor. I just like the little flecks of green that come from stirring in the minced basil at the end.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Catalina says
This basil shallot vinaigrette is a flavor explosion! The freshness from the basil and the tanginess from the shallots—it’s a salad game-changer.
Erin says
Looks fantastic! Can’t wait to make this at home!
Sandra says
Definitely have to try this! Looks so flavorful!
April says
I love shallots! This vinaigrette was so bright and fresh, and absolutely wonderful.
Beth says
MmmMMM! You know, I make a pasta salad with vinaigrette that I think this will be perfect for!
Gina says
Ohhhh – I’m always looking for a new vinaigrette. Can’t wait to make this one for dinner tonight.
Robert K Willms Jr says
I don’t see a quantity fir olive oil?? Hiw much?
The Chunky Chef says
I apologize, there was an error on the backend of my site that was causing all the ingredients to not show up. It’s been corrected now, and the quantity is 1/2 cup 🙂
Erik Ciniello says
I don’t see any olive oil in the ingredients list. Am I missing something
The Chunky Chef says
I apologize, there was an error on the backend of my site that was causing all the ingredients to not show up. It’s been corrected now, and the quantity is 1/2 cup 🙂
Anne Greene says
I don’t see any oil listed in the ingredients
The Chunky Chef says
I apologize, there was an error on the backend of my site that was causing all the ingredients to not show up. It’s been corrected now, and the quantity is 1/2 cup 🙂
CZcooks says
OOPS, I don’t see EVOO amount, I can figure it out, but someone new to cooking might be lost. 🙂
The Chunky Chef says
I apologize, there was an error on the backend of my site that was causing all the ingredients to not show up. It’s been corrected now, and the quantity is 1/2 cup 🙂
Deborah says
Love the combinations of flavors here for this dressing. Going to
have to try this. Sounds delicious!
Crystal H says
2 questions-
1. Doesn’t it need some oil?
2. can you use dried basil- I grew so much in my garden last year & don’t have any fresh on hand now…
The Chunky Chef says
I apologize, there was an error on the backend of my site that was causing all the ingredients to not show up. It’s been corrected now, and the quantity is 1/2 cup of olive oil. I haven’t tested making this with dried basil, so I can’t say for certain how well that would work, or what quantity to use. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂