Honey Basil Vinaigrette with a Simple Spring Salad is the perfect salad to serve with your Easter dinner. This salad is full of healthy spring vegetables with a slightly sweet vinaigrette. The vinaigrette which contains only four ingredients, is a simple and tasty go-to salad dressing.
I am so happy spring is finally here and Easter is right around the corner! This past winter I was making my Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing quite often. Although I love that dressing, it's definitely heavier compared to a vinaigrette. I am the type of person that hunkers down in the winter eating all the heavy and cozy foods. Once spring hits, my diet starts to involve more fresh produce and lighter meals. I have been making this easy vinaigrette recipe nonstop. It's sweet, light and slightly floral from the basil. It is exactly what I would imagine spring tasting like.
I love using pouring this dressing on a simple spring salad like in the recipe but recently I've been using it on top of of a watermelon salad. I place cubed watermelon, toasted pumpkin seeds, radish sprouts, sliced avocado and a drizzle of this vinaigrette on top. It is so incredibly refreshing! That's just what I love about this vinaigrette. It's sweet and lemony and goes great with a variety of salads.
A couple notes about Honey Basil Vinaigrette:
Vegan option:
This recipe uses honey which is obviously not vegan. If you would like to make this dressing vegan, I recommend using maple syrup instead of the honey. Please note that the maple syrup will darken the color of the vinaigrette and will have a slight smokey flavor but it will still taste great!
Looking for more salad dressing recipes? Make sure to check out my Winter Rainbow Salad with Sweet Tahini Dressing !
Spring Salad with Honey-Basil Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the Honey-Basil Vinaigrette:
- ¼ cup fresh basil, firmly packed
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp honey
- ½ cup olive oil
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of black pepper
For the Spring Salad:
- 3 large handfuls spring mix
- 1 large handful sprouts such as radish or broccoli sprouts
- 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
- 2-3 radishes such as red radishes or watermelon radishes
- 1 large handful spring peas
- ¼ cucumber, sliced
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
- ½ avocado, sliced
Instructions
For the Honey-Basil Vinaigrette:
- Combine the basil, honey, lemon juice, salt and black pepper in a blender and blend on low to medium speed for 30 seconds
- While the blender is running on low, slowly pour the olive oil in making sure not to pour too fast. The dressing will emulsify and pouring too quickly will break the dressing separating the ingredients
- Once the dressing is done, either save to pour on top of the spring salad or place in an airtight glass container and store in the refridgerator for later use
For the Spring Salad:
- To blanch the peas: Bring a small amount of water to a boil on the stove top. Once the water is boiling, add the spring peas and cook for 1 minute. While the peas are cooking, place a few ice cubes in a bowl with some cold water. Set the bowl aside. Once the peas are cooked, place them in the ice water bath for 10-20 seconds. This process is called blanching and will "shock" the peas to retain their bright green color
- In a large salad bowl, layer the sprnig mix on the bottom and then the sprouts. Add the sliced carrots, sliced cucumbers and radishes
- Sprinkle the salad with the toasted pumpkin seeds, the spring peas, and place the sliced avocado on top
- Right before serving, add the dressing and toss
This vinaigrette is a snap to make and the bright, fresh flavor is really delicious! So nice to have a new favorite salad dressing!
Thanks Geri! It's a favorite in our house as well 🙂
I loved the dressing and all the fresh vegetables!