This Honey Lime Dressing will brighten up any green or grain salad with its punch of citrus and kiss of honey.
We’ve been making a version of this dressing for years, and love it on all kinds of salads. Our Quinoa Chickpea Salad and our Corn and Black Bean Salad, just for starters!
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Why Make This Recipe
- Fresh Ingredients: Shallots, cilantro, and fresh lime juice and zest combine for so much flavor.
- No Refined Sugar: Honey provides the balance of sweetness in this lime vinaigrette.
- Easy-to-Make: This dressing is on your table in under 10 minutes.
🥗 Ingredients for Honey Lime Vinaigrette
- Limes: Fresh limes are the way to go here. So much fresher and tastier than bottled lime juice. You can easily make a lemon version of this dressing by replacing with lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Olive Oil: With so few ingredients in this recipe, the quality of your olive oil really shines through. Choose a good-quality extra-virgin olive oil if you can.
- Shallot: Red onions or scallions would be a great substitution here for the mild shallot.
- Honey: For a vegan honey lime dressing, replace the honey with maple syrup, agave syrup, or brown sugar.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Zest 1 lime until you have 1 teaspoon of zest. Squeeze that lime and another lime until you have 3 tablespoons of juice.
Whisk together lime juice, zest, 1 tablespoon honey, and 1 tablespoon chopped shallots in a small bowl.
Slowly whisk in 6 tablespoons olive oil. Stir in 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
🧐 Recipe FAQs for Honey Lime Dressing
We love to store our salad dressings in mason jars with tight lids, then put them in the refrigerator. They will last for up to 5 days that way, though see note below about the cilantro. When you store your vinaigrette in a jar, you can just shake it vigorously before serving so that the dressing re-emulsifies.
This dressing can be easily made in advance, with the exception of adding the chopped cilantro. The cilantro will become discolored over time due to the acid in the lime juice. If you just want to make the dressing just a couple of hours beforehand, the cilantro will be fine, but if you want to make the dressing a day or two in advance, combine everything except the cilantro. Then add the chopped cilantro right before serving.
Yes! Fresh, high-quality ingredients make all the difference. This dressing has only 161 calories per serving. If you want to reduce that even further, you can cut down the amount of honey called for in the recipe. This dressing is also dairy-free, gluten-free, and can be made vegan by replacing the honey with a vegan sweetener.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
Whisking in the olive oil in the last step, rather than with the rest of the ingredients, helps emulsify the salad dressing. Add it slowly, whisking constantly. If you are storing your dressing in a jar, you can also shake the jar to emulsify it.
Wondering what flavors go with this honey lime salad dressing? Try a simple salad of romaine or red leaf lettuce, chopped cucumbers, red pepper chunks, avocado slices, and some cotija or feta cheese. Or serve with this Accompaniment Salad or this Beet Salad with Feta. Easy and delicious, and great when paired with these Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos or a batch of enchiladas.
You know what else is delicious? A fruit salad with honey lime dressing. Just combine your favorite fresh fruits and berries, and drizzle with this vinaigrette.
And, this honey lime vinaigrette actually does double-duty as a marinade. Try grilled chicken with it—use the dressing as a marinade, and baste the chicken as you are grilling. Works for shrimp and fish as well!
Other Delicious Salad Dressings
A good salad dressing makes any salad shine. Try this Spicy Mango Dressing to start. Or try a 5-minute homemade version of Thousand Island Dressing. You can also check out some of our other favorites here:
If you try this Honey Lime Dressing recipe, we would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to us. And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to our newsletter. We’d love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
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📖 Recipe
Honey Lime Dressing
This Honey Lime Dressing will brighten up any green or grain salad with its punch of citrus and kiss of honey.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon chopped shallots
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Whisk together lime juice, lime zest, honey, and shallots in a small bowl.
- Slowly whisk in olive oil.
- Stir in chopped cilantro.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
How to Store
We love to store our salad dressings in mason jars with tight lids, then put them in the refrigerator. They will last for up to 5 days that way, though see note below about the cilantro. When you store your vinaigrette in a jar, you can just shake it vigorously before serving so that the dressing re-emulsifies.
Make-Ahead Tips
This dressing can be easily made in advance, with the exception of adding the chopped cilantro. The cilantro will become discolored over time due to the acid in the lime juice. If you just want to make the dressing just a couple of hours beforehand, the cilantro will be fine, but if you want to make the dressing a day or two in advance, combine everything except the cilantro. Then add the chopped cilantro right before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 161Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 64mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 0gSugar: 4gProtein: 0g
Nutrition information is provided as a general reference for users courtesy of the online nutrition calculator Nutritionix.
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this honey lime vinaigrette recipe, tag us @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because we’d love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
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