You’re just 5-minutes away from a sweet lemony dressing that’s tangy and also has a candied flavor, without added sugar! Lemon dill dressing is naturally sweetened with dates for a thick and creamy, dairy-free vinaigrette that’s easy to make with simple ingredients.
Ingredient Notes
- Lemon: wash them well, even if they’re organic because we are going to use the zest AND the juice, for maximum lemon flavor.
- Caper brine: I love the super tangy flavor that makes this dressing taste more like a vinaigrette.
- Capers: bring on the salty, acidic flavor profile that gives this more zest than other lemon dill dressings….and offers some thickening at the same time. Use the rest of the jar to make vegan tofu piccata, or white bean pasta puttanesca.
- Fresh dill: You would need about 3 tablespoons of dried dill for similar flavor you’d get in one bunch fresh, so use fresh if you can!!
Make it
Separate the wispy fronds from the woody stems of the fresh dill. It’s easy to do with a pair of kitchen shears or a chef’s knife.
Add lemon zest to a tall pitcher (if you’re using an immersion blender) or blender cup (for personal size blenders) and then squeeze the juice into same cup.
Wash the lemons well and then use a microplane to finely grate the zest off. Get as much as you can for the best lemony flavor.
Finely grate the garlic into the lemon mixture.
To the lemon and garlic, add capers, caper brine, olive oil, black pepper and dates.
Blend on high until dates have been fully incorporated into mixture.
Now add the fresh dill fronds to the lemon vinaigrette.
Pulse to just barely incorporate the dill into the dressing. There will still be some small thin pieces of dill visible.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- Lemon dill dressing is fabulous drizzled over roasted veggies.
- Adjust the sweetness by using less dates. I love the candied lemon flavor so I use all 4 dates.
- Adjust the tang, especially if your lemons aren’t particularly juicy by adding a bit more capers, or another tablespoon caper brine.
- Control the consistency: if your dressing is too thick to pour, add a couple tablespoons water and then blend until well incorporated and emulsified.
- This is the best dill dressing for a simple cucumber and onion salad.
📖 Recipe
Lemon Dill Dressing with Dates
Ingredients
- 2 large lemons zested and juiced
- 1 large clove garlic finely grated
- 4 medjool dates remove pits
- 2 tablespoon capers
- 1 tablespoon caper brine
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 large bunch fresh dill
Instructions
- Scrub lemons. Finely grate the peel off the lemons and then juice them. If you're using an immersion blender, or personalized size blender, you can do this right into the cup.
- Grate the garlic with the same microplane grater right onto the lemon.
- Remove pits from dates and add them along with the capers, caper juice, olive oil and black pepper.
- Blend until thick and creamy with no remaining chunks of dates.
- Separate the fronds from the stems of the fresh dill. Add the fronds to the dressing mixture and pulse until just incorporated, leaving flecks of green throughout.
- Test the consistency and taste. Add a bit of water or more caper brine to bring out more zing and to thin to desired consistency.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Shake vigorously before using, adding a bit more liquid (water, lemon juice or caper brine)if needed to thin it out.
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
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