There are few things I love more than a kitchen trick that saves time, reduces waste, and happens to make a damn good sauce.
This Spicy Lime & Honey Vinaigrette checks all the boxes.
It’s bright and citrusy, sweet from honey, fragrant with garlic, shallot, and cilantro, and finished with the clean heat of a bird’s eye chili. It’s exactly the kind of dressing that makes summer produce taste even more like summer.
And we’re making it right in the honey jar.
The Best Summer Vinaigrette Takes 5 Minutes
When you’ve used most of the honey and there’s just a couple of tablespoons clinging to the bottom and sides of the jar, why move it into another bowl? Add the rest of your ingredients, put the lid back on, and shake.
The honey loosens into the lime juice and olive oil, everything emulsifies, and you’ve made a vinaigrette without dirtying another dish.
That’s a win.
The Honey Jar Trick
This isn’t just a clever way to make this particular vinaigrette.
It’s a technique worth remembering.
Whenever you’ve got a jar with just a little bit of something delicious left inside, consider making your sauce right in the jar.
Sometimes, that mostly empty jar that’s on my ‘must use” list will dictate direction in the kitchen. Whether it’s honey, mustard, jam, tahini, peanut butter—anything that can become part of your dressing can stay where it is.
Add your acidic ingredients first to loosen what’s stuck to the sides, add your oil and seasonings, close the lid, and shake.
You’re using every last bit of the ingredient and eliminating an extra bowl from the washing-up pile.
Sometimes the best kitchen hacks are the ones that were sitting right in front of us.
Sauces of Summer
Summer cooking doesn’t need complicated sauces. Give me good produce, something grilled, and a jar of homemade sauce and I’m happy.
Sauces of Summer is my collection of bright, bold, easy sauces designed to make everyday summer cooking more interesting. They’re the little extras that turn grilled chicken into dinner, fresh vegetables into something spectacular, and a simple salad into something you actually want to eat.
Explore more:
• Lemon Chive Yogurt Dressing — cool, creamy, and fresh.
• Burnt Honey Vinaigrette — deeply caramelized honey, citrus, and bright acidity.
• Mango Chili Mayo — creamy, tropical, sweet heat.
• Nam Jim Thai Dipping Sauce — spicy, salty, sweet, and loaded with fresh lime.
• Big Mac Sauce— tangy, creamy, and unapologetically nostalgic.
Keep a jar in the refrigerator. Summer is better with sauce.
Why I Love It
This is a dressing with personality. The honey brings sweetness, lime provides acidity, garlic and shallot add savoury depth, cilantro brings freshness, and bird’s eye chili gives it a little kick. Olive oil rounds everything out.
It’s particularly good with sweet summer produce. I developed it for my Spicy Peach & Tomato Salad, where the honey and lime complement ripe peaches and tomatoes beautifully.
But don’t stop there.
Drizzle it over grilled vegetables, spoon it onto avocado, use it as a dressing for cucumber salad, or serve it alongside grilled chicken, shrimp, or smoked salmon.
It tastes like a little jar of summer.
Print
Spicy Lime & Honey Vinaigrette
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: about 3/4 cup 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A Spicy Lime & Honey Vinaigrette so sweet, tangy, fresh, and spicy, you’ll make it over and over again. Lime, honey, garlic, cilantro, shallot, and chili, and you make it right in the honey jar!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 small shallot, finely minced
- 1 lime, both juice and zest
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 - 3 bird's eye chilies, finely minced
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Make It in the Honey Jar
• Use a nearly empty honey jar containing approximately 2 tablespoons of honey.
• Add the minced garlic, shallot, lime zest, lime juice, cilantro, bird’s eye chili, olive oil, salt, and pepper directly to the jar.
• Screw the lid on tightly.
• Shake vigorously for 20–30 seconds until the honey has dissolved into the lime juice and the vinaigrette is emulsified.
• Taste and adjust the balance as needed.
If your honey is particularly thick, let the jar sit for a few minutes after adding the lime juice before shaking. The acidity will help loosen the honey.
Notes
Serving Suggestions
This vinaigrette is fantastic with:
• Spicy Peach & Tomato Salad
• Tomato and cucumber salad
• Grilled peaches
• Watermelon and feta
• Avocado salad
• Green salads
• Grilled chicken
• Grilled shrimp
• Grilled fish
• Smoked salmon
• Roasted vegetables
• Grain bowls
• Rice noodle salads
• Fresh spring rolls
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Sauces
- Method: Blending
- Cuisine: Asian
