Lemon Herb Vinegar

This lemon herb vinegar is so easy to make and adds so much flavor to everything!  Perfect in homemade salad dressings, drizzle a little on grilled meats or fish, add it to a marinade or use it to deglaze a pan for lemony herby pan sauce! 

You all know that I love infusing alcohol, but did you know that I also love infusing vinegars and oils? 

I was so pleased with my lemon infused olive oil, that I decided to make a lemon herb vinegar!

Just look at the gorgeous color on this vinegar!!  That comes straight from fresh lemons, no artificial colors here!   This was so easy to make, time does most of the work, I plan on always having a bottle of this in the pantry. 

Use it anywhere you would normally use vinegar – in homemade salad dressings, marinades, drizzle on grilled fish or meats, use it to deglaze a pan for a quick and lemony pan sauce!

Click here to pin this homemade infused vinegar now! 

Ingredients

• Herbs – you can use dried herbs or fresh.  For this batch I used fresh thyme.  In the summer, I use tarragon or basil.  In the winter, I can still make this with thyme or rosemary.  Dill is also good.
• Garlic – 1 to 2 cloves.  Optional. 
• Vinegar – you want to use a milder vinegar, not the big jugs of distilled vinegar (though I have use that in a pinch.). I usually try to go with white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar. 
• Sugar – adds just a tiny bit of sweetness.   You could also use honey.
• Lemons – since you are using the zest, try and find organic lemons.  If you can’t, be sure and scrub them well.

Step by Step Directions

Begin by zesting the lemons and thinly slicing the garlic.

Thinly slice the lemons and add them to a small saucepan.  Add the lemon zest, garlic and herbs to the pot.  

Add the vinegar. 

Bring all the ingredients to a boil over medium heat.  Turn off the heat and let cool. 

When the vinegar has cooled to room temperature, put the lemon vinegar mixture into a glass jar.  

Place a lid on the jar and store in a cook dark place for 3 weeks. 

Strain the vinegar to remove the solids.   Heat the vinegar with the sugar over medium heat, stirring, just until the sugar dissolves. 

Cool and pour into a pretty bottle. 

You can store it in the fridge to help preserve the freshness and flavor or I store mine in the pantry, because I usually use them up within 3 months. 

I make a lot of infusions, it’s one of my favorite ways to preserve fruits or herbs.  This lemony herby vinegar is one of my favorites!  I’ve already used half the bottle!  Luckily it’s so easy to make. 

For this one I used thyme, but my tarragon is sprouting up, so that’s next.  I’ll probably make a couple of bottles at the end end of summer and store them in the fridge so I can have all this sunny lemon herb vinegar all winter long! 

Click here to pin this and save it for later! 

More Infused Vinegar Recipes

Strawberry Vinegar – gorgeous red color, luscious strawberry flavors! 

Tarragon Vinegar – my favorite herb! 

Hot Chili Pepper Vinegar – we go through bottles and bottles of this!  A must have for soups and beans! 

Blueberry  – makes delicious homemade vinaigrettes.

Mango  – one of the most popular infused vinegar recipes on the blog – try it and you’ll see why! 

Garlic or Chive Blossoms – subtle oniony flavor – so good! 

Recipe

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This post was originally published in 2010 and has been updated for 2020.