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I couldn’t live in a world without a good homemade Italian Dressing Recipe. This one is quick, easy, and works delicious magic on anything from baby greens to a plate of homegrown tomatoes. So much better than Olive Garden, and not a filler or artificial ingredient in sight.
This homemade salad dressing is inspired by the legendary dressing at Olive Garden. It’s infused with red wine vinegar, lemon, honey, herbs, and Parmesan cheese. It’s packed with flavor and so easy to make, you might never open a store-bought bottle again!
And honestly, you don’t need to. I’m not a food snob, and I don’t mind convenience products or cutting corners, but I draw the line at store-bought dressing. If you have the ingredients, making dressing from scratch is always the best way to go. You’ll get the best, freshest taste and have all the control to make exactly what you want.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Lemon juice: To add fresh lemon zest, zest the lemons before cutting in half to squeeze for juice.
- Mustard: Dijon mustard adds flavor and aids in emulsification. Or substitute ¼ teaspoon ground mustard powder.
- Herbs: I like a mixture of dried basil, dried oregano, and dried parsley. Or, substitute 1 ½ teaspoons of Italian seasoning. To substitute fresh herbs, use 1 tablespoon of each.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, honey, Dijon mustard, basil, oregano, parsley, and garlic powder. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I like ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper).
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This Italian salad dressing recipe makes about 1 cup of dressing, enough for 8 servings, 2 tablespoons each.
- Storage: Store leftover vinaigrette covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Make the dressing up to 3 days in advance. For best results, leave out the Parmesan cheese and sprinkle it on your salad right before tossing.
- Mix it up: Whisk it up in a bowl or shake it up in jar with a lid. Either way you’re good to go. I always use a jar when I’m making extra or plan to store it for a few days. White wine vinegar works in place of the red wine vinegar if that’s all you have.
- Creamy italian dressing: Add ½ cup good quality mayo (Hellman’s or Best Foods) to the dressing.
- Fresh herbs: Use about twice the amount the recipe calls for because the equivalent in dried herbs takes up less room in the measuring spoons. Onion powder and red pepper flakes are excellent additions, too.
- Fresh garlic: Substitute 1-2 garlic cloves (minced) for the garlic powder.
- Marinade: The dressing makes an excellent marinade for chicken (especially if you’re grilling it). Just combine in a bowl or plastic bag and marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 4 hours in the refrigerator.
Frequently Asked Questions
I look for extra virgin olive oil whenever I’m making salad dressings (Cobram Estates is my favorite brand). Because you aren’t cooking the oil, the flavor can really make a difference.
Organic red wine vinegar is made from a variety of organic Italian grapes. Spectrum brand red wine vinegar is organic and is a product of Modena in Italy.
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Italian Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon, see note 1)
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (see note 2)
- 1 teaspoon dried basil (see note 3)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove minced fresh garlic
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, honey, Dijon mustard, basil, oregano, parsley, and garlic powder. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Store covered in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Lemon juice: To add fresh lemon zest, zest the lemons before cutting in half to squeeze for juice.
- Mustard: Dijon mustard adds flavor and aids in emulsification. Or substitute ¼ teaspoon ground mustard powder.
- Herbs: I like a mixture of dried basil, dried oregano, and dried parsley. Or, substitute 1 ½ teaspoons of Italian seasoning. To substitute fresh herbs, use 1 tablespoon of each.
- Yield: This Italian salad dressing recipe makes about 1 cup of dressing, enough for 8 servings, 2 tablespoons each.
- Storage: Store leftover vinaigrette covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
every one liked it—-will be made often
Happy to hear that, Jose! – Meggan
I have made this dressing about once a month for the past 2 years. I don’t use the Parmesan, and it keeps well. It has become our favorite. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Sue! I’m so happy it’s become a favorite! Take cake! – Meggan
I don’t see the seeds listed in the ingredient list. Has the recipe been changed? Thanks.
I thought this was the recipe that had celery, poppy, and sesame seeds in it, but I don’t see them listed in the ingredients. Has the recipe been changed to omit those, or am I thinking of a different recipe? Thanks.
Hi Sally, your comment makes me laugh and feel sad at the same time. Sad because – yes I changed it! It’s not the same one. I woke up one day and looked at the recipe and I was like – this makes no sense, Italian salad dressing isn’t orange and doesn’t have all those seeds?? What was I thinking. So I changed it resemble something you might get at Olive Garden. And then I said to myself, well no one has ever made this anyway, no one will notice it’s different, and now I laugh because at least ONE person made it the old way. You. Long story to say, sorry about that! The original recipe with all the seeds was for my California Pasta Salad which still exists on the site, so I’ve copied and pasted the dressing from there below. So it’s not lost and gone forever, but I’m really sorry for the confusion. Maybe I’ll add it back to the site under a new name, like California Salad Dressing. LOL. Thank you! Sorry again. -Meggan
Ingredients:
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
2 cloves garlic finely minced
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon Salt or more to taste
Directions: In a small bowl, or in a jar with a tight-fitting lid, add olive oil, red wine vinegar, parmesan cheese, sesame seeds, oregano, poppy seeds, garlic, paprika, celery seed, and salt. Whisk or shake until combined. Allow flavors to blend and store covered in the refrigerator.
Toller Artikel…
Hi Meggan – I just stumbled on your page and I will be doing some more investigating, ‘cause everything looks great so far! Question on this recipe: how long will it last in the fridge? It’s just the two of us here and we love salads (and Italian dressing) but ya gotta change it up now and then, amirite? LOL. Maybe I should halve the recipe for us? What do you think?
Hi Melinda, the best rule of thumb is 4 days. With a recipe like this, you can likely go 7 days without any problems. But, the CDC and the restaurant management association will say 4 days. I hope this is helpful! Thank you! 🙂 -Meggan
At one point, you mention 3 seeds are in this recipe. Celery and poppy seeds…what is the third seed? Also, how long can you keep this in the refrigerator?
Thank you.
Hi Suzanne, the third seed is sesame seed. But regrettably I decided not to list that in the ingredients! I’ve fixed the post now. So sorry for the confusion/my typo. I appreciate your patience with me. -Meggan
Meggan, I will be using homemade parmesan cheese.
Hi, can I use vegan parmesan to make it vegan, will it work. Waiting for your reply, Thank you.
Hi Lynn, I don’t see why it would be a problem. I also feel like nutritional yeast might also be tasty (or even if you leave the cheese out entirely, the dressing is still awesome). Can you let me know what brand of vegan parmesan cheese you are going to try? I would love to pick it up and try it out just for my own knowledge, and so I can update the post. Thank you!
Hi could I use pecorino Romano cheese instead of Parmesan?
Hi Mary, yes! I’m guessing if you served it to anyone else, they couldn’t even tell the difference. Thanks for the question.
Holy crap this is delicious…and can confirm, it beats Newmans Own!
We saw Alton Brown’s life show a while back (gah maybe 5 years) and at the end of it, he took questions from the audience. The one I remember was someone asked what are people not making at home that we should be and his answer salad dressing.
You might even be able to add sesame seeds to this one, it is starting to look a lot like my favorite garlic bread topping. https://www.mccormick.com/spices-and-flavors/herbs-and-spices/blends/perfect-pinch-salad-supreme-seasoning
Hi Mara, sorry you didn’t care for this dressing. – Meggan