Zippy, zesty Homemade Italian Dressing is delicious on salads and makes an excellent marinade...plus it's all-natural and easy to make!
Have you jumped on the make-your-own-salad-dressing bandwagon yet? Because if you haven't, there's no time like the present.
Why Make Your Own Dressing?
Fresh, homemade Italian Dressing is so much tastier than store-bought.
It's also way less expensive.
And best of all, it's free of any icky ingredients or additives!
I have always loved Italian Dressing, both for its flavor and its versatility. Not only is it tasty on green salads, but it's also delicious on sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, pasta salad, or as marinade for chicken, pork, or beef. And while I've enjoyed some yummy bottled Italian salad dressings over the years, nothing compares to making it yourself from scratch.
When I was growing up, my mom always bought the Italian Dressing seasoning packets that came with that special glass cruet marked with lines to indicate how much oil, how much water, and how much vinegar to add along with the seasonings. As a child, it was actually always my job to "make the dressing." So I'd do my measuring and then...shake, shake, shake! Salad was served.
How to Make Italian Dressing
But would you believe that making your own from-scratch Italian Dressing is just about as effortless?! Sure, there are a few additional ingredients involved beyond a packet of dry seasonings. But it still only takes a matter of minutes to whip up a fresh batch:
- Measure ingredients.
- Shake, whisk, or blend. And...
- Serve. That's it!
As a bonus, you can customize it to your own tastes, tweaking the herbs and spices as you see fit.
Ingredient Notes
I like to make this recipe with extra-virgin olive oil, but a neutral vegetable oil (like canola or safflower) will work as well, if that's your preference.
As for the vinegar, I honestly can't decide if I prefer white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar. Both of them yield a delightful dressing, but the results do taste slightly different. Dressing made with white wine vinegar seems slightly more acidic to me and the flavor is probably more akin to store-bought dressing, whereas I feel like red wine vinegar adds an extra undertone of flavor. I love them both and, as a result, I typically alternate which one I use...or sometimes I make a batch of dressing using half white wine vinegar and half red!
Spring is here, so it's time to bid adieu to soup season and bring on the salads! And I really believe that once you try this Homemade Italian Dressing, you won't be going back to store-bought!
It's better than what you can get at The Olive Garden, yet it's made with real, straightforward ingredients.
Who can argue with that? 😉
More Homemade Salad Dressings
- Creamy Italian Dressing
- The BEST Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
- Lightened-Up Honey Mustard Dressing
- Homemade French & Catalina Salad Dressings
- Greek Salad Dressing
Homemade Italian Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil OR neutral vegetable oil, such as sunflower or safflower
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar OR red wine vinegar OR a combo of the two
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 to 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 3/4 teaspoon dried parsley
- 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Measure all ingredients into a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake vigorously until well-blended and emulsified. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more salt and pepper if necessary. (Alternatively, you may whisk ingredients together in a bowl, process ingredients in a mini food processor, or blend them in a blender.) Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator; allow to come to room temperature and shake well before using.
Steve
Made this recipe to the letter! YEP!! Perfection WOW there was a party in my mouth! Used it as a chicken marinade! It really is better than any other Italian dressing recipe I have tried before. And YES make sure to blend it, it seems to bring out the flavor of the herbs much better than simply mixing it! Here in the Philippines? A bottle of Wishbone Zesty Italian Dressing is a whopping $9.50-10 for a 16oz bottle!!! This cost me right under $3.50 doubling the recipe. And it taste much better!
Nancy
This dressing was really delicious and it went well with my Italian salad with roasted red bell peppers, olives and cannellini beans. Definitely my go-to Italian dressing from now on.
Teresa
Very good...Followed the recipe except when I mixed it with the oil and vinegar, I used honey to mellow out the vinegar instead of sugar
Michele
It calls for honey in the recipe
Daniela
As Italian I can say that it was delicious, used fresh herbs instead of dry because didn’t have all the ingredients, otherwise. Thanks
Sue
Hello have just found your sight thank you tis great live dressings🤩
Holly Hennings/Martin
I am also one who substituted some of the ingredients based on what I had on hand. I used rice wine vinegar and left out the basil and used the Parmesan cheese out of the jar/can. It wasn’t zesty enough for me so I added more lemon juice and vinegar to it. But now I have a aftertaste of oregano. Quick and easy to throw together and uses basic ingredients that you have on hand and if you don’t use what you do have. I am sure that Apple cider or white vinegar would work just as well also.
Kim
Rice wine vinegar will have an entirely different taste that red or white wine vinegar. Really can't rate a recipe with such a huge change in ingredients.
Ashleigh
I subbed a little. Used rice vinegar because that's all I had, and I used just Italian seasonings instead of the rest because apparently im out of parsley lol. Still turned out delicious. Saving!!!
Debbi Stadler
This is the best Italian dressing. So much flavor light and yummy sure to save this one!
Nichole
How long can this keep for?
Samantha Skaggs
It will keep 2 to 3 weeks in the refrigerator. 🙂
Heather
Loved this dressing!! Definitely a keeper.
Bonnie
Oooooo this was soooo much better than any bottled dressing (I hate bottled). I forgot the honey at first and it was pretty strong, once I added the honey (a little more than 2 tsp) it mellowed out and was just fantastic. This will be my go-to all the time now. Thank you!
Marta
It was ok, not at all like Olive Garden to me.
Jen
Great recipe. I tweaked it a little after measuring to make it to my taste. I added a bit more garlic and parsley but it really had all the notes that are in Italian dressing.
GS
Great ratios - just think it needed more garlic and salt. Blended it.
Thanks!!!
Anne Mundell
Excellent dressing. We loved it. How long will this keep in the refrigerator?
Matt
Indefinitely if I had to guess. That vinegar tends to kill off a lot of things.
Kristina
We LOVE this dressing! Added about a teaspoon or so of marinara. Better than a restaurant.