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. Fresh, homemade salad dressing is so much tastier than store-bought. It’s also way less expensive, not to mention 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. As a bonus, you can customize it to your own tastes, tweaking the herbs and spices as you see fit.
I like to make my Homemade Italian Dressing 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 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? 😉
Italian Dressing Recipe
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.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
Notes
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
Melissa
I messed up reading the ingredients and added 3/4 tsp of oregano but it was still great! Thanks so much! Next time I’ll try it with white wine vinegar (this time I used red wine vinegar) and next time I’ll also make sure to read the ingredients correctly. lol.
Vera
Really good! Will make again and easy.
Anna M.
Disgusting! My marine who has survived on MREs for months at a time, threw it out. Was there an ingredient missing like flavor? Omg awful!
Samantha Skaggs
I’m sorry to hear that, Anna. Your comment is so very opposite the reviews this recipe typically gets that I wonder if there could have been an issue with one of your ingredients? Like perhaps rancid oil? At any rate, I’m sorry you had a bad experience. And I hope you’ll convey to your husband my thanks for his service.
Ann
You know – there is a way of expressing an opinion. It’s called Respect. Maybe try using your words and expressing with a little respect next time.
Tommy
Excellent left out the honey and added dill. Yummy
Hannah
This was very good! I’m vegan and subbed nutritional yeast for the Parmesan and it was still very tasty!
Ashley
I made this for my pasta salad. yum yum yum!
Shawna Fox
Great Taste! And Quick and Easy to make with the ingredients we had at home. My 4 year old helped me make most of it!
Cathy
Delicious! I added slightly more vinegar!
marilyn cooper
It has too much vinegar! Once I added more olive oil, it became a 4.
Leila
Hi there. I am on a special detox where I cant have sugar or honey. Is it ok to just eliminate it?
Thank you
Samantha at Five Heart Home
Yes, you may leave out the honey! It’s only in there to curb the acidity, not add sweetness.
Tatyana Goncharov
HOLY Cow! WOW this is amazing. Thank you so so so much for this. My husband and I went to Olive Garden last night and got more salad to go.
I’m reusing yesterday’s salad and notice how little dressing they gave (which is fine, of course, it’s to go) 🙂
Go I googled how to make home made one instead of going to the store and clicked on this link first.
WOW
WOW
WOW
PERFECT! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
GM
I used this dressing for a pasta salad. It was DELICIOUS. My 4 and 5 year old said, “mom, this is so good, you need to make it more often.” Hard to deny that request.
Samantha at Five Heart Home
Yay! The best compliment. 🙂
Nicholas Pechacek
One step I like to take is adding all dried ingredients to the vinegar and allowing them to steep for about 5 minutes. It really brings out the flavor better, as emulsifying (blending) immediately locks the dried herbs behind the oil. Slightly chilling the liquid ingredients before blending also helps with emulsification, and prevents the oil from bittering if it gets too hot in a blender or food processor. Then pour the room temp oil into the processor of your choice slowly, and your dressing will be less likely to separate!
Sarah Laurin
Most excellent!!
Dalane England
Excellent!