This homemade Italian dressing recipe is zesty, fresh, and authentic – better than Olive Garden or Wishbone any day! Perfect for your favorite salad, pasta salad, or even as a marinade.
Have you ever looked at Wishbone Italian dressing or other store-bought bottled Italian salad dressings and wondered what in the world all those ingredients were? Or licked your plate because the Olive Garden salad dressing recipe was out of this world?!
I can tell you right off the bat that hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup are two of the worst “ingredients” you’ll ever come across.
And unfortunately, they’re in almost every bottled or restaurant salad dressing. When we started eating real food, these ingredients were the first to be banned from our kitchen!
Learning how to make our own salad dressings was one of the first baby steps I took towards healthier eating, and to this day, Italian dressing is still one of my go-to easy salad dressing recipes and marinades!
WHY YOU SHOULD MAKE HOMEMADE ITALIAN DRESSING
I love making my own homemade Italian dressing for a few reasons:
- It mixes up in a jar in less than 2 minutes.
- I can use the dry Italian seasoning mix as a seasoning for vegetables.
- I almost always have everything I need to make it in my kitchen…and if I don’t, the recipe is super flexible.
- It’s 100% sugar-free (here’s why we stopped eating sugar)!
- It’s the perfect balance of tang and Italian spice we’ve come to know and love!
- Naturally gluten-free (many store-bought dressings are not!)
ITALIAN SALAD DRESSING INGREDIENTS
If you’ve never made Italian dressing before, it’s best to pull out all of the spices at the same time. That way you can whiz through the recipe in no time.
A list of 8 dry ingredients might seem long, but the seasonings for Italian dressing are a bunch of dried herbs and spices you likely already have in your spice cabinet.
- Oregano
- Salt and Pepper
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Parsley
- Basil
- Thyme
- Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
To make dressing with those seasonings, you just add a few wet ingredients that, again, you probably regularly have around:
- water
- vinegar (white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar – any flavor works well – or make your own)
- olive oil (I like this brand)
If by chance you DON’T have any of the above dry ingredients, go get them! You’ll use them in other homemade spice mixes like Homemade Poultry Seasoning, Homemade Taco Seasoning, and Montreal Steak Seasoning.
You can take the single herbs and make SO MANY of your own spice blends and homemade dressings – including Greek Salad Dressing and Ranch Dressing – and this will save you a lot of money in the long run.
Psst…Did you know that many salts contain MICROPLASTICS? It’s a sneaky toxin that may be in your everyday salt, and thus your everyday food (um, gross). I love Ava Jane’s Kitchen because their salt is FREE of microplastics, and it tastes delicious! (PLUS, you can get a free 8oz. bag of sea salt – just pay shipping and handling!)
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE ITALIAN DRESSING INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1. Combine all ingredients in a jar or container capable of holding at least 2 ½ cups. (You could whisk everything together in a bowl, but I think that creates unnecessary dishes.)
Step 2. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and shake well.
Note: This recipe makes just short of two cups of dressing.
STORING ITALIAN DRESSING
To save time, I usually triple or quadruple the dry portion of this recipe and store it in a jar in my spice cabinet.
- I write “2 Tbsp” on the jar to let me know I need two tablespoons of dry seasoning mix to make a batch of dressing. (Although you can always use more or less, depending on how you like your dressing to taste.)
Italian dressing will keep for about a week in the refrigerator. It may separate after a few days, so give it a shake before using.
I love using mason jars for homemade salad dressings and these lids make it super easy to shake and pour!
ITALIAN DRESSING RECIPE TIPS AND VARIATIONS
- Any time I make this dressing for Italian Pasta Salad, I always put a green salad on the menu for later in the week to use up any leftover dressing.
- I don’t recommend using fresh herbs for this recipe.
- Use this as a marinade! Add it to your meats when you first come home from the store and then freeze them. As the meat thaws, the Italian dressing will marinate the meat.
- Use the dry seasoning mix liberally for pasta, rice, or vegetables. Or even to make Italian meatballs!
- I prefer apple cider vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, but you can use red wine vinegar and/or lemon juice. Both will affect the flavor in the end.
- Make this a CREAMY Italian dressing recipe by swapping Greek yogurt or a smidge of mayonnaise for all or part of the oil!
- To get that signature Olive Garden Italian dressing recipe flavor, you’ll need to add a pinch or two of sugar or honey.
- Adding a teaspoon or two of Dijon mustard can help prevent the oil and vinegar from separating in a vinaigrette.
- Drizzle over fresh veggies like tomatoes and cucumbers for a fun way to spice up meal time.
ITALIAN DRESSINGS RECIPES FAQS
Is Italian dressing vegan? Gluten-free? Healthy?
Yes, yes, and yes! All of the ingredients needed for Italian salad dressing are plant-based and gluten-free. If you use quality extra virgin olive oil instead of vegetable oil, then this can be healthy too!
Can Italian dressing go bad if it’s left out?
You can easily leave this dressing out on the counter for a day or two without any issues. Both oil and vinegar are natural preservatives.
Because we’re using just a splash of water though, you’ll want to refrigerate it for longer storage.
Can Italian dressing be used as a marinade? Or for pasta salad?
Yes and yes! Have you ever had Italian dressing chicken? It’s where you marinate the chicken in Italian dressing and it’s SO good…and super easy!
This is also the same dressing we use when we make Italian Pasta Salad. We sprinkle a bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top and OH MY – it’s so amazing!
MORE HOMEMADE SALAD DRESSINGS
- Greek Salad Dressing
- Caesar Salad Dressing
- Ranch Salad Dressing (with a method for making it Whole30 compliant!)
- Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Thai Peanut Sauce
- Sweet Lemon Vinaigrette
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This homemade Italian dressing recipe is zesty, fresh, and authentic – better than Olive Garden or Wishbone any day! Perfect for your favorite salad, pasta salad, or even as a marinade.
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Total Time: 2 minutes
- Yield: scant 2 cups 1x
- Category: Sauces/Condiments
- Method: Combine and shake
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- ½ tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- ½ tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 cup vinegar (any flavor works well)
- 1 ½ cups olive oil (I like this brand)
Instructions
- Combine everything above in a jar or container capable of holding at least 2 ½ cups. Cover and shake well. The recipe makes just scant of two cups of dressing.
Notes
- To save time, I usually triple or quadruple the dry portion of this recipe and store it in a jar in my spice cabinet.
- I write “2 Tbsp” on the jar and that’s to let me know I need that much dry seasoning mix to make a batch of dressing. (Although you can always use more or less, depending on how you like your dressing to taste.)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Tbsp
- Calories: 35
How long will this keep in the refrigerator?
Hello Becky,
This homemade Italian salad dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 or 3 weeks. Before using, give it a good stir or shake.
Perfect recipe! I used apple cider vinegar. This was exactly what I was looking for!
I was soo excited to try this recipe but oooh weee, a tablespoon of salt was way too salty for this recipe.
Hi Luella,
Thanks for sharing with us. I will definitely pass your thoughts on and I’ll double check the recipe. Thanks again.
I do like this but the vinegar is a little too strong. I used white vinegar and I am looking for something to tame it. Maybe sugar? Thank you for sharing. I think I will make this frequently once I tweak it.
Hi Heather,
Maybe apple cider vinegar would work better for you?
Heather, I like to use rice vinegar (seasoned, mild & sweet) and I use about a teaspoon of sugar. And olive oil. Adjust to your taste. I hope this is useful to you.
Will be trying this salad dressing tomorrow. Would like to triple the seasonings to keep ready to use.
You label it to use 2 tablespoons; to how much oil and vinegar? I am pleased to find your web site.
Vel, 2 tbsp premade dry seasoning for 2 tablespoons water, 1 cup vinegar, 1 1/2 cups olive oil. But you can add more or less dry seasoning to your preference.
Heather, try red wine vinegar. Game changer!
do you need 0,5 cup vinegar instead of 1 cup if not it makes 2.5cups
Ed, it is supposed to make 2.5-ish cups.
I love homemade salad dressings! I will definitely be trying this one! I have also reverse engineered a few to make at home and keep the cost down, like Primal Kitchen Honey Mustard Vinaigrette and a copycat Panera White Balsamic Vinaigrette!
Can I omit onion powder from this recipe? I don’t have any!
Of course! Or minced onion would work too.