Homemade Italian Dressing

It is so easy to make Italian Dressing at home – just a few ingredients and a couple of minutes are needed to whip up a batch. Use it on your favorite salad or store it in the fridge for up to 3 days – a great recipe to make ahead for easy meal prep later!

Italian salad dressing

• This recipe is super easy to make in 10 minutes or less – you’ll never go back to buying bottled salad dressing again!
• I keep my Italian dressing mayo-free so it holds up better in pasta salads on hot summer days, but for a copy cat Olive Garden salad dressing, feel free to add 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise.
• This makes around 2 cups of dressing, which is enough for a pasta salad made with 1 pound of pasta. The dressing keeps for up to 3 days if refrigerated constantly, so it’s a great condiment to make ahead or to have leftovers from – but you can easily cut the recipe in half if you need less.

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

Ingredient notes

• Olive oil: The olive oil is a major flavor component in this recipe, so I highly recommend using one you enjoy the taste of. I also recommend using a milder one so the other flavors in the dressing get a chance to come through, as strong olive oils can be quite overpowering.
• Red wine vinegar: White wine vinegar is a great substitute if you don’t have any red wine vinegar on hand.
• Honey: I highly recommend using a mild, runny honey here. Feel free to use maple syrup in place of the honey, or even granulated sugar if you don’t have any liquid sweeteners on hand.
• Parmesan cheese: I used freshly grated parmesan, which I find tends to blend into the dressing more easily. Pre-grated cheeses have additives in them to keep them from clumping, which can keep the dressing from coming together properly. An all-natural pre-grated parmesan will work, though.
• More creaminess: I would call this dressing semi-creamy – it’s thicker than a vinaigrette due to the cheese, but not as creamy as something like a Ranch dressing. If you’re looking for a more creamy dressing like Olive Garden has, add 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise.
• Garlic powder: I always use garlic powder in salad dressing, never fresh garlic. Fresh garlic intensifies over time, so if you keep the dressing in the fridge for a while, the garlic will completely overpower all other flavors. I also find it very hard to gauge the taste of raw garlic – some cloves are mild and pleasant, but others can taste really strong and biting when used raw. Garlic powder is very reliable in dressings, so I do highly recommend sticking to this ingredients.

How to make Italian dressing

This is a very easy recipe: Add all ingredients to a medium measuring jug, then blend using a stick blender until smooth. Done!

Recipe tips

• The dressing can separate a little as it sits, use a small whisk or a fork to whisk through to make it come back together. Once added to a salad, it will not separate any longer.
• If you don’t have a stick blender, you can also make this in a regular blender – only pulse and use low speed, as it is easy to overmix the dressing with a powerful blender. Overmixing would result in the olive oil heating up too much and possibly developing unpleasant flavors, as well as affecting the texture of the cheese.
• Keep leftover dressing in a tight-lidded jar in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Depending on the strength of your salt and your other specific ingredients used, you may need to adjust the amount of vinegar, seasoning and salt added. Taste the dressing once blended, then adjust to your taste. If it seems bland, add more salt/garlic powder/Italian seasoning. If it tastes too oily/doesn’t have enough tang, add a little more vinegar.

Serving ideas

This is the dressing I always make for our Italian pasta salad. It’s also perfect for a mixed greens salad you are serving with an Italian-inspired entrée when you don’t want to add a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

We enjoy a side salad tossed with Italian dressing with Lasagna, Chicken Parmesan, Italian Meatballs… But also with dishes that already have balsamic in them when I don’t want to pile on that flavor, like Baked Caprese Chicken or Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken.

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Printable recipe

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