Homemade Italian Dressing

Zippy, zesty Homemade Italian Dressing is delicious on salads and makes an excellent marinade...plus it's all-natural and easy to make!

"Better than Olive Garden" Homemade Italian Dressing recipe with text overlay.

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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.

Italian Dressing Recipe in glass jar.

How to Make Italian Dressing

But would you believe that making your own from-scratch Italian Dressing recipe 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:

  1. Measure ingredients.
  2. Shake, whisk, or blend. And...
  3. Serve. That's it!

As a bonus, you can customize it to your own tastes, tweaking the herbs and spices as you see fit.

Italian Dressing mixed up in glass mason jar.

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!

Aerial view of ingredients and jar.

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

"Better than Olive Garden" Homemade Italian Dressing

Homemade Italian Dressing

Zippy, zesty Homemade Italian Dressing is delicious on salads and makes an excellent marinade...plus it's all-natural and easy to make!
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 8 (2-tablespoon) servings (approximately 1 cup total dressing)
Calories: 129kcal
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Video

Ingredients

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

The honey mellows out the acidity of the dressing, but you may add more or less, to taste.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tablespoons | Calories: 129kcal | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 247mg | Vitamin A: 15IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 0.2mg
Made this recipe? I'd love to see on IG!Mention @FiveHeartHome or tag #FiveHeartHome!

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4.89 from 143 votes (60 ratings without comment)

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115 Comments

  1. The most flavorful Italian dressing! We will never make another, this recipe is fantastic!
    We used red wine vinegar it toured out perfect. We had to add just a pinch of salt, other than that perfect, perfect!!!