Whether you are tossing green salads or dressing a cold pasta salad, a great homemade dressing recipe makes the most of what you're making. Flavorful and tangy, make this easy homemade Italian salad dressing (aka Italian vinaigrette) in your kitchen. No packets, with simple, healthy ingredients, so make your own salad dressing.
As a kid, my job before dinner was making the Italian dressing. Grab a Good Seasons packet, add oil and vinegar to the lines on the cruet, add the dry seasoning packet and give it a good shake. It was my favorite dressing, which is why I am excited to share this recipe with you. The old recipe made new (and healthier). It's delicious!
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Recipe Ingredients
The best part of homemade salad dressing is you control the ingredients, the flavors, everything, all without preservatives.
- Oil: The best choice for delicious dressing is extra-virgin olive oil. Avocado oil works too.
- Vinegar: Vinegar gives Italian dressing brightness and tang. Choose champagne, white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar. All work well in Italian salad dressing.
- Parmesan cheese: The king of cheeses, for that savory, salty, umami flavor. A get the good stuff, the parmigiano-reggiano.
- Mustard: Best choice is Dijon mustard. Use a creamy style.
- Dried herbs: Dried Italian seasoning blend is terrific, but you can use just basil or oregano. Italian blend is usually a combination of thyme, marjoram, basil, oregano, sage and rosemary. Use what you have.
- Powdered seasoning: You need garlic powder and onion powder for punch and power.
- A touch of sweetness: Sugar or monk fruit blend, honey, maple, keto simple syrup, or agave syrup. You use a tiny amount but it's just enough.
Please see the recipe card for all measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
- Swap some whole grain Dijon for more texture and flavor.
- Use a flavored olive oil, like extra virgin lemon olive oil or a basil extra virgin olive oil.
- Use a finely zested fresh garlic cloves instead of the garlic powder.
- For zesty Italian dressing, use a little dried red pepper flakes (pizza pepper).
- Keep it low sodium by skipping salt (or using just a pinch) and be careful with the Parmesan. 1 tablespoon has 76mg of sodium.
- For a cheesy flavor but no cheese (vegan or non-dairy), add a little nutritional yeast. It provides that cheesy flavor without the cheese.
- If the dressing is too tangy, a little agave nectar, a bit of sugar, monk fruit or maple syrup to tame the tang.
- If you need a low histamine dressing, skip the Parmesan and try it with ACV or white vinegar.
Chef's Tip: For finely grated fresh parmesan cheese or garlic, use a microplane zester. It's a must-have, inexpensive kitchen tool. Use it for zesting citrus, raw garlic, chocolate, nuts, whole spices like nutmeg, and more.
Recipe Instructions
Make the dressing about 30 minutes ahead of time for the best flavor. This allows the dried herbs to rehydrate and release their flavor.
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Place all ingredients into a jar or bottle with a tight lid and shake well. For larger batches, use a blender.
Chef's Note: Why make your own dressing? Grocery store bottled brands of dressing often use soybean oil or canola oil (rapeseed oil). The problem? These oils are low quality, unhealthy oils, industrially processed with chemicals and solvents, and mostly genetically modified (GMO). No thanks.
Serving Suggestions
Of course, use homemade Italian salad dressing to dress a green salad, but it works great over a cold pasta salad. It's an excellent marinade for chicken breasts and shrimp before grilling. Try it tossed with cooked green beans or grilled vegetables. It's multipurpose, one to always have in your recipe arsenal. Store any extras in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It lasts a week.
Recipe FAQs
The best oil is extra virgin olive oil or unrefined avocado oil. Run from "vegetable oil" as its usually highly processed soybean oil. If it's in your pantry, toss it. Healthier oils are naturally extracted or pressed and made without chemical alteration. Another highly processed oil not in my pantry is canola oil (rapeseed oil). There are delicious and healthy alternatives.
Really, it's just semantics. They are basically the same thing. Sometimes in general, a vinaigrette is more fluid and might simply be oil and vinegar and a dressing might be creamier, but it depends on the ingredients. Adding Dijon mustard makes a vinaigrette creamy as it's a natural emulsifier.
Not really. Homemade Italian dressing is best refrigerated, and a must if it contains Parmesan cheese. Refrigerate for food safety reasons.
More Dressing Recipes
I have many delicious salad dressing and vinaigrettes recipe on this site. Some are separate and some are within salad recipes. Check out the salad category and you'll find strawberry vinaigrette, orange vinaigrette, and more.
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📖 Recipe
Homemade Italian Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons champagne or white wine vinegar sub apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon very finely grated Parmesan cheese
- ¾ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¾ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning blend sub basil, oregano,
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon sugar or monk fruit blend sub honey, maple, keto simple syrup, agave
- 1 pinch red chili flakes (pizza pepper)
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Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a jar and shake well and is a bowl and whisk.
- For a larger batch use a blender.
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