Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe - Cooking Classy (2024)

Published March 17, 2021

An easy Homemade Italian Dressing recipe! It’s incredibly flavorful, brightly zesty, vibrant and tangy, perfectly herby, and it’s the crowning finish to a fresh, crisp green salad. So much to savor within every taste of it.

Zesty Italian Salad Dressing

One of the best sides is a simple salad of lettuce and mixed vegetables paired with a delicious dressing like this to toss over and highlight everything.

But it has got to be a good dressing, not just some watery, flavorless, waste of ingredients.

This dressing has so much flavor, and it even includes parmesan cheese. You read that right, cheese added right into the dressing!

It tastes like the infamous Italian dressing from Olive Garden but fresher, richer and more flavorful!

You’ll love that it’s made with basic everyday ingredients you likely keep on hand, so you can make it anytime you want a homemade salad dressing.

Turn a boring, everyday salad into something to get excited about eating with this easy dressing recipe!

Italian Dressing Recipe Ingredients

• Olive oil: You can use extra virgin olive oil for a stronger flavor or standard refined (just labeled “olive oil”) for a milder flavor. I prefer half of each.
• Mayonnaise: This makes it a fairly creamy Italian dressing. It also acts as an excellent emulsifier to help prevent ingredients from separating after mixing.
• White wine vinegar: Red wine vinegar will work well too.
• Lemon juice: In a pinch you can just use more white wine vinegar but I love the pop of freshness lemon juice adds.
• Dijon mustard: A common ingredient in homemade dressing, it adds flavor and helps emulsify dressing.
• Honey: Only a hint of this is needed to help balance the tartness.
• Parmesan cheese: I prefer to use freshly grated parmesan cheese (not the shelf stable stuff). To grate I cut a wedge of Parmeggiano Reggiano into 1-inch chunks (remove rind first), toss in a food processor and process for a few minutes until finely grated.
• Garlic: Use fresh garlic, it adds so much flavor to the dressing.
• Parsley, basil and oregano: I usually dried herbs here for convenience but fresh herbs work great too.
• Red pepper flakes: Add this for a little kick of heat, adjust amount added to taste if desired.
• Salt and pepper: I like a fair amount of both in this dressing. About 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.

How to Make Italian Dressing

• In a medium mixing bowl whisk together olive oil, mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon, honey, herbs, mustard, garlic and parmesan.
• Mix until dressing comes together nicely emulsified.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Helpful Tips and Storage

• Preferably refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using. A cold dressing is better over a chilled salad, plus the resting period allows some time for flavors to meld.
• Whisk again before pouring over salad. Liquids and oils may separate upon resting.
• Store dressing in refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
• Dressing will likely thicken (due to the olive oil fully chilling through), let rest at room temperature as needed before serving for a more pourable consistency (about 15 minutes).

Variations

• Toss over pasta salad, delicious!
• Use fresh herbs in place of any of the dried listed. Amounts I’d use are 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley, 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil and 2 tsp chopped fresh oregano.
• Make it creamier, use 1/4 cup mayonnaise and 1/2 cup olive oil.
• Use as a marinade. If doing so increase white wine vinegar and lemon juice by 2 Tbsp each, omit the parmesan.
• Drizzle over roasted vegetables.
• Serve over slices of roasted chicken or baked potatoes.

More Delicious Recipes to Try

• Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
• Caesar Salad and Dressing
• Creamy Pesto Salad Dressing {Spaghetti Factory Copycat}
• Grilled Chicken Chopped Salad with Italian Dressing
• Salad de Maison {The Best Salad}