Italian Salad Dressing

This easy Italian Salad Dressing recipe is made with simple dried seasonings, extra-virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar. It’s a pretty basic Italian vinaigrette  recipe that you can pull together in a pinch. 

Homemade salad dressing recipes don’t get much easier than this one. This Italian salad dressing recipe is easy to make and it can be used on green salads, bean salads, quinoa salads, or use it as a marinade for chicken and vegetables.

Once you make this easy homemade Italian vinaigrette dressing, you won’t want to buy store-bought bottled dressing again.   

Italian Vinaigrette Recipe Ingredients

We use simple ingredients for this Italian vinaigrette dressing that you’ll likely have on hand.

• Oil. We use extra-virgin olive oil  for most of our dressings, but you can use light olive oil or avocado oil if you prefer. 
• Vinegar. We use red wine vinegar here, but you can also use white wine vinegar if you prefer. 
• Seasoning. We use a mix of dried oregano and basil, celery salt, onion powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper.
• Water. We add 2-3 tablespoons of water to the mix which mellows the vinegar out a bit.

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

Variations

• Cheese. Add 2-3 tablespoons of finely grated Parmesan cheese or Romano cheese to the dressing. It adds a really great flavor to the mix.  
• Garlic. Add 1 clove garlic finely minced or grated instead of the garlic powder.
• Mayonnaise. Whisk in 1-1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise to make a creamy Italian dressing.

How To Make Italian Salad Dressing 

This homemade Italian salad dressing comes together in about 5 minutes start-to-finish.  But it’s best if the dressing is allowed to chill in the refrigerator for up to an hour before serving.

1. Mix ingredients. Add the ingredients to a wide-mouth mason jar, seal the lid and shake well. You can also blend the ingredients using an immersion blender (stick blender) to emulsify the dressing right in the mason jar. When you emulsify the dressing, it keeps it from separating so quickly. 
2. Refrigerate.  Chill in the refrigerator before serving. When refrigerated longer than 1 hour, the olive oil in the dressing may solidify a bit. Just remove the dressing from the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes before using so you can whisk it or shake it to blend again.
3. Storage. Store the dressing in a sealed mason jar or in an airtight container. If properly stored, the dressing should last up to 1 week.

Italian Vinaigrette Dressing Serving Suggestions

You can use this easy Italian salad dressing on different types of salads, sandwiches, and it also makes a flavorful marinade for chicken and vegetables.

• Leafy Green Salads. Swap out the dressing and use this homemade Italian dressing on our Italian Salad, Romaine Salad or Chopped Salad.
• Pasta salads. This is the best Italian dressing for pasta salads, like this Italian Pasta Salad.
• Quinoa salads.  Toss is with our popular Mediterranean Quinoa Salad, Lentil Quinoa Salad or Mediterranean Chicken Quinoa Salad
• Bean salads. It’s also the best Italian dressing to toss this  Mediterranean Bean Salad with.
• Marinade. This is the best Italian dressing to marinade chicken and vegetables with to toss on the grill during warm summer months.
• Bread dipping. We love to dip warm crusty French bread in this dressing! It’s SO good!
• Sandwiches. Drizzle 2-3 teaspoons of this Italian dressing over the tomato and lettuce on your next submarine sandwich, or mix it with some mayo and spread on the bread.

More Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes

• Everyday Creamy Vinaigrette
• Mediterranean Salad Dressing
• Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing
• Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
• Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Greek Salad Dressing

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Print

Yield: 6 servings

Italian Salad Dressing

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Additional Time 1 minute

Total Time 11 minutes

This easy Italian Salad Dressing recipe is made with simple dried seasonings, extra-virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar. It's a pretty basic Italian vinaigrette dressing recipe that you can pull together in a pinch. 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 kalamata olives, finely minced (optional)
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan, finely grated cheese (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine the ingredients in a wide-mouth mason jar, seal the lid and shake well. You can also blend the dressing together using an immersion blender (stick blender) or stand blender to emulsify the dressing. We prefer to blend the dressing until smooth. This keeps the dressing from separating so quickly.
2. Store in a mason jar or an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, the dressing should last up to one week.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 308Total Fat: 34gSaturated Fat: 5gUnsaturated Fat: 28gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 385mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 2g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations.