This Homemade Italian Dressing is quick and easy to make, 1000X better than store bought, fresh and natural and is wonderfully versatile!
This easy Homemade Italian Dressing is a balanced tangy and testy blend of olive oil, red wine vinegar, pantry herbs and spices and the best part – Parmesan Cheese! It elevates and enlivens everything it touches from salads to vegetables and makes an excellent marinade for chicken, fish, pork and steak. This Italian Dressing also keeps for 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator!
My blog is full of fun and flirty recipes but I also want it to be a reliable resource for beloved staples that I use on a regular basis such as this sensational Homemade Italian Dressing. I know it is extremely tempting to pick up a bottle of dressing at the grocery, and I’ve enjoyed my fair share of tasty bottled dressings, but I promise, nothing tastes as fresh and fabulous as your own Homemade Italian Dressing – and it takes MINUTES to whisk together! As a bonus, you can customize the dressing to your personal preferences as far as acidity, garlic, herbs and Parmesan.
How to Use Italian Dressing
The obvious use of Italian dressing is on a big leafy green salad – mmmm! But this Homemade Italian Dressing with its dynamic zippy flavor offers a quick and easy solution to enliven many everyday boring or bland eats. Try these delectable uses for your Homeade Italian Dressing:
- Green salads
- Shaved brussels sprouts (salad)
- Coleslaws
- Fresh Tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans
- Pasta salads (My Italian Pasta Salad coming soon is out of this world!)
- Warm pasta
- A marinade for chicken, pork, fish, steak, veggies
- Coating for roasted or steamed veggies
- Dip or sauce for veggies
- Spread for sandwiches, burgers or wraps
- Added to cream, sour cream, cream cheese or butter for spreads/sauces/dips
The possibilities are virtually as endless as Italian Dressing deliciousness!
How to Make Italian Dressing
This Homemade Italian Dressing recipe uses pantry friendly ingredients so you can whip it up at a moments notice. Our dressing includes:
- olive oil
- red wine vinegar
- lemon juice (bottled is fine)
- parmesan cheese
- dried herbs (parsley, basil, oregano)
- seasonings (paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper)
- sugar (to balance the tart)
Add all the ingredients to a mason jar, cover and shake vigorously OR combine add all ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk to combine – that’s it! Taste the dressing and tailor it to suit your personal preferences. The most accurate taste test comes by dipping a lettuce leaf in dressing as opposed to a spoon. For less acidity- add more sugar, less tang – add more olive oil, more tang – add additional vinegar.
Tips and Tricks for Italian Salad Dressing
- Parmesan Cheese adds the signature taste to the Italian Dressing and the OH MY YUM factor so I definitely wouldn’t skip it unless you need to make the dressing dairy free.
- You can substitute the freshly grated Parmesan cheese with canned but it will not taste quite as good because fresh Parm is the best! Freshly grated Parmesan will also dissolve much better for a smoother texture.
- As far as the dried herbs and garlic, I don’t recommend substituting them with fresh because you need 3x as much because they aren’t as potent which makes for an unappealing texture. More importantly, fresh herbs and garlic don’t stay fresh very long once chopped so you would need to use the dressing within a couple days whereas if you use dried, the Homemade Italian Dressing can last for a couple weeks.
- For a great shortcut, you can whisk up all of the dried herbs and spices in advance and keep them in a sealed container or bag.
- Store Homemade Italian Dressing in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 weeks, just give it a good stir or shake before using.
Want to try this Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe?
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©Carlsbad Cravings by CarlsbadCravings.com
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Cook Time | - |
| Servings | cups |
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup finely freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp EACH dried parsley, dried basil, garlic powder, onion powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tsp EACH dried oregano, paprika, pepper
- 1/2-1 teaspoon sugar or more to taste
Ingredients
| Rate this recipe! |
- Add all the ingredients to a mason jar, cover and shake vigorously OR combine add all ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
- Taste (most accurate taste comes by dipping lettuce in dressing) and adjust according to taste. For less acidity- add more sugar, less tang - add more olive oil, more tang - add additional vinegar.
- Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Shake to recombine before serving.
- The sugar mellows out the acidity of the dressing, but you may add more or less to taste.
- Grate the Parmesan on the smallest hole of your grater.
- You can substitute the freshly grated Parmesan cheese with canned but it will not taste quite as good because fresh Parm is the best! Freshly grated Parmesan will also dissolve much better for a smoother texture.
- Don’t substitute the garlic for fresh unless you expect to use your Italian Dressing within a few days because minced garlic does not keep very long.
- For a great shortcut, you can whisk up all of the dried herbs and spices in advance and keep them in a sealed container or bag.
Use Italian Dressing on:
- Green salads
- Shaved brussels sprouts (salad)
- Coleslaws
- Fresh Tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans
- Pasta salads (My Italian Pasta Salad coming soon is out of this world!)
- Warm pasta
- A marinade for chicken, pork, fish, steak, veggies
- Coating for roasted or steamed veggies
- Dip or sauce for veggies
- Spread for sandwiches, burgers or wraps
- Added to cream, sour cream, cream cheese or butter for spreads/sauces/dips
©Carlsbad Cravings Original
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Carolyn Johnson says
Thanks– going to give this a try! I don’t know why we settle for the powdered stuff–but I never see recipes for Italian dressing, now that I think of it.
“fun and flirty recipes” LOL– you’re awesome!
Jen says
You are so welcome Carolyn! I think you will loooove this dressing – flirty in its own right 🙂
Ann says
Do you use Extra virgin olive oil or regular olive oil?
Jen says
I use regular olive oil and it is wonderful because we want the slightly more acidic and neutral taste. If you only have extra virgin olive oil then I’m sure that would work great as well.
Diane Stevenson says
Hi Jen, I have been making Italian Seasoning mix in batches, but the recipe I use never called for Parmesan cheese. My husband always says that there is something missing, I’m thinking this is it! If I make a bigger batch of the seasoning only, does it need to be refrigerated, due to the fresh parmesan?
Jen says
Hi Diane, yes it needs to be refrigerated. Enjoy!