Homemade Italian Dressing
Published
Published
I always have a batch of this homemade Italian Dressing on hand. It calls for a short list of natural pantry ingredients and is made in minutes. The result is bright and tangy, with a garlicky, herby bite from the Italian seasoning and just enough honey to smooth out the vinegar. Such an easy, delicious recipe for green salads, pasta salads, cut up garden vegetables, as a marinade, and more!
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Move Over, Seasoning Packet
A glass cruet marked with measuring lines for oil, water, and vinegar was in every single person’s home when I was growing up, always used for store-bought Italian dressing seasoning packets. I think my mom might still have hers. Ah, the things we remember from our childhood. Today, I make my own Italian dressing from scratch because homemade is so much more delicious and crazy simple to whip up. Once you make this Italian dressing recipe, it will become a staple in your kitchen just like it is mine.
Bottled Italian dressing is convenient, but homemade tastes so much better. A good shake in a sealed jar is all it takes to bring the oil and vinegar together, and a little honey and Parmesan balance the tangy vinegar without making the dressing too sharp. Garlic and Italian seasoning round out the flavor. Homemade Italian dressing couldn’t be easier.
Helpful Tips
- Shake it in a jar, not a bowl. A tightly sealed mason jar is the easiest way to get a real emulsion. The confined space and hard shake force the oil and vinegar to bind in a way whisking in a bowl usually can’t match. If your dressing looks separated after a few shakes, keep going for another 15 to 20 seconds. It should turn cloudy and slightly thickened.
- Give it a few minutes to rest before serving. The flavors are sharper right after mixing. Letting the dressing sit for 10 to 15 minutes lets the garlic and Italian seasoning mellow into the oil, which makes a noticeable difference if you’re tasting it straight off the spoon.
Homemade Italian Dressing
Ingredients
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 tsp honey
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 small clove garlic, finely grated (or ¾ teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1½ tsp dried Italian seasoning
- pinch cracked red pepper flakes
- pinch black pepper
Instructions
- To make the dressing, put all of the ingredients into a jar with a tight-fitting lid; shake vigorously until well blended and emulsified.
- Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
- Drizzle on top of your favorite green salad, cold pasta salad, or garden vegetables!
Notes
- Swapping in garlic salt for garlic powder adds more sodium than this recipe accounts for. Start light and taste before adding extra salt.
- No fresh Parmesan on hand? Good-quality store-bought grated Parmesan works fine, but skip the shelf-stable canister kind. It won’t melt smoothly into the dressing.
- For storing, keep dressing in a mason jar, fastened with the lid, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. It’s normal for the oil and vinegar to separate during storage – just shake the jar to incorporate everything again.
- The dressing will thicken and turn cloudy in the fridge. That’s just the olive oil solidifying, not spoilage. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, then shake again before serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
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How to Make Italian Dressing Step by Step
Gather all the ingredients together.
Add everything to a jar: Combine ½ cup olive oil, ¼ cup red wine vinegar, 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan, 3 tsp honey, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1 small grated garlic clove (or ¾ tsp garlic powder), 1½ tsp dried Italian seasoning, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and a pinch of black pepper in a mason jar or other container with a tight-fitting lid.
Seal, shake, and adjust: Close the lid tightly and shake vigorously for about 20-30 seconds. The dressing should go from separated and watery-looking to cloudy, slightly thickened, and uniform in color. That’s how you know it’s emulsified. Give it a taste. If it’s too sharp, add a touch more honey. If it needs more punch, add a pinch more salt or Italian seasoning. Shake again to combine.
Storage Instructions
Store the dressing in its sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. The oil will solidify when cold. That’s expected, not a sign it’s gone bad.
Freezer
Freezing isn’t recommended. The emulsion breaks down when frozen and thawed, and the dressing won’t come back together with a simple shake once it’s separated.
Reheating
This one isn’t reheated, but you can bring it back to room temperature. Pull the jar out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you plan to use it, then shake well to re-emulsify before serving.
Make Ahead
This dressing is a great make-ahead recipe. The flavor actually improves after a few hours in the fridge, once the garlic and herbs have had time to infuse the oil. Make it up to 2 weeks ahead and shake before each use.
Serving Suggestions
The classic move is tossing this over a simple green salad, and it’s hard to beat for that alone. But I reach for this dressing for a lot more than that. For a heartier plate, I love it on my Italian chopped salad. The bold, tangy dressing holds its own against salami, provolone, and chickpeas without getting lost. If you’re feeding a crowd or need something to bring to a potluck, toss it with my simple Italian pasta salad. The dressing soaks into the pasta as it sits, so the salad actually tastes better made a few hours ahead. And when I’m grilling, this doubles as a marinade for my best chicken marinade chicken breasts. The acidity in the vinegar helps tenderize the meat while the herbs and garlic build flavor.
More Homemade Dressings & Vinaigrettes to Try
- Balsamic Vinaigrette: For nights when I want something sweeter and less herby than Italian dressing, this is the vinaigrette I reach for instead. It comes together in the same jar-and-shake method.
- Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette: When a salad needs some smoky heat instead of Italian herbs, this one delivers. It’s built on the same five-minute, no-fuss approach.
- Homemade Ranch Dressing: My go-to when the kids want something creamy and mild instead of tangy and herby. It rivals anything you’d buy at the store.
- Honey Mustard Vinaigrette Hack: Another shortcut dressing built on pantry staples, this one leans sweeter and tangier than Italian dressing, and it’s just as fast to make.
This was a bit sweet for me since I like my Italian dressing a bit more savory. I added a pinch of salt to balance it out a bit and after that it was perfect.
This was amazing!! Typically I make my salad dressings from scratch. This is by far the best I’ve ever made. Bet it would be a great chicken marinade as well. Excellent on an Italian chopped salad!!
Great recipe! I doubled it for a huge pasta salad! Very nice blend of flavors, although I’ll probably throw in an extra blob of honey. I will definitely make this again to keep on hand for dinner salads. Also, I only had grated parm in a can but it was fine. Next time I’ll plan ahead and get the good stuff!
The dressing was delicious! Much better than bottled dressing.
Very good recipe! Will definitely make it again.
I got tired of buying the salad dressing packets that only have the spices and other “stuff” not needed to make a delicious dressing. I tried your recipe and loved it! All of the flavors come together and make a restaurant quality salad dressing with quality ingredients that you most likely already have on hand. Not only is this our go to dressing for salads from now on, but will also try it as a marinade in the future!
I made it and it was delicious on my California Spaghetti Salad. It’s also an easy dressing to make, but I did use my stick blender.
I made this and my husband and I love it. Flavorful and light. Definitely going to make this every week. Thank you!
This was very good and way better than the dressing I usually buy. I used it to marinate kabobs, but will definitely use it on salads.
This is the best recipe!
I loved this recipe! It has the perfect blend of ingredients/flavors. I’ve made it twice now.