½ teaspoon each dried oregano, dried parsley, dried basil)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
Takes ,
serves 1 C.
Instructions
Place all of the ingredients except for the Parmesan into a small bowl with a whisk or a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Whisk or shake together to combine thoroughly and emulsify. Add Parmesan and whisk or shake again to combine. Taste then season with more salt and pepper.
Store dressing in an airtight container in the fridge. Enjoy within 10 days (will actually be gone in like 2!)
Italian Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
2 teaspoons WATC Salad Sprinkles (or
½ teaspoon each dried oregano, dried parsley, dried basil)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
Directions
Place all of the ingredients except for the Parmesan into a small bowl with a whisk or a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Whisk or shake together to combine thoroughly and emulsify. Add Parmesan and whisk or shake again to combine. Taste then season with more salt and pepper.
Store dressing in an airtight container in the fridge. Enjoy within 10 days (will actually be gone in like 2!)
Italian Dressing Recipe
5 / 5. 1
The perfect blend of olive oil, white wine vinegar, dried seasoning, garlic, grated Parmesan cheese, and creamy mayo…
I’m calling it; we have the absolute best ITALIAN DRESSING RECIPE ever!
After reading this homemade ITALIAN DRESSING RECIPE and watching our instructional video, you’ll be saying, “I’m making a salad, ora!” Ora is Italian for now, and that’s how fast you’ll want to try this homemade salad dressing. It will make any gathering of fresh veggies tastier, plus it’s easy to make. Like all the salad dressings featured on WATC, it begs the question, why choose store-bought dressings when homemade is so much better?
Before listing a few things to keep in mind while making it, how about two green thumbs up for all you salad lovers out there—you’re our people. We made our favourite HEALTHY EVERYDAY SALAD to show off our dressing for this post, but the options are endless. Make sure to click this LINK to see our round-up of the MOST POPULAR SALAD RECIPES from our site. You’ll find a wide range of options like our hugely popular COBB SALAD, a terrific WEDGE and this classic French SALAD NIÇOISE. Additionally, there are quite a few healthy creations like our AVOCADO, CUCUMBER, FETA SALAD, this crowd-pleasing COTTAGE SALAD, and our green salad that works as a side, GRILLED ZUCCHINI with lemon and herbs.
Now, let’s continue with this ITALIAN DRESSING RECIPE:
INGREDIENTS
Don’t be surprised that you only need a few choice ingredients to make an authentic ITALIAN DRESSING. Of course, some of you will want to make yours differently by adding lemon juice, honey, red pepper flakes, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard or any other ingredient you often use. But we ask that you first try making this zesty dressing exactly as written.
To start, you’ll need to gather the salad dressing basics like extra-virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, kosher salt and black pepper. We also add finely chopped fresh garlic, some sugar for sweetness, a few teaspoons of our famous SALAD SPRINKLES seasoning, and then some grated Parmesan and mayonnaise. The mayonnaise adds an unexpected creaminess to this dressing, setting it apart from a balsamic vinaigrette.
FRESH SALAD
Check out the fresh veggies and herbs that go into this HEALTHY EVERYDAY SALAD. We’re going to suggest you assemble your favourite ingredients, remembering we’re giving you free rein on this. Enjoy romaine lettuce, Boston, iceberg, spinach, Belgian endive or radicchio? Add ‘em. Are you on a cucumber, celery, bell pepper, carrot, tomatoes, parsnip, radish, broccoli, cauliflower or sweet pea kick right now? Add them too. Same with fresh herbs; fresh dill, mint, basil, tarragon, parsley and chives only add even more flavour to your salads. We know you’ll love crafting a salad of your favourite veggies, and this dressing works with everything.
HOW TO MAKE A HOMEMADE ITALIAN DRESSING
The directions are so simple. Unlike our FRENCH DRESSING or this herb-forward CREAMY GREEN GODDESS DRESSING, we’re not using a food processor or immersion blender. Instead, you can just whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl, or place them into a canning or Mason jar topped with a tight-fitting lid. Since the goal is to have bits of cheese and garlic spill in and amongst the various elements of the salad when you dress it, give the jar a good shake or whisk everything together thoroughly before adding the freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Also, remember to gently stir any leftover dressing each time you go to enjoy.
DRESSING A SALAD
How to dress a salad is an important skill we think worth mentioning. In our experience, it’s best to dress only the amount you think you’ll be able to eat. We find that saving a dressed salad never works, with the greens and veggies often wilting, ruining the texture. The flavour we’re after only happens when a salad is freshly made. Two options then, depending on your preference; you can drizzle the dressing on a smaller quantity of salad, then toss and serve. Or, present the salad without the dressing, leaving guests to add a quantity of Italian dressing to individual portions.
OTHER DRESSING RECIPES
As mentioned at the top, here are a few additional homemade dressings recipes worthy of your attention. This FRENCH DRESSING is a personal favourite and crowd-pleaser, as are our RANCH DRESSING and our famous ASIAN SALAD DRESSING. If you’d rather a lighter dressing, try this DIJON VINAIGRETTE or our zippy JAPANESE DRESSING. Like we always say, every great salad deserves an equally good dressing, and with these options, you simply cannot go wrong.
ENJOY
You can enjoy salads dressed with this zesty ITALIAN DRESSING RECIPE as an appetizer, a simple side salad, or a complete meal. Feel free to pair the flavours with a favourite chicken, beef, fish or seafood main. It’s also wonderful when dressing the filling of a pita sandwich. As mentioned in the instructions, after making this easy recipe, keep it in a jar or an airtight container in the refrigerator, enjoying it within 10 days. Yummy!
PIN + SUBSCRIBE
Last reminder, PIN this post to a favourite salad or salad dressing board. Oh, and then, send some love our way and subscribe to our monthly newsletter HERE where we share our top recipes and give a sneak peek at upcoming posts. You’ll also receive Gather, our mid-month missive focused on ideas to entertain family and friends.
This homemade ITALIAN DRESSING RECIPE is quite perfect. Buon appetito!
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Ingredients
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
2 teaspoons WATC Salad Sprinkles (or
½ teaspoon each dried oregano, dried parsley, dried basil)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
Directions
Place all of the ingredients except for the Parmesan into a small bowl with a whisk or a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Whisk or shake together to combine thoroughly and emulsify. Add Parmesan and whisk or shake again to combine. Taste then season with more salt and pepper.
Store dressing in an airtight container in the fridge. Enjoy within 10 days (will actually be gone in like 2!)
Until Cottage Season
