Homemade Italian Dressing

JUMP TO RECIPE PIN RECIPE
5 from 1 vote

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read the full disclosure here.

You only need a handful of simple pantry ingredients to make this easy homemade Italian dressing, perfect for salads, meat marinades, pasta salads, or any recipe you have that calls for a bottle of Italian dressing.

homemade italian dressing in a bottle with vegetables around it

I know that non-sugary/baked good recipes aren’t anything new here, but you’re probably finding it a little difficult to get excited about salad dressing when I have things like sprinkle-filled cookies, cake that tastes like popsicles, and mint chocolate chip pie in the recipe archives.

Sorry, friends. I promise, you’ll be pretty excited about this dressing by the time I’m done with you.

First, how excited do you get about fresh vegetables in the summer time? Here in the April household, we get pretty pumped about them. Quichequinoa pattiesstuffed peppers, salads, and hummus (for all that dipping, of course) frequent our kitchen when the produce is abundant. We are veggie lovers to the core!

bottle of italian dressing with fresh veggies around it

WHY SHOULD I MAKE MY OWN DRESSING?

Along with veggies comes lots of loaded salads (give me hard boiled eggs and chicken and CHEESE!), and since we have some dietary accommodations to make in our house (Matt is gluten-, soy-, and dairy-free, after all), it can be difficult to find dressings that check all the right boxes for our family.

Save This Recipe form

WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?

Enter your email below & we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week!

While the grocery store has come a long way in the last several years with dietary accommodations, it can be a little more difficult to find a gluten- and dairy-free Italian dressing that doesn’t have soy.

aerial photo of salad on a plate with lots of fresh veggies

And I know, you’re going to say “but Lynn, this Italian dressing recipe has Parmesan cheese in it!!” but guess what? You can leave it out and the integrity of your zesty Italian dressing will stay intact.

Phew.

INGREDIENTS

The ingredient list for my Italian salad dressing looks long, but its bulk is spices you likely have on hand. We are not a house that keeps tons of odd spices on hand, and we can make this homemade Italian dressing without taking an extra trip to the store.

The base of this dressing is extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar. To bring the majority of the flavor, we’ll use Parmesan cheese, dried parsley, dried basil, dried oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.

homemade italian dressing in a measuring cup

To add a little sweetness to cut the acidity we’ll use some honey, and then a bit of lemon juice to help soften whatever it is you’re adding it to (like a salad).

HOW TO MAKE ITALIAN DRESSING

You’re never going to believe this, but… Just throw it all together. See? You can do this homemade thing.

While most cake and cookie recipes call for ingredients and methods in a specific order, the nice thing about this salad dressing recipe is that you could, theoretically, go in whatever order you want and still wind up with the same desired outcome.

All of the ingredients get mixed together, but they’re in the order I listed them because it’s the easiest. But you know what, friend? You do you. I’m just excited you’ll be making your own dressing.

HOW TO STORE HOMEMADE SALAD DRESSING

While you’ll store your homemade Italian dressing in the fridge just like you would a store-bought version, remember that we aren’t adding any preservatives. It will last about 2-4 weeks, but I guarantee you’ll go through it fast enough if you’re anything like us when it comes to the salad eating and veggie dipping opportunities that are in your near future.

It will separate and become a little solid when it’s cold, but we just let it sit out for a few minutes at room temp, stick the jar in the microwave for about 10 seconds, or run it under hot water for a bit to loosen it up.

italian dressing in a bottle with salad in the background

A quick shake or swirl and your homemade Italian dressing is ready to go in or on all your tasty dishes!

You could even use it as a marinade. Hello, grilling season!

Perhaps my favorite way to use this zesty Italian dressing recipe is in my spaghetti salad. This is a non-traditional pasta salad recipe that is sure to capture your heart and tastebuds like it did mine!

A small bowl of spaghetti salad, with a serving bowl in the background.

Looking for some things to go with your Italian dressing dressed-salad? Try my gluten free meatballs, homemade meat sauce, easy homemade garlic knots, or baked ziti.

homemade italian dressing in a bottle with vegetables around it
5 from 1 vote
Pin Recipe Print Recipe Rate this Recipe

Homemade Italian Dressing

You only need a handful of simple pantry ingredients to make this easy homemade Italian dressing, perfect for salads, meat marinades, pasta salads, or any recipe you have that calls for a bottle of Italian dressing.
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Recipe Author Lynn April
Servings: 2 cups

Ingredients

  • 1 and ½ cups (360mL) extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup (120mL) white wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup (30g) grated Parmesan cheese1
  • 2 Tablespoons dried parsley
  • 1 and ½ teaspoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons (14mL) honey
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Combine olive oil and vinegar in a medium size glass container, preferably one with a spout.
  • Add the Parmesan cheese, parsley, lemon juice, basil, oregano, onion powder, honey, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Stir or shake (if there is a lid) until everything is well combined.
  • Store dressing in the refrigerator, covered, up to 1 month. Allow to sit at room temperature for a few minutes or run under hot water for a few seconds to loosen dressing. Shake or stir before using2.

Notes

  1. Parmesan cheese: if you want to keep this dressing dairy-free, simply omit the Parmesan cheese.
  2. Use: you can also use this dressing as a marinade or dipping dressing.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @freshaprilflours on Instagram or tag #freshaprilflours!

Nutrition Disclosure

All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

9 Comments

  1. While I obviously have quite the sweet tooth, I am 110% with you on the excitement over homemade dressing. I mean, you ADDED PROTEIN!!!! How awesome! Homemade is definitely better, but you took this to a whole new level. Can’t wait to whip some up to slather over my post-vacation recovery salads (upon salads, upon salads….)

    LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE the new site, BTW!

    1. Haha, ohhh, post vacation blues that includes getting back to normal eating. But… You’re pregnant, so… Pass???

      And THANK YOU! xoxo

  2. This is gorgeous Lynn! Homemade dressing is the way to go and yours looks sensational. Love the pop of colour too!

  3. This looks delicious! Can you give a more specific measurement for the collagen? How much is two scoops? Thanks!

    1. Hi Gina– the packaging says 20g is 2 scoops, and I would estimate that is around 1 to 1.5 Tablespoons!

  4. Can I omit the honey or will that make a huge difference? Other than the honey the recipe sounds great! I am always looking for ahomemade dressing recipes.

    1. Hi, Kathleen– you can, but it will be quite strong and may need some sweetness to balance it out. If you’d rather not use honey, you can use regular sugar. You can always make the recipe with everything else, taste and add or omit as you wish 🙂