Easy Homemade Italian Dressing
Want a fast and delicious Italian dressing you can make at home? You’re going to love this! Just shake everything together in a jar. That’s it! No cooking, no chopping, no blending, no nothing.
Once I realized that all the salad dressings on God’s green earth contain sugar I set out to create a few that don’t. Okay, yes I’m aware that there are exceptions. But they tend to be expensive and I’m definitely Team Let’s Make What We Can at Home.
So here we are making this Easy Homemade Italian Dressing.
You probably already have all these ingredients which means you can quickly whip up a jar of this stuff whenever you want it. That’s my kind of recipe.
All the ingredients are clean. No junk. No artificial anything. Just the good stuff.
And this dress is Whole30 compliant, gluten free, and dairy free! More good news, right?
Make it and pour it on a salad, in pasta, or use it as a marinade. (I recommend using it in this Italian Marinated Chicken and these Italian Marinated Chicken Lettuce Wraps.)
Should you use red or white wine vinegar?
Since first publishing this recipe the question I’m asked most often is which vinegar I recommend. Truly I cannot pick. Both red and white wine vinegar work beautifully in this dressing. Feel free to go with whichever you have on hand. I tend to select the red more than the white but I couldn’t say that it makes a difference other than creating a dressing that looks (in terms of color) more like what you see in stores.
Can you use red or white wine vinegar while on Whole30?
The other common comment I hear is if you can use red or white wine vinegar while completing a round of Whole30. Alcohol isn’t allowed and it has the word wine in the title. Well, friend, you can have it! You can find that out for yourself on the Whole30 website if you like. The Whole30 position is that most vinegars are allowed and they specifically list both red and white wine vinegars as being acceptable.
How to store your dressing leftovers
Store your leftover dressing in the refrigerator in an airtight container with a lid. I like to use a jar with a tight seal. It can keep for up to 2 weeks. You’ll see some separation so shake before using.
More recipes like this:
Dairy Free Ranch Dressing & Dip
Easy Homemade Italian Dressing
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red or white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a jar, place the lid on the jar, and give it a good shake!
- Just like with all vinegar based dressing you'll need to shake it up again before pouring to eliminate separation.
Nutrition
149 Comments on “Easy Homemade Italian Dressing”
I’ve made your Ranch Dressing as well as your Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing and they are both delicious! I’m all in on this one too!
Is there a taste difference between using the red vs white wine vinegar?
Hardly any difference at all. I have used and enjoyed both!
Simply delicious!
Have you ever made this with Rice Vinegar? I just realized I don’t have white wine vinegar.
I haven’t! Let me know if you do!
My husband and I used apple cider vinegar. Used the dressing for po’boys it was delicious.
So happy that worked out for you, Kelly! Thank you!
Do you use extra virgin or light tasting olive oil?
You can use either for this one. I tend to use EVOO and reserve my light olive oil for all the creamy dressings.
Hi! Should I store this on the counter, or in the fridge, and, how long will it last? 🙂
Store in the fridge. I’ve never gone longer than a week with mine just because we finish it so fast. Give it a good shake before pouring!
I see that the only ingredient that would need to be stored in the refrigerator is the lemon juice. The rest of the ingredients are fine sitting on the shelf. If I leave the lemon juice out (which I would because I don’t want my Italian dressing to taste like lemon), it’d be safe to store this on the shelf (tightly sealed in a jar or bottle, of course).
I have made the recipe for years but I have to be a little more frugal so I use a premixed shaker container of Italian seasoning and shake in the oil / vinegar mixture. It works just fine.
Christina, thank you very much! I really liked the recipe, I took it to my recipe book)
Christina, this looks tasty! These are absolutely mouth watering! It will quickly disappear in our house, very tasty and flavorful!
I rewrote this on my recipe card as “Best Italian Dressing”. Amazing! Thank you for sharing! I accidentally used a full tsp of onion powder tonight. Didn’t notice a difference. I have decided to use “light” virgin olive oil and the family seems to like it better this round.
I put this dressing on my mixed green salad and it was delish delish delish!! Thank you for sharing!
This was delightful! Thank you!
I llove this recipe. It’s tast as is and can be altered according to what’s in your pantry. I have made it with a basil vinegar that I made with red basil, and have used two tsp of Penzeys Pasta Sprinkle blend instead of the oregano and basil. Always delish.
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Definitely trying it! I’m gonna try to marinate chicken breasts with that and cook in an airfryer to meal prep my husband’s lunch. You think that dressing will work?
I have never had Italian dressing. I was really craving pasta salad and every recipe calls for it. Well I didn’t have any of the dressing but looked up the recipe for dressing and found this one. I had every ingredient on hand. Hands down my favorite salad and dressing ever! Thank you!
This is the best dressing recipe. I’m making batches of the dry ingredients. Everyone loves it. Thank you so much.
Have made this a couple of times and absolutely love it. I used it to dress a pasta salad and it was great. I have kept mine in the fridge for up to 4 weeks with no problem. Will never buy italian dressing again. Now will have to try the Ranch and see how my picky husband handles it.
I used this dressing over pasta salad. It was so tasty and bold. I will make this again and again.
Don’t have any wine vinegar, can I use regular white vinegar or apple cider vinegar?
Great recipe! You can use apple cider vinegar as I do because I have allergic reactions when I use the wine vinegars. I cut the amount of the apple cider vinegar in half though. Still tastes great!
I made this recipe to use as a marinade for a wild duck recipe I love to make. It worked perfectly. Delicious.
No need to buy bottled dressing when you can make this so easily and can control what goes into the product.
What kind of pepper do we use? Their are so many kinds.
Black pepper unless otherwise specified.
I needed some Italian dressing for a marinade and discovered that we were out. I found your recipe and love it! I had everything I needed in the pantry!
I made this for our holidays over tossed green salad. I had 20 people to serve and everyone raved about the salad. I’ll never buy store bought again. I infused the oil with fresh garlic. It was delicious and cost effective.
That’s wonderful to hear! The garlic infused oil sounds delicious!
Thank you for this recipe! I’m house sitting, without my cookbooks/recipes, and needed a recipe for Italian dressing fast, with ingredients on hand at an unfamiliar house. You were right – “ingredients you probably have”. And, its delicious! I only added half the amount of salt, as I’m on a low-salt diet, but otherwise made as instructed. This will be my new go-to dressing, when I’m home or house sitting ♡
Best dressings, ever!, i will never buy from the store again, thank you soo much, ive tried the poppy seed and the Italian, soooo fresh tasting! Perfecto 😘
Homemade is always soooooo much better!! This looks awesome!!
This recipe was great on pasta salad! I didn’t have any wine vinegar so substituted half apple cider vinegar and half balsamic vinegar. Also didn’t have red pepper flakes, and left out the pepper and it was still delicious. Thanks!
Great Italian dressing recipe! We love it. Does it have to go in the fridge though? Can I leave it out on the counter? I have a pourer I want to put it in that I don’t want to put in the fridge. Thanks for advice!!
This was a delicious Italian Dressing. This is how we used to make it before you could find pre-made dressings in a bottle at the super market. This had no preservatives which I really liked. Try this recipe and find out what old school salad dressing is suppose to taste like.
Since it’s just my husband and I, how to I figure out how to reduce the number of servings to 4 instead of 8?
Easy to make and delicious!
Sooo Goood!!!
Thank you!
I make my own dressing all the time. Mine is much too potent for most people (lots of raw garlic) so I tried this recipe for family and it was very good. They all liked it.
Id love to know your garlicky recipe! 🙂
Easy and yummy.
Best dressing ever.
So happy to hear that!
I first made it with the wine. I didn’t care for it. I made it a second time without the wine and added 3 minced garlic cloves. I rate it a 5 this way.
This dressing is AMAZING!!!! My husband and I are on Whole 30 and all of the “approved” dressings were either too expensive or didn’t taste great. This dressing is so good that my 17 year old daughter prefers this to any other dressing out there (and she is really picky). I find that I am making a double batch every week. I substituted balsamic vinegar for the wine vinegar (because it was what I had) and it gives it that little extra something. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I know that it will be a family favorite for years to come!
Note: I have found that the dressing hardens in the fridge, so I started leaving it on the counter.
Love this! Thanks for the comment!
This recipe is very delicious and doesn’t require refrigeration. You can also do 1/2 canola or safflower oil to 1/2 olive oil. I also added a 1/4 tsp sugar. Thus one’s a keeper
Such a great dressing! My husband even liked it and that says a lot! 😉
Delicious dressing! I made mine with red wine vinegar. Not too zesty, but with the perfect blend of Italian flavors. This makes an excellent marinade or dipping sauce as well. Thank you for sharing!
I used this marinade for chicken tenders the other night. Marinated them for a little less than an hour and my husband grilled them to add to a pasta dish I was making. Both my husband and 9 & 11 year old boys raved about the flavor of the chicken… we will definitely be adding this to our list of must haves!!
Absolutely delicious! Decided to make this because the store bought Italian expired and I had a salad all prepped for dinner. I honestly don’t think I will ever buy dressing from the store again!
Easier to make it for my family…thank you..🙏🙏🙏
Incredible! This is a fantastic dressing… Thank you so much!
I have made this recipe 4 times in the last month to use as a chicken marinade. This is by far the best thing that has happened to our grilled chicken. I did have one little change – I did not have basil, so I just eliminated it. Still tastes amazing!
First non=sugar recipe I’ve found in a long time, it’s PERFECT!
Tastes great! I added a dash of honey for healthy sweetener
AMAZING. I like this post. Thanks for sharing!
thank you very much! I really liked the recipe
thank you for sharing
question: made this in a jar and shook before opening to taste it, but it seems to separate immediately before i can even get the jar open and all i taste is oil. suggestions?
It will definitely separate and requires shaking before serving. If the oil taste is too strong for you I’d recommend using a light olive oil instead of evoo. Extra-virgin has a much more pronounced oil flavor.
You can add an eighth of a teaspoon of xanthan gum to the dressing, and it will help it stay emulsified. Therefore, the oil/vinegar separation is reduced, and adds no flavor. Just buy a small jar of the xanthan gum, as it will last forever.
Good recipe for a quick dressing. The only change I made was to add a dash of honey to balance everything out. Also, I used an immersion blender to mix everything up; that way, you get a homogeneous dressing that will always stay emulsified and never separate.
I’m always looking for easy, new dressing recipes that I can make at home!
I love this salad dressing!! Thank you for sharing! Does it need to be refrigerated? I usually consume within 5 days or so anyway, jus wondering if I can leave it in the cupboard?
I never know when a recipe says olive oil is it regular or evoo? Which one should I use for this recipe?
Thank you 😊
For this salad dressing you can use either. I specifically call out to use only light in creamy dressings but this dressing works well with either.
This has become one of our favorite go-to salad dressings and marinades. Thanks!
We really love the dressing! Added about a teaspoon or so of marinara. Better than a restaurant.
This is a fantastic dressing. We had it tonight and decided to serve it for our family’s Christmas dinner. Thanks for another great recipe.
I’m happy you enjoyed that! Thank you for that great review!
This is delicious! I got tired of reading all the mystery ingredients on dressing labels and wanted one with no sugar/fructose. I didn’t have any wine vinegar but had plenty of the apple cider variety and it came out great with the substitution.
This is the best Italian dressing. So much flavor light and yummy sure to save this one!
I found this a couple of weeks ago and tried it. Great stuff. I tend to use red vinegar, but like you find it tastes good either way.
Oh, and I tried this with a tablespoon of Tapatio hot sauce to make it a bit spicier and that worked very well too.
This is such a delicious recipe! I’ve made it 3 times in the past 2 weeks. I use it on salads and as a marinade for meat. It tastes like a fresher and healthier version of your favorite store bought Italian dressing… this is my new go-to!!
Thanks for the delicious recipe! I saw some other recipes listed red wine vinegar and I only had white wine vinegar on hand. And for whatever reason the stores were sold out of the Pompeian brand I like. Then I found your recipe and it said they are interchangeable for this recipe. 🙂 I was really happy about that and saved some $$$.
I halved the recipe and added a small squeeze more of lemon and salt to taste. I refrigerated it for at least 30 minutes and used it for an antipasto salad. My husband actually liked the salad. And he hates greens!!! I will be recommending this recipe and using it in the future. 🙂 thank you!!!
I really appreciate that you have a very natural recipe that can be done quickly at home. Also I like that you referenced the earth as GOD’s with a capital G. I haven’t even tasted the recipe yet but I am confident I will like it. Excited to serve it over romaine lettuce with cucumbers, carrots, red cabbage, and other fresh vegetables and maybe Greek peppers and feta.
If you ever go on YouTube, please see ARE YOU A GOOD PERSON?
Now this is Italiano! Easy recipe. Had all the ingredients. When you have fresh ingredients it makes it so much easier to make. Love the zing in the flavor!
I tried this recipe out and I absolutely love it. So much better than the store bought thing. I will be making this weekly now! 🙂
Great dressing, and as easy to make as advertised!
absolutely great on grilled veggies!
Thank you for an easy, healthy Italian Dressing recipe. I’m using it to marinate a flank steak, as a replacement for the packet Italian Dressing I grew up with. I really appreciate finding a sugar-free/gluten-free one!
Very delicious although I used EVOO as I had no regular olive oil.
I hope that is ok?
Looking forward to making the ranch dressing next. The family loves it when I add a 2 – 3 tablespoons of Ranch to 4 cups of Tuna Salad.
I might get a few wheat crackers worth of it before the bowl is empty!
A healthier version of Ranch would be most welcome.
So simple, with easy-to-keep around pantry staples! Delicious as a marinade or dressing. I’ve been making it on repeat!
Seriously love this dressing! I use balsamic instead of lemon juice, but will try it with lemon juice soon. Thanks for sharing this!
loved this & so simple & quick to make
I’ve tried many Italian dressing recipes. To me this is the best one yet. Looking forward to sharing it with my DILaws for my picky sons.
I’ve never had homemade Italian dressing before but needed to make a few dressings for a large party I’m hosting. I just made this and tried a little and it’s amazing! So flavorful! I don’t think I’ll ever buy bottled again!
This is a wonderful recipe! I’m am Italian personal chef and I’m always looking to tweak my recipes and this one rocks! I did a slight modification by adding all my dry herbs to the vinegar and let it hydrate for about 10 minutes. Then added the olive oil. The flavors really have depth this way. Its a hit at parties for pasta salad and no one can figure it out! Happy cooking!😉
Wow! Made this dressing for a pasta salad and it turned out amazing!!! Loved the unexpected heat from the crushed red pepper. Great flavor, highly recommend!!
One thing that I have refused to add to any dressing I make is…..sugar!!! Processed food is always sweet. Diet foods are always sugary tasting. Sugar belongs in ice cream and candy bars. Not Italian salad dressing. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against sugar at all. I just get sick and tired of sugar being used as a condiment like salt and pepper. Thank you, thank you for not putting sugar in this salad dressing recipe. Brave move! Great recipe. Delicious dressing!
Excellent flavor!!
This is so good!!!
Perfection! It is now my go-to Italian. Everybody loves it!
I used my immersion blender and it made a delicious and creamy dressing
I liked this dressing but it was zestier than I was hoping. Odd for me to say as I like a lot of flavor but it was almost hot. I don’t want my mouth burning from eating salad, lol. I think next time I’ll reduce the pepper and eliminate the crushed red pepper. Overall, solid recipe.
Also – the pro tip mentioned in these comments to soak the herbs in the vinegar to keep them from clumping was BRILLIANT! Worked like a charm. Thanks Chef!
This went perfect in my macaroni salad! ❤
I always add a pinch of sugar.
Same here, I add just a slight pinch of brown sugar, also substitute half of the garlic powder with fresh minced garlic, same with the onion powder and minced onion. I also add a bit of dill weed.
I found my dressing was expired … and I just needed the dressing for finishes my pasta salad. Without hope I was searching for home made italian dressing and wow! I am really happy with result !
In fact, I didn’t have all of the ingredients but I found “Italian herb mix” from my shelf that I decided to use it and oh! worked really well 🙂
Next time will fallow the proper recipe but thank you for giving me hope and found good substitute in emergency situation ! hahaha
This is my go-to Italian dressing. I’ve brought it to several dinner parties to rave reviews, and I’m looking forward to enjoying it again tonight.
Super easy and very tasty. No weird ingredients like mayonnaise.
Made it with Apple Cider Vinegar and it was delicious (although tastes a ~little~ less like Italian dressing). Very easy and good recipe!
Wow. This is so simple and with common ingredients and SO GOOD. Thanks for sharing!
Love to hear that! Thank you!
I like this recipe for my highly allergic child. I’m wondering, can Apple cider vinegar be used instead? That’s what I have right now. Or rice wine vinegar? I’m not versed in vinegars. Thank you!!
Hi, Carly. I wouldn’t recommend using apple cider or rice vinegar here because the quantity we’re using is quite a lot and those are pretty powerful in flavor.
can u use balsamic vinegar
You could but it wouldn’t taste like an italian dressing anymore since balsamic has its own powerful flavor.
Always used to buy Good Seasons for years. Made this and it’s a keeper. Way less expensive to make. Only criticism is that the salt may be too much for some people. Verrrrry goood!
Thanks for the comment, Sally! Happy you enjoyed it.
I love this! Not only is it tasty, but it’s also free from harmful additives. I love it on an antipasto salad.
Delicious- thank you!
Thanks Christina, I just made this tonight for my side salad. NO SUGAR! Bless you for this healthy version recipe.
Have a great day!
I made this as per recipe and it was bitter. Yuck. I then added 1/2 t sugar and it was ok. Not great, but ok.
The BEST Italian dressing recipe on the internet! I’ve tried quite a few online recipes for Italian dressing but none compare to this one. It’s tangy, zesty, perfectly seasoned it’s just delicious! I made the recipe exactly as written using white wine vinegar, perfect as is and has so many options for use. Thank you for sharing your recipes, this one is a keeper.
Thank you, Lynn!
This was the exact Italian dressing I was looking for! Delicious and super easy! Made enough for salad tonight and leftovers for the week!
So happy you enjoyed, Kris! Thank you for commenting!
Great dressing! I made it again & replaced the red wine vinegar with white basalmic vinegar. It was also delicious.
I’m really looking for a homemade dressing salads and i found yours it’s really delicious thanks so much
Thank you!
Simply, easy and better than store bought. Great recipe
Thank you!
Thank you for this sugar and dairy free recipe. I took it to a potluck with my garden salad and it was a hit!
So happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to comment!
This was good, but for me there is way too much salt in here. I will try it again with less salt. For right now I’m going to try to add some honey to it to see if I can balance it out.
Excellent! Easy to prepare and great taste. Thanks for sharing it.
Thank you, Diana!
Excellent
Everyone at the picnic loved the salad because of this dressing. Try it!
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed it, Yvette!
Made the Italian salad dressing and it was delicious! It was very easy and I had all the ingredients on hand. This is definitely a keeper!
OK, to be real here, this recipe isn’t good. I needed to make some more Italian dressing for pasta salad and had to go to the store and buy some to mix it in. Once my homemade stuff was mixed in with the store-bought stuff, it actually tasted good!
Well this cracked me up. Have a good day!
Very tasty. I used an Italian seasoning mix. Lemon added another flavor profile
This recipe is very tasty and is so easy to follow that my disabled daughter can help with preparation. No only is it sugar-free and gluten-free, it doesn’t have thickeners that are often hidden in commercial dressings. And, it is very inexpensive. Thank you for creating it.
What is the best substitute for red or white wine vinegar?
The first day I wasn’t really impressed. But when I opened it the 2nd and 3rd day OMG!! It is so much better than store bought.
Good recipe. I tweaked it slightly by substituting half of the onion powder with minced onion, and half of the garlic powder with fresh minced garlic. Also added half a teaspoon of dill weed and a pinch of fresh cilantro. Overall the recipe is a good solid foundation for the main mix.
This is my go to recipe. I make it without the salt as we are a salt free and sugar free home for health reasons. It doesn’t need the salt. The herbs and red pepper flakes add all the labor you need.
Happy to hear it works for you without salt!