This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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! Ready in just 1 minute! No cooking, no chopping, no blending, no nothing.
Update: This recipe was originally published in 2017 and has been republished with all new photos.
I’m a huge fan of homemade salad dressings. They’re so easy! Plus a homemade dressing is more flavorful than store-bought dressings but made with far better ingredients. All the ingredients in this easy homemade Italian dressing are clean. No junk. No artificial anything. Just the good stuff.
This is one of my very favorite dressings and it’s been my most popular recipe on this site for years! Everyone loves its big zesty flavor. But the best part? You likely have all the ingredients you need already. Just shake everything together in a jar and you’re done. It’s that simple!
It’s the perfect way to elevate a green salad, it’s an excellent marinade for chicken or pork, and it can transform any pasta salad into something truly special. Talk about a versatile dressing, right?
If you have dietary concerns you’ll be happy to know this dressing is also Whole30 compliant, gluten free, and dairy free.
Easy Homemade Italian Dressing Ingredients
- Olive oil: I recommend extra-virgin olive oil in this dressing.
- Red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar: Both red and white wine vinegar work beautifully. 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.
- Lemon juice: A little fresh lemon juice adds a brightness to this zesty Italian dressing.
- Seasonings: The incredible taste comes from a blend of simple but powerful seasonings. We’re also using a few dried herbs because they pack more flavor than fresh herbs. For this recipe you’ll need dried oregano, dried basil, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper.
How to Make Easy Homemade Italian Dressing
Ready to make this homemade italian dressing recipe? Add all ingredients to a jar. Place the lid on the jar. Make sure it’s a tight-fitting lid so we don’t make a mess. Now give it a good shake. That’s it!
This dressing is pretty perfect as is and this is how I enjoy it. If you want to make it more like the dressing you’ll find at Olive Garden, simply add a little grated parmesan cheese and a bit of honey or sugar for a touch of sweetness. Those are optional adjustments you can make based on your own personal preference.
How to Serve this Italian Dressing
Now you’ve made your own salad dressing. What are we going to do with it? The obvious answer is of course to pour it over leafy vegetables. It will add a burst of flavor to a simple side salad or entree salad. But we can get a bit more creative, can’t we? Here are some of my favorite uses for this recipe.
- Drizzle over vegetables like my Easy Roasted Broccoli or Grilled Vegetables.
- Toss in a pasta salad like my Make Ahead Italian Pasta Salad.
- Use it as a marinade for chicken, pork, or turkey. My Italian Marinated Grilled Chicken is a huge hit!
- Spread on sandwiches or in wraps. My son would tell you this is the best way to use this dressing. I add it to his sandwich every morning before school! It’s so much cheaper than buying a sandwich dressing from the grocery store. Those little bottles are pricey!
How to Store Leftover Italian Dressing
Store your leftover dressing in the refrigerator in an airtight container with a lid. I like to use a jar with a tight seal. I like to use a glass bottle or mason jar. This dressing can keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. The oil may solidify in the cold but it will return to normal if you leave it at room temperature for a few minutes. You’ll see some separation so shake before using.
Easy Homemade Italian Dressing
Ingredients
- ¾ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red or white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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.