This easy homemade Italian dressing is zesty, super flavorful and perfect for tossing with salad or used as a marinade. So much better than store-bought!
Toss the store-bought bottles because this homemade Italian dressing tastes SO MUCH BETTER. I love that it uses real healthy ingredients so you can feel good about what you are eating. I’ve used this on salads, Italian pasta salad, and as a marinade for fish and chicken.
I love making my own salad dressings and have shared quite a few on the blog. See all my homemade salad dressing recipes! I highly recommend our Caesar salad dressing and this balsamic vinaigrette.
Key Ingredients
- Olive Oil: If you can, choose a high-quality extra-virgin olive oil that you enjoy the flavor of. Olive oil can vary in flavor from light and fruity all the way to robust and spicy.
- Wine Vinegar and Lemon Juice: This combo brings the classic zesty, tart, acidic kick to this dressing. White or red wine vinegar can be used interchangeably, and if you don’t have lemon, simply make the dressing with 100% vinegar.
- Capers and Fresh Garlic: These are our little secret for this Italian dressing. They add a zesty, salty kick and give it some texture. We first used capers to make olive oil dip and have been adding them to recipes ever since.
- Dijon Mustard: One of our most loved ingredients, especially when making vinaigrettes! We also use it to make this honey mustard dressing.
- Maple syrup or Honey: These are usually optional ingredients when making dressings, but in the case of this Italian dressing recipe, we highly recommend adding a teaspoon to the mix. It doesn’t make the dressing taste sweet, but it does balance the tartness of the vinegar and lemon juice.
- Fresh and/or Dried Herbs: Essential! You can use all fresh, all dried, or a combination based on what you have on hand. Ingredient amounts for both fresh and dried are provided in the recipe below.
- Parmesan: This is optional, but adds a lovely creamy element to the dressing. Pecorino-Romano cheese or Manchego are good substitutes.
I find that this Italian dressing is creamy enough and does not need any additional ingredients. It is amazing what happens when you whisk everything together. That said, to make a creamy Italian dressing, whisk in a tablespoon or two of sour cream, mayonnaise or plain yogurt.
Ways to Use Homemade Italian Dressing
I love how flavorful this dressing turns out, so I use it for more than just salads, although it’s fantastic for most of our salad recipes! Beyond that, though, I love it with roasted vegetables. Consider making our roasted cabbage or roasted broccoli, and then toss them with a bit of dressing. It’s great drizzled over sautéed Brussels sprouts, too!
You can also use it for prepared salads like my Italian pasta salad, orzo salad, or this easy bean salad. And finally, you can marinate with it. Pour over fish or shrimp and marinate for 15 minutes before cooking, or you can marinate chicken for up to 2 hours.
Easy Italian Dressing
- PREP
- TOTAL
This easy homemade Italian dressing is zesty, super flavorful, and perfect for tossing with salad or as a marinade. We love the combination of wine vinegar and lemon juice in this, but if you do not have lemons, use 1/4 cup of wine vinegar instead. Use either white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar in this recipe.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1/4 cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons (30ml) white or red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons (30ml) fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh grated lemon zest
1 garlic clove, finely minced or grated
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon capers, drained and minced
1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes, optional
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, optional
Directions
1Combine all of the ingredients listed in a small bowl and whisk until well blended and creamy. Taste then adjust with additional salt or pepper.
2Alternatively, you can add all of the ingredients to a medium mason jar, secure the lid, and then shake until blended.
3Keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator up to three days. The dressing will likely last a day or two longer, but the fresh flavor of the garlic and herbs starts to degrade over time.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Keep this homemade dressing in a mason jar or airtight container in the fridge for a few days. Shake or whisk before using. (The dressing will likely last a day or two longer, but the fresh flavor of the garlic and herbs starts to degrade over time.)
- Olive oil hardened in fridge: When stored in the fridge, the oil might harden on you. Don’t worry, this is normal. Either, place the jar into a bowl of warm water for a few minutes or take the dressing out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before you plan on serving it.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
This recipe is a keeper! It is so good!! I used dried spices, but may use fresh next time. I also added the parmesan cheese. We had on salad and my daughter also dipped her grilled steak in it. Yum!
Hi Peggy, Thanks for coming back and sharing with us! Dried herbs work quite well in this recipe, but I do love fresh!
Please share your quick and easy pasta salad recipe. It looks delicious. Thank you very much
Hi there, Here’s the link to our pasta salad.