Do-it-yourself Italian Dressing – Sally’s Baking Dependancy

January 9, 2025

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This vinaigrette-style do-it-yourself Italian dressing is zesty, brilliant, and filled with daring, contemporary taste. It takes solely about 5 minutes to arrange with a mixture of pantry staples and some contemporary components. Making your individual Italian dressing is extremely simple and much more scrumptious than something store-bought.

I initially printed this recipe in 2015 and have since added new pictures and extra success ideas.

pouring homemade Italian dressing over a green salad.

Earlier than you attain for store-bought dressing the following time you make a salad, let me present you ways easy it’s to make contemporary, zesty do-it-yourself Italian dressing from scratch. I do know it sounds odd to have a salad dressing recipe on a baking web site, however that is one among my most favourite “dipping sauces” for do-it-yourself breads like artisan bread and ciabatta bread and clearly pairs effectively with do-it-yourself croutons. 😉

It’s definitely simpler and extra handy to choose up a bottle of dressing from the shop, however I promise this fast recipe delivers far superior taste in only some minutes. With a handful of easy components, and not one of the unpronounceable components, this do-it-yourself Italian dressing will elevate your salad to the following degree.

I’m assured when you strive it, you’ll all the time desire a jar on the prepared in your fridge.

colorful fresh salad with homemade Italian dressing and croutons.

Right here Are The Elements You Want & Doable Substitutions

Don’t let the prolonged ingredient checklist make you nervous! Most of those components are most likely already in your pantry or spice drawer. You’ll want:

Additional Virgin Olive Oil: I all the time use additional virgin olive oil right here for its superior style, however you need to use avocado oil, grapeseed oil, or sunflower oil if that’s what you will have.
White Wine Vinegar: Vinegar is an apparent necessity for any vinaigrette-style dressing. I like to make use of white wine vinegar, however pink wine vinegar additionally works. These are the one two vinegars I like to recommend; different vinegars will lack the flavors essential for traditional Italian dressing.
Parmesan Cheese: Freshly grated Parmesan cheese is most well-liked. You’ll need the finer particles of cheese moderately than the lengthy shreds. Parmesan might be expensive, so for those who don’t really feel like selecting it up OR if you wish to hold the dressing dairy-free, you possibly can depart it out.
Purple Bell Pepper: A bit of little bit of chopped pink bell pepper is usually included in Italian dressings as a result of it provides taste and a little bit of freshness. You’ll want to cube it into small items in order that they’ll evenly disperse in your salad dressing.
Dried Parsley, Basil, Oregano, Garlic Salt, and Pepper: The massive taste makers! I often attain for dried herbs and spices for ease, however you need to use contemporary for those who desire. See recipe Notes for actual quantities.
Minced Onion (Dried or Contemporary): Once more, I sometimes use dried minced onion for ease, however be happy to make use of a contemporary minced onion or shallot for those who desire. I additionally use dried minced onion on everything-style do-it-yourself bagels.
Lemon Juice: Only a splash of contemporary lemon juice helps brighten and stability the flavors.
Honey or Sugar: This provides a touch of sweetness and balances the flavors within the dressing. Don’t depart it out—the dressing can style bitter with out it. You need to use honey or common granulated sugar.

ingredients on marble surface including dried herbs, olive oil, fresh parmesan, and red bell pepper.

whisking olive oil mixture in large liquid measuring cup.

Use Your Do-it-yourself Italian Dressing In These Recipes:

What’s the easiest way to retailer Italian dressing?

This recipe yields about 1 cup of dressing, so that you’ll want an air-tight container with not less than 1-cup capability. Ideally, one thing barely bigger is finest so that there’s sufficient room when shaking the components collectively. A easy canning jar works (and listed below are some nifty tops to make pouring a breeze), or you need to use a salad dressing shaker like this or this.

How lengthy does Italian dressing final?

As soon as combined, the dressing lasts for as much as 2 weeks within the fridge. For longer storage, you possibly can freeze it for as much as 3 months. Thaw in a single day within the fridge earlier than utilizing. (Tip: You need to use a silicone ice dice tray to freeze small, individual-sized parts of dressing. Freeze the dressing within the ice dice tray, then switch to a zipped-top bag for storage.)

Can I double this Italian dressing recipe?

Sure, this recipe can simply be doubled (or additional multiplied) for big batches.

jar of homemade Italian dressing with a spoon.

Extra Contemporary Salads & Do-it-yourself Sauces/Toppings:

When you see how simple it’s to make do-it-yourself Italian dressing, you’ll love having this contemporary, flavorful possibility within the fridge. Listed below are just a few extra of my favourite salads and different from-scratch sauces and toppings:

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