This homemade Italian dressing recipe is a staple in our kitchen. It calls for a handful of basic ingredients, and it's delicious on salads, grains, and more!
Move over, bottled Italian dressing! This homemade Italian dressing recipe is super easy to make, and it tastes far better than any store bought kind. Trust me, I know. Growing up in the Midwest, I tried bottled Italian salad dressings left and right. They were a staple at the salad bar, the secret ingredient in everyone’s pasta salad, and the default marinade for any protein.
I get it. Reaching for a bottle of pre-made dressing is quick and easy. But once you try this homemade Italian dressing recipe, you’ll won’t look back. It’s a breeze to make, it uses simple, nourishing ingredients, and it’s zesty, fresh, and bright. It’s a staple in our house, and I think you’ll love it too.
Italian Dressing Recipe Ingredients
You only need a few basic ingredients to make this easy homemade Italian dressing:
- Lemon juice and white wine vinegar – They make the dressing zesty and bright.
- Dijon mustard – For extra tang.
- Garlic – It adds sharp, savory depth of flavor.
- Honey – Don’t skip it! Instead of making the dressing sweet, it mellows the bold lemon juice, vinegar, and Dijon mustard. If you’re vegan, use maple syrup in its place.
- Fresh parsley, dried oregano, and thyme – For fresh Italian flavor! This combination of fresh and dried herbs gives this dressing more nuance and depth than you’d find in any bottled dressing.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – It adds richness and marries the flavors of the other ingredients.
- And sea salt and freshly ground black pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Add the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, honey, herbs, salt, and pepper to a small bowl, and whisk to combine. Alternatively, place the ingredients in a Mason jar with a tight-fitting lid, and shake until the dressing is emulsified. Season to taste, and enjoy!
I like this recipe for Italian dressing as-is, but if you want to amp up the flavor even more, stir in a few tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese before serving. This homemade salad dressing is also delicious with a pinch of red pepper flakes for heat!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Homemade Italian Dressing Serving Suggestions
This homemade Italian dressing recipe is really versatile! Once you have it on hand, you won’t have any trouble putting it to use. Toss it with your favorite greens to make a simple side salad, use it in my Mediterranean Quinoa Salad, or swap it in for the dressing in any of these salad recipes:
- Italian Chopped Salad
- Easy Pasta Salad
- Cherry Tomato Couscous Salad
- Citrus Salad with Fennel and Avocado
Not in the mood for salad? Not a problem! This zesty dressing has other uses, too. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Drizzle it over roasted veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, potatoes, or Brussels sprouts.
- Use it to brighten up grilled veggie skewers, grilled asparagus, grilled eggplant, grilled potatoes, or grilled zucchini.
- Toss it with cooked quinoa, couscous, or farro and fresh herbs to make a hearty side dish.
- Use it as a punchy marinade for cooked lentils, chickpeas, or white beans.
- Spoon it over a simple grain bowl, like this Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowl.
How do you like to use homemade Italian dressing? Let me know in the comments!
More Homemade Dressing Recipes
If you love this Italian salad dressing recipe, try one of these homemade dressings next:
- Lemon Vinaigrette
- Greek Salad Dressing
- Cilantro Lime Dressing
- Green Goddess Dressing
- Vegan Ranch Dressing
- Homemade Caesar Dressing
Italian Dressing
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1½ tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1½ teaspoons honey
- 1½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- ¾ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, parsley, honey, oregano, garlic, mustard, thyme, salt, and pepper.
- If desired, stir in the cheese.
Made this a couple of times now. Delicious. Does it need to be refrigerated after it’s made. This time it congealed a bit in refrigerator. Thank you.
Hi Edie, yes! I would keep this dressing in the refrigerator. The olive oil will solidify in the fridge, but if you let it sit at room temp before serving, it will loosen back up.
Excellent recipe. I didn’t add the Parmesan on my first batch but will try that next time. Perhaps the best I’ve ever had as far as Italian!
I’m so glad you loved the dressing!
Delicious! Over the years I have tried many Italian salad dressing recipes and this is by far the best. I am sure it would be great on pasta salad. Thanks.
Hi Sally, so glad you loved it!
Definitely a great recipe loved it
So glad you loved it!
This is my every week go to recipe to go on top of my Mediterranean salad. So good!
Hi Jordan, I’m so glad you love the dressing!
Hi ….if you substitute garlic powder for fresh how much would you use? Would this allow me to store dressing in fridge for a longer period than a few days?
Hi Christina, I’d use 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon to taste. I still recommend using the dressing within 5 days.
Perfect, full of flavor. Had to substitute red wine vinegar for the white but it was just wonderful. Will double recipe next time so I have some leftover.
Hi Brenda, so glad you loved it!
Spectacular as written. Will make a double batch next time
I’m so glad you loved it!
can apple cider vinegar be used in place of white wine vinegar? it’s all i have on hand. thanks.
yep!
Fantastic! You were right, Jeanine and Jack. This absolutely my new go-to Italian dressing. I stopped buying Italian dressing years ago because of all the sugar they were adding….I’ve tried to make it before, but was never successful until now.
I used the whole recipe on a pasta salad for a cookout.
Hi Carol, I’m so glad it was a hit!
It really was a hit.
I want this Recipe
I have finally found the secret to having my husband devour a salad! Thank you so much for this recipe. ♥
Oh, yay! I’m so glad you loved it!
Wow!! Best dressing ever! Made an Italian pasta salad using this dressing and it was soo very delicious! Keeping this recipe as a go to standard, thank you!!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This is one of my favorite dressings to make! I love the tanginess from the lemon juice and the white wine vinegar so much! And I really like that it only uses 1/4 cup of olive oil, it doesn’t make my salad greens oily like most dressings! I also like to mix the dressing with an immersion blender for a few seconds so that it doesn’t separate quite as quickly! 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
There are red chile flakes in many of the pics, but not in the recipe or mentioned in the text. Was this left out? Seems like it would be a good addition.
Hi Cara, yes, you can add a pinch or two if you like a little spice – apologies for the oversight!
Very delicious!! Better the next day though!!!
Ya. But what does optional meant?
I have nutritional yeast & parmesan which I intend to use but the italian dressing didn’t mention but the brocolli pesto did. Cooking is abt experimenting & having fun but you just said leave it out but I just want to know what if you did. How does it impact the taste. More cheesy! More salty! More yucky! Or just say if you want the dressing to last longer just put it in just before serving.
Optional just means that we made it and liked it both ways – with and without, so it’s up to you if you want a more cheesy dressing. If someone is vegan, I’d recommend just leaving out the cheese in this recipe rather than replacing it with nutritional yeast. I think the texture of flakes would be a little weird in this dressing but I really like them blended into the broccoli pesto. I’d keep the dressing in the fridge for 3-5 days, either way. Hope that helps!
If brocolli pesto can use 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast for 1/4 cup parmesan cheese will it be the same for italian dressing where you put 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast before serving the salad?
Hi Odelia, you can just skip the parmesan cheese here, no need to add nutritional yeast – it’s delicious without both.
This dressing is delicious. I double it because it’s so good I have to have it again very soon! I had to substitute some other vinegars once and it was still really yummy.
Homemade dressing is so much better!how long will this dressing keep … can I make it ahead of time?
Hi Susan, it’ll keep about 3-5 days. If you leave the parsley out, up to about 7. I hope you enjoy!
Minus the fresh parsley, I don’t understand why it can’t be kept useable for more than 7 days as the ingredients have a long shelf life.
Hi Debra, the garlic will start to spoil before some of the other ingredients. I personally like to play it safe and use homemade dressings within a week.
I made this for Thanksgiving this year, only because I forgot to buy Italian Dressing. I am so glad I did. I had to try it before Thanksgiving just to make sure it was right for my tomato salad. I am so glad I did! This is DELICIOUS!! I don’t thing I’ll buy Italian dressing ever again.
Can you make this with dried parsley ?
You can, I would use less – 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon