Zesty Italian Dressing
This easy homemade Italian dressing is not only perfect for topping simple green garden salads, but also as a main ingredient in some of our favorite summer salads. We especially love it in our cucumber tomato salad and in our easy summer pasta salad. Any way you use it, you’ll definitely always want a bottle on hand. And with such a simple recipe, you can!
Ingredients
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup white wine vinegar*
- 2 large garlic clove - minced
- 1 Tbsp red bell pepper - minced
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp fine ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes optional - for a little extra spice
Instructions
- Mince the garlic and red pepper.
- Add all ingredients to a 16-oz jar and shake vigorously to combine ingredients.
- Use this dressing as a bread dip or for marinades and salads like a simple green salad, Copycat Olive Garden House Salad, vegan pasta salad, or cucumber tomato salad!
- Store your Italian dressing in the fridge for up to 5 days. It will last a few days longer if you are not using fresh herbs and garlic. It will thicken in the fridge; see the notes below for how to deal with that!
Video
Notes
- *Vinegar Notes: You can easily sub red wine vinegar for this recipe if that’s your preference. You can also use distilled white vinegar, but you should add 2 tsp of lemon juice and 1 tsp sugar. The combination of lemon juice and sugar will help the regular white vinegar taste more like white wine vinegar.
- The oil in the dressing may harden a little in colder storage temps. Just run the bottle under lukewarm water or leave it on the counter for about 20-30 minutes. Make sure you give the dressing a good shake each time before using it to really incorporate the ingredients!
- Olive Oil tips: You want to use a good quality extra virgin olive oil that will add flavor and enhance the dressing. We love and would suggest Botticelli's extra virgin olive oil.
- For a creamy Italian salad dressing: Add 1 tsp - 1 Tbsp vegan mayo to the mix!
- To substitute the fresh garlic: You can sub jarred minced garlic. I usually use about a scant tablespoon per large clove of fresh minced garlic. I haven’t tried this with garlic powder, but I would recommend using about a teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Bell pepper options: You can use a variety of bell peppers if you like. Mixed yellow, red, and orange bell peppers would also add a great splash of color.
Nutrition
Serving: 1ozCalories: 122kcalFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 11gSodium: 73mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!