Zesty Homemade Italian Dressing
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Forget the bottled stuff: this zesty homemade Italian dressing is easy to make and packed with flavor.
This Italian dressing is my go-to weeknight salad dressing. It’s a classic oil-and-vinegar homemade dressing with lots of garlic and a few surprise ingredients, like Worcestershire sauce and maple syrup. Sounds strange, I know, but it works. It’s a cinch to make, too: simply combine all of the ingredients in a jar, give it a shake, and you’re done. While it’s perfect for a crisp green salad, it also adds a bright, tangy element to a cold pasta salad or a medley of roasted vegetables. The recipe makes enough for one large head or three hearts of romaine.
“A big fat hit with my family!! This dressing was exactly as described- tangy, zesty and yummy.”
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade Italian Dressing
To make homemade Italian dressing, you’ll need extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, maple syrup, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Combine all the ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake to emulsify. Alternatively, you can whisk the ingredients together in a bowl.
As the dressing sits, it will separate, so give it a good shake before using. Be sure your greens are completely dry before dressing them—wet leaves cause the dressing to slide right off and dilute the flavor. Add the dressing gradually, tossing as you go, until the salad is coated to your liking. Store any leftover dressing in the fridge for up to a week.
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Zesty Homemade Italian Dressing
Ingredients
- ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- 1½ tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4 small cloves garlic, minced (or 2 to 3 medium cloves)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a jar. Seal tightly with lid and shake vigorously to emulsify. Toss gently with the romaine lettuce right before serving. Store extra dressing in refrigerator for up to a week. As the dressing sits, it will separate (and solidify in the fridge), so be sure to shake well before using.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi Jenn,
Besides romaine, is there anything else you would put on top of this salad or do you typically just stick with just lettuce and dressing here? I’ll be serving this as a side salad to your spaghetti and meatballs. Thanks.
Hi Chad, whatever greens you like would work nicely here! 🙂
I make this as my go to dressing – I cut the vinegar back to 1/4 cup and add 1 teaspoon of dried Cento Italian herbs. Excellent!
Karen, I agree with the addition of Italian herbs (otherwise how is it zesty Italian dressing?) My husband doesn’t like dressings to be very vinegary, so I did cut back to 1/4 cup. Adding a bit of dijon mustard adds to the emulsification and flavor. It’s a lovely dressing now.
To the author, it’s not a reflection on the recipe, which would’ve suited me just fine, just a modification for our family’s preference.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi, would this dressing be good for a pasta salad?
Sure!
Yummy! Lots of compliments from the family on it!
Add I tsp Italian seasoning.
Excellent, will definitely be my go to dressing…..didn’t change a thing👍
I would have never but these ingredients together for a salad dressing, but it came out really good and my husband loved it too! Definitely a keeper! Thanks again Jen.
I too happened to have this same jar and made this recipe today…I doubled it as I am sharing this with friends. Super delicious and made no changes. If people only knew how easy dressing is to prepare 😋 Thank you for this recipe!
Hi, how long does the dressing keep in refrigerator?
Hi Renee, I think it’d keep nicely in the fridge for up to a week.
Love this, Jenn! Hate buying dressings due to added ingredients, etc. including soy!! This was amazing—AND I love that you used one of my favorite jelly jars that I save for your dressings too!!! Bonnemaman! Thank you for the great ideas! Carol (Chadds Ford, PA)
No excuse not to make this, it’s delicious and it takes less than ten minutes to make!
I use pure maple syrup for my husband’s coffee so I had that on hand. I love the generous amount of garlic. Also, I used apple cider vinegar instead of red wine vinegar and i think after tasting the dressing that it still came out perfectly.