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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Jenn, I’m looking for a dressing to go with a pasta salad (which will have mozzarella pearls, pepperoni, etc). Do you think this would work well? I really prefer to use your recipes whenever possible!
Sure, Amanda, I think it would work nicely (and thanks so much for using my recipes as go-to’s)!
Thank you for your response! This worked really well as a dressing for the pasta salad. I would definitely use it again!
So glad to hear it — thanks for reporting back!
Have never cared for Italian dressing from the bottle and have never searched out a recipe.
This is wonderful. Used my garlic crusher and quickly put this together. Keeps so nicely in the frig. Thanks Jenn for another winner
Yet another winner from Jenn! I made this the first time for a salad, and then as a marinade for chicken tenderloins. It’s an amazing dressing for salads, but I can honestly say using it as a marinade has made the chicken the best I have ever tasted. The recipe as written is more than enough for two pounds of tenderloins, which we make on the grill and then use throughout the week. What an amazing recipe. Thank you Jenn.
I will say here that I tried it as a marinade for chicken breasts, and personally, I prefer Jenn’s Best Grilled Chicken Ever recipe. The recipe itself as a salad dressing is really superb and easy to make!
This recipe is fantastic…the only italian dressing I make now. I use honey instead of maple syrup, and a teaspoon of garlic powder in place of the minced garlic to keep it shelf-stable in my pantry to avoid having to refrigerate it. Make sure you use Lea and Perrins worcestershire sauce…all other brands are inferior.
So good!! This will be my new go-to dressing!
The salad I made using this dressing was a big hit at a weekly dinner gathering of former coworkers. When they raved about the salad, I knew that it was the dressing that made the difference. I stirred my non-lettuce veggies (tomatoes, red onion, artichoke hearts) into the dressing so that that they could marinade and refrigerated the mixture until serving time (about 2 hours). When it was time to serve, I scooped the veggies out of the dressing, added them to the lettuce, stirred the dressing in its container and added the amount that I wanted to the lettuce-veggie mix. I mixed the salad with tongs and added shredded Parmesan cheese to the top. I have added this dressing to my list of favorite recipes for the year! Thanks!!
Added about 1/4 extra Olive oil. Delicious.
Another big fat hit with my family!! This dressing was exactly as described- tangy, zesty and yummy. It was so delicious- My family asked for more salad. As always – thanks for sharing Jenn!!
Hi Jenn
This homemade Italian dressing sounds wonderful. I’m having friends for dinner Saturday and making your shrimp saganaki and a green salad. I like to put blueberries, Strawberries and kiwi in my salad to give it a fresh taste. Do you think this dressing would work well with that type of salad?
Thanks so much.
Hi Cindy, I don’t think the flavors in this dressing will pair very well with fruit. I’d suggest this one instead. Hope that helps!
Definitely a keeper!