Zesty Italian Dressing
This post may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure.
This zesty Italian dressing is bright, fresh and flavorful with the perfect mix of herbs and spices. This homemade family recipe is quick and easy to assemble. After you taste it, you’ll say goodbye to bottled Italian dressing.
🧑🏼🍳 WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- It’s affordable to make at home with pantry staples. In fact, right now you might have everything you need on hand in the cupboard.
- This quick easy recipe makes 1 cup of dressing. About 8 servings.
- You can make this fresh healthy condiment in just 5 minutes. Then it’s ready to drizzle across a crisp garden salad.
- Because of the fantastic flavor, you might want to eat more salad!
👉🏻 DID YOU KNOW: Zesty Italian dressing is a delicious marinade for chicken, flank steak and vegetable skewers? A popular condiment for drizzling across Italian sub sandwiches, it’s also a flavorful dressing for pasta salad.
🛒 INGREDIENTS
- Olive Oil: The rich delicious base for this zesty Italian dressing.
- Red Wine Vinegar: Adds tang and contributes a zesty flavor profile.
- Lemon Juice: Adds a bright, fresh, zesty taste. Freshly-squeezed juice has the best flavor, but feel free to use bottled lemon juice instead.
- Granulated Sugar: Ads a bit of sweetness to offset the tang.
- Kosher Salt: Enhances the flavor of the other ingredients.
- Ground Black Pepper: Adds rustic taste and aroma with a hint of heat.
- Garlic Powder: Has a deep savory taste that enriches the dressing.
- Dried Basil: A major herb in Italian recipes.
- Dried Oregano: A traditional ingredient for Italian dressing.
- Dried Parsley: Adds a fresh grassy flavor.
- Dried Minced Onion: Pairs well with garlic and the other spices.
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: Adds texture, color and a bit of heat.
- Parmesan Cheese: We use finely-grated cheese so it can incorporate well into the mixture.
📖 RECIPE STEPS
These are the most commonly-asked questions about homemade Italian dressing, and the most helpful answers for recipe success.
- STEP 1: In a wide-mouth jar, add olive oil, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice. Mix until well combined.
- STEP 2: Add granulated sugar and all of the dried herbs and spices. Whisk until well blended. Add the Parmesan cheese. Whisk until fully combined.
- STEP 3: Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. This will allow time for the dried spices to soften, and for the flavors to meld together.
👩🏻🍳 RECIPE FAQ
If it’s made with dried herbs and garlic powder, it can last up to 3 weeks in the fridge. But if it contains raw garlic and/or fresh herbs, then the dressing will expire after 3 days.
Yes, fresh herbs will give it fantastic flavor. However, it’s important to note: raw garlic and fresh herbs will make the dressing expire sooner. It must be used within 3 days.
About 2 tablespoons.
🥗 more flavorful salad dressings
- Asian Salad Dressing
- Tahini Salad Dressing
- Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
- Creamy Balsamic Dressing
- Healthy Caesar Dressing
- Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing
RATE THIS RECIPE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Flavor testers loved this zesty Italian dressing. They gave it high marks for freshness, flavor, body and texture. They said it reminds them of the type of dressings served at their favorite Italian restaurants.
If you agree this recipe’s a keeper, give it a 5-star rating in the comments. Then be a recipe hero. Share it with friends. 📌 Pin it to Pinterest.
Zesty Italian Dressing
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
Description
This homemade Italian dressing is bright, zesty and flavorful with the perfect balance of herbs and spices. It’s a quick easy recipe that tastes 100% better than store-bought.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice, freshly-squeezed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried minced onion
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely-grated
Instructions
- In a wide-mouth jar, add olive oil, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice. Mix until well combined.
- Add granulated sugar and all of the dried herbs and spices. Whisk until well blended. Add the Parmesan cheese. Whisk until fully combined.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. This will allow time for the dried spices to soften, and for the flavors to meld together.
Notes
How to swap fresh herbs for dried: The general rule for swapping fresh herbs for dried is upping the measurement by 1/3. Here’s an example: for 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, substitute 1/2 tablespoon freshly-chopped oregano.
Serving size of Italian dressing: About 2 tablespoons. One cup of dressing yields 8 servings.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Salad Dressing
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: Italian
ZESTY ITALIAN DRESSING 👉🏻 JOIN THE CONVERSATION!
Do you enjoy the fresh crisp taste of salad dressing recipes made from scratch? What do you think about this Italian dressing recipe? Join the conversation in the comments below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
A homemade italian dressing is sooo worth the 5 minutes it takes to make it! Its so perfect for fresh summer salads! I can’t wait to try out this recipe!
I had to come back and rate this classic Italian dressing 5 Stars! Or six!
I LOVE this classic recipe! The bright, tangy flavor of Italian dressing is a welcome change from the world covered in Ranch. Plus, when you make it at home, you know what goes into it.
I’ve never thought to make my own! Great idea.
LOVE a good home made dressing! It’s always nice to know exactly what’s going into your body. Thanks for sharing this recipe!!
Belle, you are absolutely welcome! It’s always a great feeling to make a delicious salad dressing recipe from scratch.
This dressing looks great! Way better than the storebought stuff for sure!
Thanks so much Amanda! I know you’ll absolutely love the fabulous taste of this flavorful Italian dressing.
I’ve never been that keen on Italian dressing, but this recipe makes me REALLY want to try it! Parmesan IN MY DRESSING??? WHAT?? That sounds sooooo yummy.
xx
Isabella
Parmesan cheese really makes a difference! It provides beautiful taste and texture to this salad dressing recipe. Many good wishes to you Isabella for a wonderful weekend!
Homemade dressing is absolutely the best! And how could you not want to make it when it’s so quick and easy? Love this!
Patricia, I’m so glad you love this yummy salad dressing recipe! It’s packed with beautiful flavors that’ll make you smile.
I love your recipes! Now, I’m making this one!
Awww…thank you Christina! Your sweet comment just made my day! :-)
this is just perfect for all summer salads and is so easy to make!
It is the perfect Italian dressing for all summer salads. Super easy to make and most people will love it.
I bet this is a delicious marinade for chicken! I’ll have to try this soon!
-Jennifer
H iJennifer, this Italian dressing would be perfect for a marinade on chicken.
I absolutely love this recipe!! Can’t wait to try it. With the hot temp these summer salads are a staple in the house and this dressing will be perfect!
Hi Leah, summer salads are the best and this dressing will go perfect with it.
Tihs sounds like a yummy salad dressing! I’ll have to try it sometime!
Hi Diana, I know you will love this recipe for Italian dressing. Its so yummy.
Perfect for salads! Willing to try this for later at dinner time.
Hi Mary, its perfect for salads. You have that right. lol.
I love homemade Italian dressing! You can make so much of it and it’s way better than the store. This one is my new favorite!
Im tickled that you love it so much. It the best and everyone loves it.
You can’t beat homemade salad dressings! This looks really delicious and flavorful.
Hi Amy, you really cant beat homemade dressings. They are the best.
Delicious! Love the red wine vinegar in here. A great all-purpose salad dressing.
Hi Alyssa, Im so glad you enjoy it. It really is wonderful.
I love homemade dressings and have been looking for a good Italian dressing recipe. I think this is exactly what I’ve been looking for, can’t wait to try it!
I’m glad I could help. I think youre really going like this homemade Italian Dressing. Its a nice compliment to any salad.
I absolutely LOVE a good homemade Italian dressing. I love how refreshing and light it is. I will definitely be trying this!
I think you will really like this italian dressing. Its great for any salad.