Quick and Easy Italian Dressing is full of fresh flavor and so simple to make that creating incredible salads and meals has never been easier!

Making amazing salads, pasta, and sandwiches is a delicious breeze with Quick and Easy Italian Dressing! Toss together a few fresh ingredients like red onion and garlic, plus pantry staples like olive oil, vinegar, honey, and seasonings to make an irresistible dressing everyone will love!

italian dressing in a jar in front of a salad with recipe name at the bottom

Fresh and Zesty

We’ve all had boring leafy salads and pasta salads, and the culprit is usually bland dressings. Once I learned how simple and fresh-tasting homemade Quick and Easy Italian Dressing was to make, I can assure you I’ve always stayed in the same bland dressings! The pantry staples combined with fresh onion and garlic give this dressing a zesty flavor that brings a fresh brightness to everything I put on.

From delicious potluck sides to great weekday lunches, nothing can top the fresh flavors of Italian Pasta Salad or filling Pearl Couscous Salad!

Other Recipes to Serve with Quick and Easy Italian Dressing

Simple and wildly flavorful Copycat Carrabba’s Cavatappi Amatriciana is the perfect main dish to serve with a side salad dressed with Italian dressing!
Every amazing meal should end with a wonderful dessert, so stick with the theme of bright bold flavors and whip up a Lemon Raspberry No-Bake Pie!

Ingredients

Veggies: To make this dressing you will need minced red onion and a little minced garlic.

Pantry Items: Set out the extra virgin olive oil, honey, and white wine vinegar to mix in.

Seasoning: You will need salt, pepper, dried oregano, and dried basil.

Cheese: To make this dressing, you will also need a little grated parmesan cheese. Freshly grated parmesan works the best in this recipe, as it easily blends into the dressing, but you can also use finely pre-grated parmesan.

How to Make Quick and Easy Italian Dressing

STEP ONE: Combine the minced onion, garlic, olive oil, honey, white wine vinegar, seasonings, and parmesan cheese in a jar or another type of sealable container.

olive garden italian dressing ingredients in a jar

STEP TWO: Shake the jar well to thoroughly mix the dressing.

italian dressing in a jar after being shaken to mix everything together

STEP THREE: Use the Italian dressing immediately or refrigerate for later.

looking down into a jar of homemade italian dressing

Tips for Success

You can shake this dressing in a jar, mix it in a bowl, or even put the ingredients into a blender to combine—the choice is yours.
If you have red wine vinegar on hand feel free to use that in place of white wine vinegar.
Store the Italian dressing in a sealed jar or other sealed container in the fridge for up to three days. The dressing may solidify due to being cold so just set it on the counter for about 20 minutes and then shake to re-mix everything.
To make this dressing vegan simply sway the honey for maple syrup and leave the parmesan out or use a vegan parmesan substitute.

spoonful of italian dressing over the jar

How can I use Italian dressing?

Quick and Easy Italian Dressing is easy to whip up in minutes and super easy to use in your favorite dishes! Elevate your salads with this dressing, or pour a little dressing into a shallow bowl to dip freshly baked bread into. Toss your favorite veggies, like cucumbers, tomatoes, asparagus, and more, with this dressing and enjoy the veggies raw or roasted. Weeknight meals can also be extra tasty when you marinate chicken in the dressing and serve it with pasta and veggies. Drizzle a little homemade Italian dressing on your sandwiches to pump up the flavor!

quick and easy italian dressing being poured over a green salad

How long does homemade Italian dressing last in the fridge?

Homemade Italian dressing comes together in just minutes, so it’s the perfect dressing to make on the fly. When using fresh ingredients, especially garlic, be sure to store your dressing no longer than three days to prevent issues from spoilage. Once fresh garlic is cut there is a window of time where it can be safely eaten but after three days a risk of botulism develops. Dried onion and garlic powder can be used in place of fresh ingredients, which will extend the life of the dressing to two weeks. This can be a better option for when you want to make a large batch of dressing.

olive garden italian dressing on a green salad

More Delicious Dressings for Salads and More!

Balsamic Vegetable Dressing
Homemade Ranch Dressing
Strawberry Poppyseed Dressing
Super Thick and Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing
Jalapeno Ranch Dressing

*This post was originally posted on 01/08/2015.