Healthy Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe (2024)

09.27.2021 == Leave a Comment

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Looking for an amazing homemade Italian dressing recipe? Look no further! This Healthy Italian Dressing is super simple to make, using basic ingredients that you likely already have on hand. Unlike store-bought dressings, this recipe contains no sugar, corn syrup or sub-par oils – just quality ingredients that will taste amazing!

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Healthy Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe (1)

Have you ever stopped to look at the nutrition label of most store-bought, bottled salad dressings? You’ll quickly discover that most store-bought dressings contain an unusually large amount of sugar and corn syrup. They’re also made with really poor quality oils.

This homemade Italian dressing recipe is a breath of fresh air! It contains no sugars, syrups or toxic oils – just good quality ingredients that you likely already have in your pantry.

Best of all, this dressing tastes way better than anything store-bought, and it’s less calories as well!

What you’ll need to make this homemade Italian dressing recipe:

Extra virgin olive oil, or the best quality olive oil you can afford
Red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 cloves of garlic
Garlic powder
Dried oregano
Dried basil
Crushed red pepper flakes
Garlic salt
Ground pepper

For exact ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the post for the recipe. Thanks!

Healthy Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe (2)

The time commitment to make this dressing is very minimal. From start to finish, it will take less than 5 minutes. I will often make this dressing after I’ve tossed a salad together or when making lunch. It’s a quick, simple and healthy option!

Looking for other ways to use this Italian dressing? Check out these recipes:

Baked Italian Chicken
Grilled Italian Chicken
Zesty Italian Pasta Salad
Blueberry Spring Mix Salad
Italian Chicken Salad

Healthy Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe (3)

A basic kitchen whisk (like in the photo above)
A citrus juicer
A bowl to mix the dressing
Measuring spoons (to measure the spices) and a liquid measuring cup to measure the oil and vinegar.

Ingredient Substitutions and Recommendations:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: I would recommend using the best quality olive oil you can afford. A good substitute to olive oil would be avocado oil. I do NOT recommend canola, corn, soy bean, sunflower, safflower, rapeseed oils, as these tend to be poor quality, and promote inflammation in the body.
Red Wine Vinegar: A good substitute would be balsamic vinegar or a champagne vinegar.

For exact ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions be sure to scroll down to the recipe at the bottom of the post. Thanks!

Healthy Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe (4)

Healthy Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe (5)

Frequently asked questions about homemade Italian dressing:

Is Italian vinaigrette same as Italian dressing?

Italian dressing is a type of vinaigrette. Vinaigrette dressings are typically an oil and vinegar based mixture.

What makes this Italian dressing healthier?

This homemade Italian dressing recipe doesn’t include sugar, corn syrup, or any other partially-hydrogenated oil (soy, corn, canola, rapeseed, safflower, sunflower, ect). This dressing recipe calls for extra virgin olive oil, which is much healthier than those other mega-transfat oils, which are considered highly inflammatory and toxic.

Looking to meal prep salads for more healthy lunches? Here’s some great resources:

Looking to get started with meal prep? This post is 5 Simple Things to Meal Prep this weekend in under an hour!
Check out this Quick Guide to Cooking Oils from Randa Nutrition. It’s a great reference on all oils, what to avoid and best options.
Want to get the best deal on groceries and health food? Check out my post on the 15 Things I Always Buy at Costco for healthy meals and snacks!

Here are some other resources for your healthy living journey:

How I Gave Up Sugar and Survived
30 Best Healthy Snacks from Target
Best Meal Prep Containers
Breakfast Meal Prep Ideas
10 Best Health and Wellness Journals

If you loved this dressing recipe, check out some of my other dressings and salads:

Healthy Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe (7)

Healthy Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe (8)

Healthy Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe

Yield: about 1 cup, 8 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

This healthy homemade Italian dressing is the perfect substitute for store-bought salad dressing. Made with simple ingredients, this Italian dressing is amazing on a freshly tossed salad.

Ingredients

1/2 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper

Instructions

In a medium mixing bowl, add the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, garlic powder, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, garlic salt and pepper.
Whisk together well. Pour over salad right away.

Notes

Store any leftover dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
The dressing will likely separate once refrigerated. Let the refrigerated dressing come to room temperature. Shake or whisk together and dress your salad.
A serving side for dressing is 2 tablespoons.