Easy Italian Dressing Recipe - So much better than store-bought! (2024)

FAQs

How do you doctor up store bought Italian dressing? ›

Adding freshly ground black pepper can often be an easy way to up your dressing game, but also freshening up any ingredient listed on the bottle can be useful. An extra dollop of mustard in your Dijon vinaigrette, or pinch of oregano in your Italian dressing can make a world of difference.

All store-bought salad dressings are manufactured with the intent of having a long shelf life. That means they tend to be full of additives homemade salad dressings don't need. Homemade dressing is an ideal solution for anyone trying to reduce the amount of sugar, preservatives, and unhealthy fats in their diet.

A Splash Of Water Makes A Smoother-Tasting Vinaigrette

Adding a touch of water won't suppress all those flavors, it'll just tone down the acidic bite. As for specific quantities, the most common rule of thumb is to add just a tablespoon of water per batch of dressing.

Fresh Lemon Juice or Vinegar: Adding a splash of fresh lemon juice or vinegar can brighten up the flavors and add acidity to balance the creaminess of the dressing.

FAQs. What's the difference between Italian dressing and zesty Italian dressing? Regular Italian dressing and zesty Italian dressing use the same base recipe, but the zesty version has added flavor for more zing.

Generally speaking, the healthiest salad dressing will be a vinaigrette like balsamic or oil and vinegar, while Caesar, ranch or anything with the word “creamy” will be the unhealthiest. The exception? We like products made with healthy swaps—think Greek yogurt in place of mayo or heavy cream.

Yes, this Italian dressing is healthy! It's made with extra-virgin olive oil, which has heart-healthy monounsaturated fats (MUFAs). MUFAs and herbs—including the herbs in this recipe—have been shown to calm chronic inflammation.

Unfortunately, many store-bought salad dressings are high in fat, sodium, and sugar. A two-tablespoon serving of some dressings can add nearly 200 calories to your salad and have 2 teaspoons of sugar, as well as about one-quarter of your daily sodium intake.

In addition to adding flavor and heart-healthy nutrients to your food, Italian dressing can work well for those on high fat and high-calorie diet. Since it provides a high percentage of calories from fat people on a keto diet for weight loss can also rely on this dressing.

Why did my homemade Italian dressing solidify? ›

If you use a high quality olive oil (has a higher ratio of monounsaturated fats), it will solidify in the fridge. This is completely normal, so no worries.

Despite its name, Italian dressing is not used in Italy, where salad is normally dressed with olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, salt, and sometimes balsamic vinegar at the table, and not with a pre-mixed vinaigrette.

Many dressings also use preservatives like Disodium Guanylate, Disodium Inosinate and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG). These flavor enhancers, along with a thickening agent called Xanthum gum, can cause allergic reactions in some people, including headaches, nausea, bloating and diarrhea.

And at the top of that list? Caesar dressing. Made up of mayonnaise, cheese, salt and oil (and all too often, anchovies), Caesar tends to be one of the least healthy options out there. Those ingredients cause it to be high in both saturated fats and sodium.

Extra-virgin olive oil is one of the healthiest oils varieties, but it has a low smoke point; therefore, we recommend using it for raw food preparations (i.e. salad dressing) rather than cooking.

Unopened jars of mayonnaise and salad dressing may be stored in the pantry. After opening, keep refrigerated up to 2 months.

If you don't have time or inclination to make your dressing from scratch, but you want that elevated restaurant-style ranch, think about zhuzhing up the bottled version with things like finely chopped shallot or scallion, a clove of minced fresh garlic, a splash of buttermilk or dollop of sour cream if you have them ...

Unfortunately, many store-bought salad dressings are high in fat, sodium, and sugar. A two-tablespoon serving of some dressings can add nearly 200 calories to your salad and have 2 teaspoons of sugar, as well as about one-quarter of your daily sodium intake.