5 Minute Homemade Italian Dressing
Forget theĀ store-bought, bottled stuff! Ā Create your ownĀ homemade Italian dressing in only 5 minutes! Ā Preservative free and loaded with flavor! Ā Perfect as a topper for crunchy greens or as a marinade for chicken or grilled veggies!

[wprm-recipe-jump]
I never made dressings. Ā Honest. Ā In fact, prior to culinary school I did not even know what went into them. Ā I mean I always combined lemon juice, olive oil, Parmesan cheese and seasoning, shook them up and poured it over my salads, yet I never considered this a dressing…it was just something my mom used to do and I continued the tradition.
But when I learned in culinary school that essentially a dressing was just a combination of oil, acidity and seasoning; I was super excited to create my own dressing concoctions. Ā It did not take me long to create black peppercorn ranch, dijon honey mustard and my own twist on a balsamic vinaigrette that I still use to this day to marinade vegetables and chicken for grilling purposes.
However the hardest of them all was definitely recreating a homemade Italian dressing. Ā Classic Italian dressings have a merry combination of perfect zestiness and sweetness.
It took quite some time to come up with the ideal level of flavor and acidity. Ā The toughest part for me was figuring out what to use as the acidity and what to use as the sweetner. Ā Typically Italian dressings just have a simple white wine vinegar and sugar combo. Ā But I wanted my dressing special. Ā So I opted for an apple cider vinegar to give it a bit more flavor than just acidity and I used molasses as my sweenter to giveĀ the homemade Italian dressing aĀ gorgeous hue as well as a deep and complex sweetness.
I also added freshly minced garlic, dried parsley, dried oregano, some lemon juice and lemon zest and finely minced red pepper.
I ended up having a killer dressing for salads but most importantly for marinades. Ā I always have a jar of this on hand for a last minute marinade for chicken, turkey or any veggies. Ā Seriously this combination just makes everything a knock out! Ā I mean just take a look at this gorgeous Ā Bourbon Peach Chipotle BBQ Chicken..it is layered with complex flavors and those flavors come from this zesty marinade.
Oh and because finely chopping red peppers is such a pain in the arse… I am including my favorite tips on how to get them nice and finely chopped without losing your dang mind! Ā And FYI this will work with all other peppers as well.
- You want to get that membrane cut of first to flatten it out a bit. Ā That way the entire pepper will have the same thickness and it will make it that much easier to get nice and even dices. Ā Sometimes, I even slice some of the pepper off so that I can make it thinner when I need the pieces super tiny.
- Next, slice the pepper into super thin strips, ensuring that when you are cutting it, you cut it with the skin side facing down on the board. Ā Meaning the inside of the pepper is facing up. Ā This will allow for a much smoother slice and will not dull your knife.
- Flip the strips the other way, and slice into cubes or dice.
That’s it! Ā And you can use this technique with any other pepper.
There you are! Ā A nice and easy marinade that you can make for your salads and marinades! Oh and did I mention it’s vegan š
Print
5 Minute Homemade Italian Dressing
- Total Time: 6 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Forget the store-bought, bottled stuff! Create your own homemade Italian dressing in only 5 minutes! Preservative free and loaded with flavor! Perfect as a topper for crunchy greens or as a marinade for chicken or grilled veggies!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup good olive extra virgin oil (the fruity smelling kind)
- 1 tbsp molasses
- 2 cloves minced garlic on a microplane
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1.5 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp dried onion
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you like it feel free to add more)
- 1/4 of an entire red pepper (finely diced as per instructions)
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a mason jar and shake, shake, shake!
- Use on vegetables, chicken or fish as a marinade or just as a simple dressing.
- Keep in the fridge for two weeks.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minutes
- Category: Dressing/Marinade
- Cuisine: American
[wprm-nutrition-label]
I remember my grandma making this, but with red wine vinegar and always that little pinch of sugar. It was perfect every time. Love the zest and red pepper inclusion. All I need is a big old crusty piece of sour dough and I’d dunk away. š
Awwww Kevin…what a lovely comment. Love hearing grandma stories!
During the spring and summer, salads are on our table almost daily ā especially once they start overtaking my garden! I make a different salad dressing every week, and that keeps taste buds happy and salads fun and interesting all season.
Totally agree!!! salads are the spice of life in the summer!