Forget the store-bought dressing, this homemade Italian Salad Dressing is very easy to make with ingredients you already have at home. Its quick, easy and delicious.
Making your own salad dressing has many perks. One is that you can make it to your own taste. Play around with the ingredients to get this salad dressing just right for your taste buds.
Another perk to making homemade salad dressing is that you can have it any time you need it. Chances are that you already have all these ingredients in the house so there is no need to run to the store.
A third reason is that is much more affordable. The ingredients are simple and cheap so you can get much more dressing for your buck than purchasing pre-made dressing from the store.
The best part about this homemade Italian salad dressing is that it doubles as the perfect sub sauce. In fact, I think it’s the most delicious submarine sauce you’ve had in a long time.
It is perfect with Italian cured meats and fresh veggies but you might like it so much you’ll drizzle it on any sandwich you make.
Preparing Homemade Italian Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Olive oil: I use olive oil for this recipe because of its mild flavour. Olive oil is the fat extracted from olives. The least processed is extra virgin olive oil, which I use in this recipe.
Apple cider vinegar: Apple cider vinegar is made from fermented apple juice and is milder in taste than white vinegar. It adds acidity to this recipe.
Sugar: White or granulated sugar is refined sugar made from either cane sugar or beet sugar. It is completely freed of molasses through the refining process and ground into granules smaller than salt.
Italian seasoning: Italian seasoning is a mixture of multiple spices. Typically it includes oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary and marjoram.
Onion powder: Onion powder is made from dehydrated onions which are then ground. White, yellow or red onions can be used to make onion powder. It is a very common spice that is used in many spice mixes.
Mayonnaise: Mayo is made from eggs, oil and usually vinegar or lemon. When mixing these at high speeds you will get a white creamy texture like you find in a jar on the grocery store shelves.
How to Make Homemade Italian Dressing
As it goes with most of our salad dressings, there is very little effort to make this delicious dressing and sub sauce.
Since we are using simple ingredients in their final form there is
no prep, chopping or any other extra work.All you have to do is combine all of the ingredients in a small mason jar or bowl and mix.
I like using a mason jar because you can just close the lid and shake it to emulsify the dressing making it much easier to combine the oil and vinegar.
If you can’t mix it well in a bowl, another alternative to the mason jar is a food processor. This method is guaranteed to fully emulsify the dressing.
Substitutions
Apple Cider Vinegar: You can use other vinegar like white wine vinegar or you can just use lemon juice. If you opt for using lemon, start with slightly less sugar and then add more to taste if required.
Italian Seasoning: If you don’t have Italian seasoning on hand you can use a combination of oregano, basil and thyme instead. Even if you skip the thyme the dressing will be delightful.
Sugar: We use white granulated sugar in this recipe but if you’re looking for an alternative honey is a great choice.
Serving Homemade Italian Salad Dressing and Sub Sauce
This dressing is perfect on any salad. I like to use it on a simple garden salad, mixed greens and even on a Greek salad. I also love it over a delicious power bowl.
But remember that this Italian salad dressing is also an amazing sub sauce. Top your favourite cold-cut submarine sandwich with this delicious dressing to give you that perfect restaurant touch.
Let us know in the comments if you have any other questions. And if you like this recipe be sure to leave us a five-star rating below.
Are you looking for dinner ideas? Check out our recipes:
Homemade Italian Salad Dressing (and Sub Sauce) Recipe
Equipment
- Small bowl or mason jar
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a small mason jar.¼ cup olive oil, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, ¼ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp salt, 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- Close the jar and shake well to emulsify the dressing.
- Serve over your favourite salad or in a sandwich.
