Homemade Italian Dressing

Homemade salad dressing is a pretty low-hanging fruit if you’re looking to up your cooking game. It’s quick to make, budget-friendly, and tastier than store-bought.

Homemade Italian dressing is a prime example. You shake it in an ordinary jar with storage clips. The entire process takes under 2 minutes and yields enough dressing to see you through a couple of family size salads. Plus, it’s made with heart-healthy olive oil and contains less sugar and no gum or additives found in many ready-made dressings.

Ingredients from an Italian kitchen

I’m not sure this type of Italian dressing is particularly Italian at all. Salads in Italy are usually served unboard, with olive oil and vinegar served separately as accompaniments. However, the ingredients in this recipe include olive oil, garlic, onion, basil, and oregano, all things you’re likely to find in an Italian kitchen.

Tips for the best homemade Italian dressing

You don’t need a lot of insider secrets or hot tips to get this dressing right. That said, here are a few suggestions:

• Use extra virgin olive oil. It is superior in flavor and nutritional value to many vegetable oils used in store-bought dressings.
• Upgrade your spices. If your basil, garlic, and other spices have been tucked away in your pantry for longer than you can remember, it’s probably time to freshen things up. Ground spices have a shelf life of about 6 months after purchase. Flavors and flavors will degrade over time, which will affect your finished dressing if you use old seasonings.
• Use a jar with a lid. You can certainly whisk this up in a bowl, but shaking it in a jar is quick and easy to store.

Craft with the ingredients

Dressings as a general category are really made for crafting. This one is no exception!

• Use a different vinegar like white wine, champagne, balsamic, or sherry vinegar.
• Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard or white miso paste. It gives the dressing a little more body and a touch of flavor.
• If you know you’ll be using the dressing within about 4 days, add a clove of minced garlic in place of the dried garlic for an extra kick.
• Use fresh orange juice instead of water.
• Add a few teaspoons of freshly chopped herbs like chives, parsley, basil, or tarragon.

So many ways to use Italian dressing

Italian dressing is spicy and slightly herbaceous with just enough garlic and onion to add some pizzazz. It’s a dressing that goes well with other staples of Italian cuisine, such as crunchy romaine lettuce, tomatoes, grilled and roasted vegetables, tender beans and pasta.

This is an immensely versatile dressing with endless uses. Here are ideas to get you started:

• Mix with a simple green salad.
• Use it to flavor an Italian-style chopped salad with romaine lettuce hearts, tomatoes, cucumbers, artichoke hearts, olives, diced mozzarella, and sliced ​​salami.
• Drizzle over a deli sandwich instead of mayonnaise and mustard.
• Mix with cold pasta and diced vegetables for a fresh pasta salad.
• Drizzle over freshly sliced ​​tomatoes and mozzarella.
• Mix with blanched green beans and toasted almonds.
• Drizzle over a platter of grilled vegetables like zucchini, eggplant, and onions.
• Take the leftover grilled veggies, stuff them into a pita and add more dressing along with crumbled feta.
• Make an easy bean salad with warm cannellini beans and shaved parmesan.

Dressed and ready to eat

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