Olive Garden Salad Dressing makes a great marinade as well as tasting delicious on your salad.
I am going to be totally honest with you and admit that Italian chain restaurants are not my favorite. I would much rather go to a family-owned restaurant. I love the feel of a smaller restaurant and I find chain restaurants to be somewhat boring. But that does not mean I refuse to eat there. Sometimes I am in the mood to eat something familiar and one of my favorite salad dressings comes from the Olive Garden.
I came from an ethnic family and you would not see bottled salad dressing in my family’s refrigerator. I remember going away to college and having a bottled salad dressing feast with my Italian roommate. She also had not experienced the creamy delight of a bottled dressing. We would go to the school cafeteria and be happy to not have to use the same oil and vinegar we had poured on our salad for years.
For years, I would often frequent the Olive Garden for lunch just to get their soup and salad. The salad dressing never got old to me. Recently I happened to see that they now sell their bottled dressing in several grocery store chains. After purchasing it several times, I decided I could also try and make my own copycat recipe. As much as I like their bottled version, the homemade version tastes so much fresher and you can control the amount of salt you use.
So I guess I went back to my family roots and am now skipping the bottled dressing. This does not mean that you won’t see a bottle of salad dressing in my refrigerator. I always keep some dressing in my pantry for when I’m in a pinch. But try making this dressing yourself and see how easy it is to put together.
You might not want to buy salad dressing again! Here are three more homemade salad dressing recipes just in case:
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Olive Garden Salad Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Canola Oil plus 1 tablespoon
- 1/4 cup Mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 tablespoon Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 tablespoon Water
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except salt and pepper in a blender. Blend for one minute or until creamy and smooth.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.