Olive Garden is known for its salads. The salad and the Olive Garden salad dressing are served with every meal. Their cold, crisp salad is hard to beat, and you can make this recipe anytime when you have the copycat Olive Garden Salad Dressing whenever you want.
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Table of Contents
What makes the Olive Garden Salad dressing so good?
I don’t know about you, but I love the Olive Garden Soup and salad combination. The hard part is deciding between the Zuppa Toscana and the Pasta e Fagioli, but you know what isn’t hard? Digging into their crispy salad. It has the perfect balance of flavors. Their take on Italian dressing has the perfect combination of herbs, tartness, and sweetness.
Ingredients you will need to make the homemade Olive Garden Salad dressing
First, gather all the ingredients. Here’s what you need:
- Mayonnaise – I prefer Hellman’s or Duke’s
- White vinegar
- Vegetable oil – you could use extra virgin olive oil, they do not use olive oil
- Light corn syrup – this gives the salad dressing the right texture
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Grated Romano cheese
- Garlic powder or 1 garlic clove
- Dried Italian seasoning
- Dried parsley flakes
- Lemon juice
How to Make Olive Garden Salad Dressing at Home
It doesn’t get much easier than this to make this salad. If you do not have a blender, grab a bowl and a whisk. Or you could put all of the ingredients and place them in a jar, fasten a lid, and shake vigorously.
- Place all ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little too tart for your personal taste, add a little extra sugar.
How long does homemade Olive Garden dressing last?
You can enjoy your Olive Garden salad dressing for about ten days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Other uses for Italian salad dressing
Another great use for the Olive Garden salad dressing is as a marinade for vegetables or even meats that you might like to grill. So you can see the Olive Garden salad dressing can be used in more than one way. This salad dressing also makes a great dressing for your favorite pasta salad.
What do you need to make an Olive Garden Salad?
Now you have your dressing, but what else do you need to make it complete. I love making a salad at home, this way I get to add all of the tomatoes and croutons I want. Here is what you will need.
- Iceberg lettuce
- Romane lettuce
- Red onion
- Pepperoncinis
- Black olives
- Roma tomatoes
You can get the exact portions right there Olive Garden Salad.
Making Olive Garden Salad Dressing at home is easy to do. You can make other recipes that taste just like they do in a restaurant.
How about Applebee’s Dressing for Oriental Chicken Salad? This is a terrific way to bring the taste of a restaurant home with this recipe.
Update
Yes, this dressing can be purchased at many stores such as Wal-Mart, Sam’s, and other grocery stores. Why would you want to make this from scratch? This recipe still has fewer preservatives, and you can always tweak a recipe when you make it from scratch.
So you can add a little more sugar, or maybe you want to add a few more spices. I know their bottle does not say it has mayonnaise on it. It does say oil and eggs, and when you beat those two together you get an emulsion that looks a lot like mayonnaise.
Looking for more Olive Garden copycat recipes? Check these out
- Olive Garden Lasagna Mia
- Olive Garden Creamy Chicken Pasta
- Pasta Rustica
- Olive Garden Breadsticks Copycat Recipe
Popular Homemade Salad Dressings
- KFC Coleslaw Dressing
- Santa Fe Salad Cheesecake Factory
- Blue Cheese Salad Dressing Recipe
- Bacon Salad Dressing
- Ginger Salad Dressing
- Buttermilk Salad Dressing
- Green Jacket Dressing
Be sure to take a look at more of the best Olive Garden copycat recipes and easy salad dressing recipes.
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Olive Garden Salad Dressing Copycat
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt, or 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a blender until well mixed.
- If this is a little too tart for your own personal taste, add a little extra sugar.
- Store dressing in an airtight container.
rico
I have been reading and trying many of the OG dressing recipes. May I add mine. 1/3 cup white vinegar, 3 TA vegetable oil, 2 TA sugar. Add the sugar to the vinegar and let it dissolve into a simple syrup. Add oil and shake. It keeps well in a glass jar with cover. I realize it is just three ingredients but they are those which appear consistently. Plus, the dressing is consciously created to be palatable to the American taste and thus is not made with olive oil and red wine or balsamic vinegars. My husband likes it and we eat at the OG fairly often.
ali
i worked at olive garden, its very close:) but i still love theres more.lol….and some is massed produced and shipped but i know the olive garden I worked at…we made fresh soup daily!the cooks made it early in the morning and the let it cool and put it in the fridge and heated it through the day…i watched them…so not every thing is put in a microwave and cooked…:)
james
Very good not exactly like Olive Garden Dressing, But good substitute.
Kyle
All these chain restaurants do not create their food from scratch. All of the food is mass produced and shipped frozen to the restaurant. The main cooking implement in an Applebees or olive garden kitchen is an industrial microwave to warm up the food. There is no cooking that takes place in these kitchens – just a little reheating.
Stephanie
I am guessing at one time they made more of their stuff from scratch. I know TGI Friday’s doesn’t make their own soup anymore.
Jewels
But isn’t it great that Steph can give us recipes that are made from scratch, right in our own homes, that taste exactly like the restaurants! Thanks Steph!
Gizelle
Actually, I worked in Olive Garden for 2 years. We make a lot of things fresh, every day, and if/when we ran out of something, we went to the market to go get it.
Hopper77
True about Applebee’s, but not OG. They make a lot of their food fresh. Applebee’s is a sit down drive thru… Terrible.
Linda S
I Googled for this recipe, read thru all the comments and found the whole thing entertaining, as well as informative. A lot of good comments, and honest reactions.
I made the recipe as written, I thought, and found it sour and runny. Then I realized that I had never put in the mayo. Duh.
So I remade it, with a few changes inspired by previous comments:
Add the egg, but boil it, let it cool and pulverize it in the food processor first, adding all other ingredients on top. Double the oil, double the corn syrup. I used an olive oil based mayo. I also used granulated garlic 1/4 tspn. instead of garlic salt. (less sodium)
It tasted okay, and was definitely less runny but I think it could still use a little more corn syrup, but I have to admit I like a slightly sweeter dressing! It still seemed a little too runny.
I think I will remake it, using Miracle Whip, as someone suggested. Maybe cut down on the vinegar and lemon juice just a bit.
What fun! and I don’t really like to cook!
Ruth
Go to Todd Wilbur’s Top Secret Recipe website and try his version. I think it tastes just like the Olive Garden’s. No mayo in his, but he does use pectin
ELontz
This was horrible, I followed the recipe to a “T” and it has so much vinegar in it that I started choking. As soon as I saw the mayonnaise in the recipe I thought it was wrong, but I gave it a shot.
Jk
I did the same thing last night – smells DISGUSTING!!!
Jk
I did the same thing last night – smells DISGUSTING!!!
gma22
The recipe I have is from a former employee at OG who made the dressing and the one listed here is close to be being what they use and they do put mayo in it, because I remember thinking my husband would die if he knew there was mayo in the dressing, which he loves, but he can’t stand mayo.
maya
hi!
you wrote in a forum that you have a recipe for olive garden salad dressing and that you got it from a former og employ. would you mind sharing it with me? i would really appreciate it! thanks, maya
maya_gut06@walla.co.il
leslieann
heyyyyyy, just like others whom I’m sure replied to your post pertaining to you getting the ‘REAL’ OG dressing from a former employee, please, would u mind sharing it with me PLEASSEEEE!! I sort of got hooked on the darn thing and honestly there isn’t another dressing to me which comes close, it makes my entire family enjoy salads. Thanking you in advance, Leslieann
Jazmin
I am employee at OG and they do not make the dressing there it already comes in a clear sealed bag
leslieann
thank you Jazmin for the response, I must say that do enjoy their salad dressing so much, its a boomer I can’t get the information I needed though!!!
Kay
I was thinking that-it would look creamy if they put mayo in it.
Betty
really, mayo. I don’t believe I have ever detected mayo any time I have eaten this dressing at the restaurant.
Stephanie
Yes, really Mayo, the salad dressing is creamy. Mayo makes a salad dressing instantly creamy.
bennie
I used to work at OG, and mayo is in the ingriedients.
Brittany
Everyone does realize that Mayo is made of Oil, egg, vinegar, and a touch of salt right? If you don’t like mayo fine, but all of these ingredients are already in salad dressing anyway.
Alex
This is not Olive Gardens salad dressing. I have the recipe for one that taste almost identical to the real one. Even if wishbone does make the dressing I have their recipe! They use no mayo and thats where this recipe is completely wrong. Sorry. F-
Stephanie
Alex, why don’t you share your recipe? I am sure others would love to have your recipe since you think it is better.
yvonne
Yes Alex please share!!!!!
Jewel
Yes Alex, please share your recipe!
I HATE mayo, and so seeing that as an ingredient was a huge turn off. I won’t eat or use anything with a mayo base.
Now I know that for this recipe the mayo is used to thicken and keep the vinegar & oil from separating…I’ve seen other copy cat recipes using Pectin though.
Stephanie
I personally don’t like using ingredients like pectin, because is it is a little out of the way. Mayo words well as an emulsifier.
kayla
I just wanted to make a quick comment…if you look at the ingredient list on the olive garden dressing bottle you’ll see that it contains oil and eggs…which is all mayo is. This recipe might have a bit too much mayo in it…however..if you love the olive garden dressing…you’re eating a dressing with a mayo and vinegar base. Try making your own mayo once when making this recipe (using soybean oil, eggs, and lemon juice as the flavoring agent like the ingredient list states), it might have a different effect on the flavor than using a store bought kind. Also, olive garden uses xanthum gum (which you can purchase) to stabilize and thicken their dressing, not pectin.
kayla
I just wanted to make a quick comment…if you look at the ingredient list on the olive garden dressing bottle you’ll see that it contains oil and eggs…which is all mayo is. This recipe might have a bit too much mayo in it…however..if you love the olive garden dressing…you’re eating a dressing with a mayo and vinegar base. Try making your own mayo once when making this recipe (using soybean oil, eggs, and lemon juice as the flavoring agent like the ingredient list states), it might have a different effect on the flavor than using a store bought kind. Also, olive garden uses xanthum gum (which you can purchase) to stabilize and thicken their dressing, not pectin.
Davisbillpam
Alex,
Can you email me the recipe you have for Olive Garden salad dressing??
THANKS
Pam
davisbillpam@hotmail.com
Jeneve48
I was wondering if you have the OG salad dressing recipe???
If so can you email me the recipe
Thanks
Jeneve48@verizon.net
Sylvia
I also just tried this recipe and did not think it even came close to Olive Gardens dressing and was way too thin. We ate it as it was already in the bowl, and it wasn’t too bad, but not Olive Gardens.
Pamrf
Please, please, please send your recipe to pamrf@yahoo.com. It will be greatly appreciated.
cheryl
could you please send me your OG salad dressing recipe? I would greatly appreciate it!
Fklayer
Hi Alex, Please send me your recipe. I have been looking for one that is like olive garden for a while now. Thanks
Ann Alessi
I also would like the OLive Garden Salad dressing recipe.
Thanks
Simplygoldcandles
Could you send me your Olive Garden salad dressing recipe please? simplygoldcandles@yahoo.com
jennifer
alex please send me your olive garden recipe:) readeroftheriderwaite@gmail.com i would so appreciate than you!
Sillub
Alex – could you please share your recipe with me: rbullis@nycap.rr.com
thanks so much. greatly appreciated. :0
Michelle
Hey, can I have the recipe too? It’s my absolute favorite!!! THANKS! mgriswold66@gmail.com
Dkeeshen
Alex..would love to have your Olive Garden recipe…dkeeshen@comcast.net. Thanks!!
Dkeeshen
Alex..would love to have your Olive Garden recipe…dkeeshen@comcast.net. Thanks!!
Dkeeshen
Alex..would love to have your Olive Garden recipe…dkeeshen@comcast.net. Thanks!!
Dkeeshen
Alex..would love to have your Olive Garden recipe…dkeeshen@comcast.net. Thanks!!
Dwgully
Alex, I would love to have the salad dressing recipe–dwgully@tritel.net
Thank you
Cricket1025
Comment removed. Please do not post materials that violate copyright protection rules.
Jo
Did Alex post/send the recipe to anyone?
Chatwoman
Nope – big talk – no action…..
Beth
What I have found that tastes the closest is Ken’s Steakhouse Northern Italian salad dressing.
Beth
oh my god this creeped me out. i am reading this recipe because i am currently working for an olive garden, and my name is Beth, and I LOVE love love that dressing (ken’s northern italian) it has tomato basil and either parmesan or romano cheese in it and it is amazing dressing. i was starting to think… wow… did i write this comment???
lynfony
This tastes notin like Olive Garden’s salad dressin. I really question the use of mayonnaise; it tasted and looked more like a coleslaw dressing.
Stan
How many servings does this make?
Stephanie
The recipe yields about 1 cup, so I believe that would be 12 tablespoons. So if you are using a tablespoon of dressing as a serving, this would yield about 12 servings.
Mon
Olive Garden salad dressing. It is “Wish Bone” Dressing. Plain and simple.
I used to work there at Olive Garden and I saw it come in huge canisters which would be opened and distributed into smaller containers. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I found out it was “Wish Bone,” dressing.
Stephanie
I am going to guess that maybe they got the folks at Wishbone to make them up their own personal recipe for this.
Chrissy
REALYY??!!
dan
Dude, it doesn’t even look like Wishbone dressing. Wishbone is translucent and OG is opaque. Wishbone has no cheese in it, either.
Perhaps Wishbone makes salad dressing for Olive Garden but it is not the Wishbone Italian variety on our grocery store shelves.
Joyce
You should try Wishbone “House Itailian” dressing. It is not translucent and it resembles Olive Gardens dressing and taste like it.
Jim
I’ve tried it and it doesnt’ taste the same; it’s ok; not a mayo guy; good effort though.
I appreciate your comment, the dressing is a creamy dressing, I know it is really had to see when they have already placed it onto your salad.
Dean
Blah blah blah, let’s see your recipes. This one is BETTER than Olive Gardens, and it does taste a little like it but BETTER! Everyone’s taste buds are different, so these are opinions, not facts.
Carol
Not bad if you like sweet dressings, but definitely not Olive Garden’s recipe.
ash
How about everyone say thank you for trying??? I haven’t tried this recipe yet but plan on making it tonight so I don’t know if it tastes like the real deal or not but just want to say thanks in advance for taking the time to try and duplicate their recipe!
Ellen
I agree with the others – this recipe makes an interesting salad dressing, but it’s NOTHING like Olive Garden! The mayo makes it very thin, milky and sweetish. It tastes okay, but I was hoping to duplicate the OG recipe, and avoid driving 45 min. to the restaurant and paying $7.00 for a bottle!
Joy
a little extra sugar? there is no sugar indicated in the recipe.
Thanks for pointing that out, I will put sugar down as an optional ingredient. ~Stephanie
Shazaam
corn syrup is sugar
Chip
Corn Syrup is NOT sugar. Sugar is made from Sugar Cane, Sugar Beets, etc. Our Sugar has a majority of Sucrose, with (possibly) some Glucose and / or Fructose.
Corn Syrup is make from grinding up corn and adding an enzyme extracted from genetically “enhanced” bacteria and fungi (fungus) to turn it into Glucose (or Fructose if you’re talking about High Fructose Corn Syrup-HFCS). The enzyme “digests” the corn and we eat and drink the results. Yum!
Think about that while you’re using Corn Syrup or drinking a soft drink containing HFCS…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_syrup
Me
Go spaam your agenda somewhere else Hitler!
Bob V
I had clipped the recipie from a magazine and misplaced it. But I specifically remember it called for Miricle whip and not mayo. That jumped right out. I will try your recipie and substitute the mayo for miricle whip and see how it tastes.
MissRandie
Before you start on a tirade about how different high fructose corn syrup is compared to table sugar, maybe you should do some more research, or understand what you’re reading. High fructose corn syrup contains almost the SAME RATIO of fructose to glucose as regular table sugar does. the “digestion” that you’re talking about is using bacteria to add an enzyme that breaks the molecular bonds between the repeating chains of glucose that makes up the starch in the corn. Then, they add another enzyme (from bacteria, as most are) that isomerizes (changes the shape of) the molecule, turning some of it into fructose. Viola! HFCS! Remember, it’s the dose that makes the poison.
Lee
This isn’t the recipe they told me they use kraft dressing with cheese
I find it odd they would say that. You can buy a bottle of the dressing there, so I believe a supplier is making the dressing for them. Just ask your waiter if you want to purchase a bottle of dressing, they will be happy to sell you a bottle of their dressing. ~Stephanie
kristin
while I don’t think this recipe tastes anything like the Olive Garden dressing, it is DELICIOUS and I would without a doubt make it again.