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.
Sheila @eat2gather
My kids need to eat more greens! And they love Olive Gardens dressing. I can’t wait to give this a try. I knew your website would be the place to check.
Walgrenzoo
I agree it doesn’t taste like Olive Garden’s but it is absolutely the best salad dressing ever! My eight year old son won’t eat salad unless I’ve made this dressing and to tell you the truth, I’m kind of the same way. I have even made changes with cheeses, sugar instead of corn syrup, etc and it’s always good!
Rosemary
This was nothing like Olive Garden’s dressing. Sorry!
Rosemary
This was nothing like Olive Garden’s dressing. Sorry!
Luckychick763
I tried this and was very dissappointed. I do nto think it tasted like Olive Garden dressing. Got too much of the vinegar flavor in it.
June
Wow, so many negative comments here … I have to say my daughter and I made this dressing, no it wasn’t like Olive Garden, and I added extra sugar so it wasn’t so tart, however, with that said, I tried it for a dinner party (they were my test subjects) and they absolutely loved it … the entire bowl of salad was gone very fast … so I am serving it for Thanksgiving and I know they will love it! so bah humbug to those who aren’t very nice in their postings … if you don’t like it, don’t make it or eat it!
Food Lover
I have made this dressing twice in the past two weeks and am on the third round. My step-daughter loves this dressing. I agress that it does not taste exactly like Olive Gardens, but it’s pretty good and it gets our family to eat salad as often as I make the dressing. I also added extra sugar as well.
mom and I
instead of using white vinegar use red wine vinegar and instead of vegetable oil use olive oil its better for you…also use less mayo and add about 2 tablespoons of sugar…to die for!!
Kinzee
now i don’t even want to make it lol…ill just go to Olive Garden, or ill substitute Olga’s Kitchen’s house salad dressing cuz that you can aswell purchase in the bottle and tastes extremely similiar to Olive Gardens Olgas uses feta chz on their regular salads tho…i worked there for over ten yrs and yes the dressings came pre packeged saying Simply…”Olgas Salad Dressing” n im sure Olive gardens does aswell…esp if you an purchase it. this one has me thinking now that they are actually the same dressing lol…think what you want i don’t mind. Buut to put to rest ANYONE who thinks restuarants just re heat things…you can’t do that all the time without a food violation duh…olive garden couldn’t possibly JUST RE HEAT things…maybe some, but if you’ve worked in any type of kitchen you DO kno, what n how tings really happen. OH n i believe Olive Garden makes they’re soups fresh, mayyyybe not everyday, but as needed, Olgas does the same…with some, some do come pre pgkd aswell. so quit thinking n bickering bout silly stuff and lets just appreciate the website…the ppl whom share their own recipes, n so on! If you buy the bottle of Olive Garden Dressing there’s no need for all this then lol…easy! but to try to duplicate is fun for us whom enjoy cooking…and i swear Olga’s Kitchen’s ‘Regular” salad dressing is the same stuff i swear, if your in Mich or Ohio, find an Olgas and order the small salad WITHOUT the feta n i bet money its closer than anyone has gotten. (yes i kno Olgas is suppose to be a Greek(ish) restuarant…but ya never kno these days…OLGA is alive still n IS VERY SWEET lol…thats true too! ) Now going to search for the Olgas recipe to solve this mystery…thank you everyone for the recipes ill have fun trying diff ones. =)
Kinzee
now i don’t even want to make it lol…ill just go to Olive Garden, or ill substitute Olga’s Kitchen’s house salad dressing cuz that you can aswell purchase in the bottle and tastes extremely similiar to Olive Gardens Olgas uses feta chz on their regular salads tho…i worked there for over ten yrs and yes the dressings came pre packeged saying Simply…”Olgas Salad Dressing” n im sure Olive gardens does aswell…esp if you an purchase it. this one has me thinking now that they are actually the same dressing lol…think what you want i don’t mind. Buut to put to rest ANYONE who thinks restuarants just re heat things…you can’t do that all the time without a food violation duh…olive garden couldn’t possibly JUST RE HEAT things…maybe some, but if you’ve worked in any type of kitchen you DO kno, what n how tings really happen. OH n i believe Olive Garden makes they’re soups fresh, mayyyybe not everyday, but as needed, Olgas does the same…with some, some do come pre pgkd aswell. so quit thinking n bickering bout silly stuff and lets just appreciate the website…the ppl whom share their own recipes, n so on! If you buy the bottle of Olive Garden Dressing there’s no need for all this then lol…easy! but to try to duplicate is fun for us whom enjoy cooking…and i swear Olga’s Kitchen’s ‘Regular” salad dressing is the same stuff i swear, if your in Mich or Ohio, find an Olgas and order the small salad WITHOUT the feta n i bet money its closer than anyone has gotten. (yes i kno Olgas is suppose to be a Greek(ish) restuarant…but ya never kno these days…OLGA is alive still n IS VERY SWEET lol…thats true too! ) Now going to search for the Olgas recipe to solve this mystery…thank you everyone for the recipes ill have fun trying diff ones. =)
Kinzee
now i don’t even want to make it lol…ill just go to Olive Garden, or ill substitute Olga’s Kitchen’s house salad dressing cuz that you can aswell purchase in the bottle and tastes extremely similiar to Olive Gardens Olgas uses feta chz on their regular salads tho…i worked there for over ten yrs and yes the dressings came pre packeged saying Simply…”Olgas Salad Dressing” n im sure Olive gardens does aswell…esp if you an purchase it. this one has me thinking now that they are actually the same dressing lol…think what you want i don’t mind. Buut to put to rest ANYONE who thinks restuarants just re heat things…you can’t do that all the time without a food violation duh…olive garden couldn’t possibly JUST RE HEAT things…maybe some, but if you’ve worked in any type of kitchen you DO kno, what n how tings really happen. OH n i believe Olive Garden makes they’re soups fresh, mayyyybe not everyday, but as needed, Olgas does the same…with some, some do come pre pgkd aswell. so quit thinking n bickering bout silly stuff and lets just appreciate the website…the ppl whom share their own recipes, n so on! If you buy the bottle of Olive Garden Dressing there’s no need for all this then lol…easy! but to try to duplicate is fun for us whom enjoy cooking…and i swear Olga’s Kitchen’s ‘Regular” salad dressing is the same stuff i swear, if your in Mich or Ohio, find an Olgas and order the small salad WITHOUT the feta n i bet money its closer than anyone has gotten. (yes i kno Olgas is suppose to be a Greek(ish) restuarant…but ya never kno these days…OLGA is alive still n IS VERY SWEET lol…thats true too! ) Now going to search for the Olgas recipe to solve this mystery…thank you everyone for the recipes ill have fun trying diff ones. =)
Kinzee
now i don’t even want to make it lol…ill just go to Olive Garden, or ill substitute Olga’s Kitchen’s house salad dressing cuz that you can aswell purchase in the bottle and tastes extremely similiar to Olive Gardens Olgas uses feta chz on their regular salads tho…i worked there for over ten yrs and yes the dressings came pre packeged saying Simply…”Olgas Salad Dressing” n im sure Olive gardens does aswell…esp if you an purchase it. this one has me thinking now that they are actually the same dressing lol…think what you want i don’t mind. Buut to put to rest ANYONE who thinks restuarants just re heat things…you can’t do that all the time without a food violation duh…olive garden couldn’t possibly JUST RE HEAT things…maybe some, but if you’ve worked in any type of kitchen you DO kno, what n how tings really happen. OH n i believe Olive Garden makes they’re soups fresh, mayyyybe not everyday, but as needed, Olgas does the same…with some, some do come pre pgkd aswell. so quit thinking n bickering bout silly stuff and lets just appreciate the website…the ppl whom share their own recipes, n so on! If you buy the bottle of Olive Garden Dressing there’s no need for all this then lol…easy! but to try to duplicate is fun for us whom enjoy cooking…and i swear Olga’s Kitchen’s ‘Regular” salad dressing is the same stuff i swear, if your in Mich or Ohio, find an Olgas and order the small salad WITHOUT the feta n i bet money its closer than anyone has gotten. (yes i kno Olgas is suppose to be a Greek(ish) restuarant…but ya never kno these days…OLGA is alive still n IS VERY SWEET lol…thats true too! ) Now going to search for the Olgas recipe to solve this mystery…thank you everyone for the recipes ill have fun trying diff ones. =)
Shrtybel
Ok, I have read enough about the OG dressing. Let’s get a few things clear. I worked there for 16 years and NOT ONCE have they EVER used Wishbone dressing. We used to make it by scratch and then corporate had it made in massive amts that came in bottles. We also made the soups, sauces and yes the lasagna fresh every day, even the eggplant was cut and breaded fresh every day – no matter what. Also people are not aware of that the receipe DO come straight from Italy – corporate in Florida has bought the rights to these receipes that ONE LADY makes for the Olive Garden, she is a sweet lady.
Kelserton
I am OBSESSED with this dressing!! I made a salad for a dinner my husband and I were invited to and it was the best part of the meal. I put less mayo in and used a little more parmesan, and replaced the other cheese with extra sharp white cheddar. It was amazing.
Kelserton
I am OBSESSED with this dressing!! I made a salad for a dinner my husband and I were invited to and it was the best part of the meal. I put less mayo in and used a little more parmesan, and replaced the other cheese with extra sharp white cheddar. It was amazing.
chefaal
If you have ever looked at the sodium content of the Olive Garden Dressing – 1 serving – 1930 mg of sodium (taken from the nutrition facts from their website) you will understand why this copy cat recipe is not exactly the same…WOW!
Look at the rest of their menu – I get hypertension just looking at theri menu!!
rickcain2320
Everything on the Olive Garden menu is punishingly salty. I refuse to eat there now. The time I complained about an inedible dish due to salt the manager just looked puzzled and offered to give me another salty dish instead. I can’t believe nobody else notices this.
Yada
I have to point out that it IS Italian food. Italian is not a very healthy food selection especially if you are a diabetic. People eat it because it is delicious. Not because it is healthy.
Lthodde116
this isn’t even close to the recipe. i’m sure it would taste fine but the olive garden’s italian dressing is NOT a creamy one at all. I hate creamy dressings.
Joyyvette66
TOO many ingredients and not not correct! There is pectin in it, no mayo. Buy the book Top Secret Restaurant Recipes from Amazon. Flawless!!!!
Mgmcitylights
Dear Joyyvette66: Which “Top Secret Restaurant Recipes” book exactly? Great tip you have. I just need more info to be sure that I buy the right book! Thanks a bunch.
Seynard
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Michelle Archuleta
How do I view the recipe.
Stephanie Manley
It’s right here on the page.
rico
If any of the readers have tried, and enjoyed, Freschetta’s Hawaiian Pizza, here is the recipe for the BBQ sauce. I use sandwich rounds for my pizza – the white flour – toast them first so they are crispy. Then, smooth the sauce on, add mozzarella, in fact add more than is on the Freschetta, add ham bits and pineapple tidbits – drained a bit. Now, the sauce recipe. 6 oz. tomato paste. 2 TA brown sugar, 1/4 cup Tamarina. Add just water enough to make it easy to spread. Bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes, or when the cheese is melted. Tamarina is a brand name for a tamarind sauce. i buy mine from an Indian foods store. It is also available for purchase on the Internet. May also be available in Asian food stores or even Philippine food stores. It is tamarind, which is a sour fruit that is used in cooking and baking. Add sugar and it is a sweet/sour, tangy taste. The Tamarina is ready to use since it is a dipping sauce for samosas and other Indian foods.