Name: Italian Vinaigrette Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil; 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice; 1 tablespoon water; 3 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan; 2 teaspoons dried basil; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes; freshly ground pepper

Italian vinaigrette recipe on a table in a jar.

A good dressing can completely change the quality of a meal, and our Italian Vinaigrette makes everything it touches better. Plus, it takes just a handful of staple ingredients, 5 minutes to shake together, and lasts for a week in the refrigerator!

Whether you drizzle it over an Italian Chopped Salad, stir it into pasta salad, or layer it on our famous Grinder Sandwich, this Italian Vinaigrette will become a new kitchen staple. Trust us, once you try this, store-bought just won’t cut it any longer!

How to Make Simple Italian Vinaigrette

Ingredients

Process

Pour all ingredients into a jar and close the lid.
Shake jar vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper as needed and serve. Store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to a week. (If refrigerated, when ready to use, allow vinaigrette to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, before shaking and using).

Ingredients for an Italian vinaigrette poured into a jar.

Italian vinaigrette in a jar freshly shaken up.

Why We Love This Italian Vinaigrette

It’s the easiest way to enjoy fresh dressing. Just measure the ingredients into a jar, pop the lid on, and shake. Within 5 minutes, you’re ready to pour!
It will ruin you for store-bought dressing (in the best way). Our homemade vinaigrette is bright, fresh, herby, and the perfect balance of tangy and rich, made with quality olive oil and vinegar. The bottled stuff isn’t even comparable.
It’s insanely versatile. While it’s the obvious choice for salads, you can use this vinaigrette for everything from pasta to marinades to dips, or a way to jazz up roasted veggies.
It uses ingredients you probably already have on hand. Dried herbs, olive oil, vinegar, parmesan cheese, and a little lemon juice are all you need to whip up a batch that will last a week in the fridge.

Italian vinaigrette dressing in a jar being mixed with a spoon.

Why We Use (and Prefer) Dried Herbs Instead of Fresh

Most of the time, you can’t beat the flavor of fresh herbs, but for this Italian vinaigrette, dry herbs are 100% the way to go.

Not only are dried herbs conveniently found in your pantry, but they have a more concentrated flavor than fresh, meaning you have to use less to get a similar punch of flavor. With just a quick shake, the small flakes distribute evenly in the dressing, so you end up with maximum flavor in every drizzle. Fresh herbs, on the other hand, tend to clump together, so you get a big pop of flavor in one bite and nothing in the next.

And if this is part of your weekly meal prep, you can expect the dry herbs to retain their flavor, so you can make this vinaigrette once and enjoy it all week, which isn’t always the case when fresh herbs are used.

Variations

For a slight spin on this Italian vinaigrette, try some of these fun variations:

Whisk a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise or plain Greek yogurt into the dressing for a creamy, more decadent texture.
Make it dairy-free by leaving out the Parmesan cheese.
For a pop of sweetness, add a tablespoon of honey to the mixture.
Instead of white wine vinegar, use red wine vinegar, or even apple cider vinegar, for a bolder, tangier flavor. Start with just a tablespoon and increase it from there to avoid it being too tangy with a vinegar swap.
If you’re going to use this dressing in a day or two, swap the garlic powder for a clove of minced garlic for a bolder flavor.

Different Uses for Our Italian Vinaigrette

Yes, you can use this on salad, but it’s so much more versatile than that! Here are some of our favorite ways to use this dressing:

On salads (obviously): it goes especially well with our Chopped Italian Salad and Panzanella Salad.
As a marinade: Use it to marinade chicken, venison, steak, or pork before grilling or roasting.
On pasta salad: This dressing is made for a cold pasta salad, especially one loaded with Italian flavors like salami, olives, and peppers.
On roasted veggies: Toss veggies in the vinaigrette before roasting or drizzle it on top as soon as they come out of the oven. We love it on Roasted Cauliflower, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and onions.
Drizzled on grain bowls: Dress Grain Bowls or Buddha Bowls with this dressing for a fresh, bright pop of flavor.
Serve it as a dip with crusty bread!

Italian Vinaigrette