Olive Garden Salad Dressing (Copycat)

Pouring copycat olive garden salad dressing in a salad bowl.

Olive Garden Salad Dressing (Copycat)

Shake 9 ingredients in a mason jar and you have the best Olive Garden salad dressing you've ever tasted — creamy, tangy, garlicky, and way better than the bottled version. Ready in 5 minutes flat.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 5

Total Time 5

Servings (~ ¾ cup)

Calories 163kcal

Author Kanan

Ingredients

½ cup Extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup White distilled vinegar
3 tablespoons Mayonnaise Vegan or Eggless
2 teaspoons Lemon juice
2 teaspoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Black pepper powder

Instructions

Add Everything to the Jar: Add the extra virgin olive oil, white distilled vinegar, mayonnaise, lemon juice, sugar, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper to a small mason jar or any jar with a tight-fitting lid.
Shake Until Combined: Close the lid tightly. Shake vigorously for 20–30 seconds until the dressing looks uniform, creamy, and emulsified. The mayonnaise helps it come together quickly.
No jar? No problem. Add all ingredients to a small bowl and whisk vigorously with a wire whisk for about 1 minute, until the dressing is emulsified and creamy.
Taste And Adjust: Open and taste. Adjust to your preference:
Tangier → add ½ teaspoon more white vinegar
Sweeter → add ½ teaspoon more sugar
More garlicky → add ¼ teaspoon more garlic powder
More herby → add a pinch more Italian seasoning

Notes

Rest Before Serving: Make this dressing at least 30 minutes before serving, or better yet the night before. The Italian seasoning needs time to hydrate and bloom in the oil and vinegar, and the garlic powder needs time to fully dissolve. A freshly shaken dressing is good; a dressing that has rested overnight in the fridge is significantly better.
Always shake before using. Shake or stir well before each use as the oil and vinegar will separate as it sits. This is normal for any vinaigrette — it does not mean it has gone bad. Give the jar a good 10-second shake every time you use it — this is the beauty of keeping it in a mason jar, it takes one second.
Taste with the actual lettuce. A dressing always tastes more intense on its own than on the salad. Dip a piece of romaine into it and taste — this is how to judge if the balance is right, not by tasting from a spoon.
For a thinner dressing: Reduce the mayo to 2 tablespoons and add 1 extra teaspoon of water.
For a thicker, creamier dressing: Increase the mayo to 4 tablespoons. This is also closer to the consistency of the bottled Olive Garden dressing.

Nutrition