Homemade Creamy Italian Dressing is quick to make and full of zesty flavor! A creamy base loaded with herbs, red wine vinegar, and seasonings.
Homemade salad dressings are so much more delicious than the store-bought versions (and don’t have extra preservatives or sugars)!
Delicious Homemade Dressing
- Our creamy Italian dressing has a great homemade flavor.
- It’s quick to make, you only need about 5 minutes or so.
- This dressing lasts about 2 weeks in the fridge (but I’m sure you’ll use it up long before then!).
- This recipe is versatile, you can get creative and mix up your own favorite blend of herbs and spices! As long as the fat to acid ratio remains the same, this recipe can go in so many directions!
Ingredients
BASE Mayonnaise is mixed with a bit of olive oil and some sour cream to create a deliciously creamy blend.
TANG Both red wine vinegar and freshly squeezed lemon juice add some fresh tangy flavor to this creamy dressing.
SEASONING Italian Seasoning is the perfect blend of spices for this recipe and herbs add freshness.
FLAVOR BOOSTERS Parmesan cheese is added. You can also add in extra garlic or even a few red pepper flakes.
How to Make Italian Dressing
This creamy Italian dressing comes together so quickly and easily!
- Whisk all ingredients with oil, except seasonings & Parmesan.
- Stir in spices, herbs, & Parmesan cheese.
- Pour dressing into a salad dressing cruet or a mason jar.
Kitchen Tip
When making dips or dressings it is important to allow them to rest in the fridge before serving. This allows the spices to rehydrate and the flavors to blend.
How to Use Creamy Italian Dressing
This tasty dressing is great on tossed salad, of course, and it can even be used as a marinade for chicken or pork! Try it on a pasta salad or swap out the traditional Italian vinaigrette in a favorite Italian salad.
Tips & Tricks
- To get the most juice out of a lemon, warm it in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Roll the lemon on the surface of a countertop and then cut in half, squeeze juice through a strainer into a bowl. The strainer will catch the seeds.
- Use full-fat mayo and sour cream to get the best flavor.
- Be sure to let the dressing rest at least 1 hour before serving.
How to Store
Keep creamy Italian dressing in a tightly covered container for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Shake vigorously before each use.
More Fave Dressings
- Quick Caesar Salad Dressing – simple and delish
- Easy Arugula Salad Dressing
- Easy Dijon Vinaigrette – perfect on salad or meat
- Cilantro Lime Dressing
- Avocado Ranch Dressing – healthy fats
- Ginger Dressing
- The Best Steak Marinade – tasty seasoning
Did you love this Creamy Italian Dressing? Be sure to leave a comment and a rating below!
Creamy Italian Dressing
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 ¼ teaspoon sugar or to taste
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, red wine vinegar, sugar, and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk to combine.
- Continue whisking while slowly adding olive oil. Stir in spices, herbs, and parmesan.
- Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving or up to 1 week in the fridge.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dip, Dressing, Salad, Seasonings
Cuisine American, Italian, Mediterranean© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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This recipe is a keeper! I have found many good recipes on Spend With Pennies and it has become a “go to” site for me.
Thank you for the kind words Cathy! I am so glad you are enjoying the recipes.
I just made this and I will never buy bottled creamy Italian dressing again! Thanks for the recipe!
I am so glad you love this dressing recipe Monica!
I saw a recipe for spaghetti vegetable salad that uses creamy Italian dressing. Looking at the bottle’s ingredients I thought EW! and went in search of a homemade recipe. I have everything on hand and cannot wait to try this with our homegrown veggies! Will be looking up your other dressing recipes, too!
We hope you love it, Jennifer! We love making homemade dressings and tweaking them to our family’s liking too!
I just made this dressing. It is absolutely superb. Cannot recommend it enough. It was very easy and genuinely fabulous. Everyone in the family loved it. It goes so quickly you need to be prepared to make double the recipe.
So happy to hear that, Zoe!
Very good dressing! I found it a bit sweet for an Italian salad even though I only used 1 scant tsp sugar but DH thought it was perfect! Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome Terry! I love how dressings can be easily adjusted to suit everyone’s taste!
I have a big collection of your recipes, including lots of your dressing recipes. DELICIOUS! I saw your recipe for shrimp etouffee, printed it out and showed it to my son. He was very excited and we are going to make that next week. He went to culinary school and tries to tell Mama how to cook. I’ve only cooking for him for 50 years! Thanks again.
Virginia Vincent
You’re welcome Virginia! Thank you for sharing that story. You gave me a big smile today!
As soon as I saw this recipe in my inbox this morning I went and made it and it is DELICIOUS! Can’t wait to have it on our salads tonight. I also make your Cesar Salad dressing and it’s also excellent. Thanks so much.
You’re welcome Peggy! So happy to hear that!
Sounds tasty, & I always have these ingredients on hand. This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you
You’re welcome Angelina! Tasty and easy!