Homemade Italian Vinaigrette is so easy and so delicious you’ll never want to buy bottled dressing again! This simple vinaigrette comes together in moments and is the perfect accompaniment to green salads, pasta salads, and veggies.
Salads are something we eat frequently in our home, usually following a main course.
This homemade Italian vinaigrette is our go-to when we want something easy with the ingredients we have on hand.
Our Italian dressing combines olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, parsley, garlic, oregano, and cheese and comes together in no time.
And it even doubles as a marinade for chicken or pork!
How to make it
- To the bowl of a food processor or blender add 3/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, 5 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup of flat-leaf parsley, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard. Pulse a few times to combine.
- Add 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil and blend until emulsified and smooth. Taste test the vinaigrette and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve with your favorite salad and enjoy!
Top tips
- Blending. While we recommend using a blender or food processor for our Italian vinaigrette, you can definitely make this by whisking the ingredients together in a bowl or shaking in a mason jar. If not using a blender or food processor, chop the parsley very finely and grate the garlic. You can also mince the garlic and use the side of your knife to create a paste or break out the garlic press.
- Cheese. We use Pecorino Romano for our vinaigrette, but you can also use parmesan. Note that Pecorino is saltier than Parm so you will need to adjust salt accordingly.
- Taste test. Be sure to taste your Italian dressing and adjust the salt and pepper as needed. Keep in mind that if you’re using this to dress a green salad, you will likely need to add more salt to the salad after you’ve dressed it. It’s always best to sprinkle a bit of salt onto the dressed salad since the salt will stick and adhere better.
- Serving. One of our favorite ways to use this vinaigrette is with chopped romaine and thinly sliced onions. It’s a simple salad, but the flavor of the vinaigrette takes it over the top! It’s also a great marinade for grilled chicken or pork!
More awesome dressings
Here are a few more of our favorite homemade vinaigrettes and dressings. I hope you love them!
- Balsamic vinaigrette – thick and creamy with Dijon and shallots.
- French vinaigrette – with fresh herbs, shallots, and champagne vinegar.
- Blue cheese dressing – perfect for salads, wings, and crudite.
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Italian Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese grated
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon hot crushed red pepper flakes
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients except the extra virgin olive oil to a blender or food processor and pulse to combine.
- Add the extra virgin olive oil and blend until smooth and emulsified. Taste the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Notes
- One serving of dressing equals 2 tablespoons. This recipe makes about 2 cups of dressing or 16 servings.
- This vinaigrette can be made by hand whisking, in the blender, or by adding the ingredients to a mason jar with the cap on and shaking vigorously.
- Dressing can be saved in the fridge for up to 7 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I really enjoy your recipes and your presentaion
Thank you for your delicious receipts. However it would be a great help if the measurements were in wight (gram), as I have cups in many different sizes – and which one to choose, then?
Hi Soren, cups are the standard unit of measurement for volume used in the US and measuring cups are sold specifically for this purpose. When we say “1 cup”, we are using an actual measuring cup to do this, not just a random cup. So 1 measured cup of oil would equal roughly 216 grams. Many of our recipes do include measurements in weight (grams) for baking, and bread making. At some point we hope to have a conversion calculator so folks outside of the US can convert our recipes to grams but we don’t have it yet.
Thank you for your recipes.
Not that this is an Italian dish but …
I wanted to share that my 4 grandparents came to the United States from Calabria. The reason I started following you was because a LOT of your recipes are like their style and ingredients. Because of them, I’m so glad I learned to cook at young age some 60 years ago! I enjoy watching you cook, and I appreciate the fact that you make things so easy as far as visually. Buon appétito
Love this! Love all your recipes. Thank you for sharing.
You and Tara are the best.
Love your recipes! Made your lentil soup tonight! It was fabulous!!
Thank.you.