Homemade Oil-Free Italian Dressing is a quick and easy alternative to store-bought. It's full of flavor without any of the preservatives. Ready in 5 minutes it's great on salads, pasta salad, marinades and more!
Making your own Italian dressing is super easy and significantly healthier than using the store-bought dressings that have tons of added oils and preservatives.
I recommend avoiding oil as much as possible, but I can't emphasize enough how important it is to get very refined oils like canola oil, vegetable oil, and soybean oils out of your diet. These oils are highly processed and contain trans-fats (the bad kind). These are not the types of foods you want in your diet.
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Why I love this Italian Dressing Recipe
- Dietary needs - this dressing is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free, and refined sugar free
- Quick dressing - ready in less than five minutes!
- Simple ingredients - you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen right now!
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- White Balsamic Vinegar: white balsamic is the lighter & milder cousin to traditional balsamic. It makes a great base for homemade Italian dressing because it doesn't have as much of a bite.
- Lemon Juice: fresh lemon juice is ideal. You could sub fresh lime juice if you don't have lemons on hand.
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute: okay, I know this is oddly specific, but trust me, this seasoning has everything! It makes the perfect addition to Italian dressing. If you don't live near a Trader Joes you can use a different brand of seasoning like Mrs. Dash Italian Medley or any Italian seasoning blend.
- Salt
How to make your own Italian Dressing
Just add all the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until combined.
Tips for making Homemade Dressing
Consistency: This dressing is on the thicker side. Especially if you don't use it right away the spices absorb the liquid. So, if you'd like a more runny dressing feel free to add more balsamic or some water to get the consistency you'd like.
Storage: since the dressing has no preservatives (yay!) store any leftovers in the fridge.
What to use Italian dressing with
Use Italian dressing on any standard salad.
It's also the classic dressing for pasta salad - try it on my vegan pasta salad and my pasta salad salad.
More homemade dressings
Tried this recipe?
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📖 Recipe
Homemade Oil-Free Italian Dressing
Ingredients
- ½ Cup White Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute see post for substitution
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a small bowl. Whisk until combined.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate.
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