Love Olive Garden salad? Enjoy it at home! With this copycat Olive Garden Salad & Dressing recipe, you can easily whip up a bowl of this restaurant favorite yourself and enjoy it at home. It's the perfect salad to go with just about any everyday meal.
I must admit, I just adore Olive Garden Salad. I'm absolutely one of those who makes trips to Olive Garden just to get the endless soup and salad special. And truly? -- I'm about 95% there just for the salad.
So it probably goes without saying with this copycat Olive Garden Salad and Dressing recipe, I'm more than happy to whip up bowls of this salad deliciousness to enjoy at home.
Making Olive Garden salad at home is actually really easy, and the taste is pretty spot on.
With this copycat Olive Garden Salad and Dressing recipe, I'm more than happy to whip up bowls of this salad deliciousness to enjoy at home.
The salad ingredients themselves are easy to nail. What's classic in an Olive garden salad? -- Olive Garden uses a basic combination of chopped iceberg and Romaine lettuce, sliced Roma tomatoes, sliced red onion, black olives, garlicky croutons, and their classic touch of whole pepperoncini peppers, of course.
The salad is then tossed with their signature creamy Italian dressing.
And just like the salad mixture itself, Olive Garden dressing is pretty easy to make, too. The base is a simple mix of olive oil, vinegar, and mayonnaise mixed with a hearty dose of grated Parmesan cheese and a few other seasonings to create its distinct flavor.
With the ease of this make-at-home recipe, this classic restaurant favorite is the perfect salad to go with just about any everyday meal.
What's to Love About This Recipe?
- A pretty spot-on copycat of the original - While no copycat recipe is perfect, this one's pretty spot on! That signature Olive Garden salad flavor is there.
- Enjoy a restaurant classic at home - No need to head out to a restaurant. -- With thiscopycat Olive Garden Salad & Dressing recipe, easily whip up a bowl of this restaurant favorite yourself and enjoy it at home. It's the perfect salad to go with just about any everyday meal.
- Easy to make - There's truly nothing difficult to preparing this classic salad favorite. A little measuring, a little stirring, and some basic chopping is all it takes.
- Dressing can be prepared well in advance - The dressing will keep in the refrigerator just fine for about a week or so if you'd like to make it ahead.
Copycat Olive Garden Salad Ingredients:
Olive Garden salad dressing is iconic and truly makes the salad, in my opinion.
For this copycat version of Olive Garden salad dressing, you'll need:
- Mayonnaise - Serves as the base of the dressing and creates its creamy texture. Choose your favorite good-quality regular mayonnaise. We do not recommend substituting lower-fat mayonnaise or Miracle Whip.
- Extra-virgin olive oil- Brings a bit of richness to the dressing, combining with the mayonnaise to create the dressing's creamy base.
- White vinegar - Thins the dressing and helps create its signature flavor. We call for white vinegar in this Olive Garden dressing recipe because it's what most people keep on hand. White vinegar does give a pronounced vinegar "bite" to the dressing. -- If you prefer a milder vinegar taste, use white wine vinegar instead.
- Lemon juice - Adds a tasty acidic element to the dressing, rounding out and enhancing its flavors. We recommend fresh lemon juice, rather than bottled, for the best result.
- Light Karo syrup (corn syrup) - Brings in a hint of sweetness to the dressing.
- Grated Parmesan cheese - Grated Parmesan (not shredded) is key in this copycat dressing to create that signature Olive Garden taste and consistency. Shredded Parmesan just doesn't bring the same texture and flavor. You can certainly grate your own Parmesan, or for ease of prep, buy a tub of grated Parmesan in the refrigerated cheese section in the dairy aisle of the grocery store.
- Garlic salt, Italian seasoning, & dried parsley - The spices that season and flavor the dressing.
For the salad components themselves, you'll need:
- Iceberg + Romaine lettuce - While some say Olive Garden uses just Iceberg lettuce, we prefer a combination of both Iceberg and Romaine lettuces. Hey, we're making the salad at home, so we can do what we want, right?
- Red onion - Slices of red onion are a must atop a true Olive Garden copycat. Now, while I always take my onion slices off, the salad just doesn't look right without them.
- Roma tomatoes - To truly mimic the sliced tomato rounds of an Olive Garden salad, Roma tomatoes are necessary. Other varieties are tomatoes just won't slice up the same.
- Black olives - Use whole canned black olives that have been well drained.
- Pepperoncini peppers - Whole pepperoncini peppers are a signature Olive Garden salad touch. But if you'd like a milder pepper, whole or sliced banana peppers can be substituted for the pepperoncini peppers if you prefer.
- Grated Parmesan cheese - A sprinkling of Parmesan finishes off the salad. Just as in the dressing, grated Parmesan (rather than shredded) is key to creating that signature Olive Garden salad look and feel.
- Caesar flavored croutons - Packaged Caesar-flavored croutons are just the right copycat garlicky crouton flavor.
How to Make Copycat Olive Garden Salad & Dressing:
So let's talk in a bit more detail about how to make Olive Garden Salad & Dressing yourself. It's truly easy.
To make the dressing, start by whisking together some extra-virginolive oil, mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice, and Karo syrup (corn syrup). This creates the creamy base of the dressing, with Karo/corn syrup bringing in a little hint of sweetness.
Add in a good dose of grated Parmesan cheese, some garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and a little dried parsley, whisking the mixture until everything's well combined.
Grated Parmesan is key in this dressing. Shredded Parmesan just doesn't bring the same texture and flavor.
Then you can use the dressing immediately, or refrigerate it until a later serving time. I do like to pop the dressing in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or so before serving to give the flavors a little time to meld.
If you want to make the dressing ahead, it will keep in the refrigerator just fine for about a week or so.
And if you're like us, the dressing makes enough for about two bowls of salad. -- So you can enjoy a big bowl of Olive Garden salad at home twice with one batch of dressing! Which is a nice bonus, for sure.
We call for white vinegar in this Olive Garden dressing recipe, because it's what most people keep on hand.White vinegar does give a slightly more pronounced vinegar "bite" to the dressing. If you prefer a milder vinegar taste, use white wine vinegar instead.
And grated Parmesan (not shredded) is key in this dressing. -- Shredded Parmesan just doesn't bring the same texture and flavor, so I highly recommend making sure you're using grated Parmesan.
When you're ready to enjoy your bowl of Olive Garden salad, chop up a small head of iceberg lettuce and a small head of Romaine lettuce. Or, use just part of each lettuce if you'd like to make a smaller salad.
Toss the two lettuces in a serving bowl along with Roma tomato slices, drained black olives, and some whole pepperoncini peppers.
Whole pepperoncini peppers are a classic Olive Garden touch. But if you'd like a milder pepper, whole or sliced banana peppers can be substituted for the pepperoncini peppers if you prefer. -- You're making your Olive Garden salad at home, so you've got every right to change things up if you'd like.
Then place red onion slices on top of the salad and sprinkle everything with grated Parmesan cheese.
Finally, drizzle your desired amount of the prepared dressing over the salad (you won't need all of the dressing) and toss on the croutons. Packaged Caesar-flavored croutons have just the right copycat garlicky crouton flavor.
Then you're ready to serve it up and enjoy! All without leaving your house to head to a restaurant. -- Which is a beautiful thing.
So if you're like me and just adore Olive Garden Salad, give this copycat Olive Garden Salad & Dressing recipe a try. It's a great way to enjoy this classic restaurant favorite at home.
Not to mention with the easy of it's prep, it's the perfect salad to go with just about any everyday meal.
Enjoy!
Check out these other tasty salad recipes:
- Big Mac Salad
- Cauliflower Mock Potato Salad
- Roasted Cauliflower Salad
- Asian Ramen Noodle Salad with Broccoli Slaw
- Make-Ahead Layered Salad (For a Crowd)
- Make-Ahead Layered Spinach Salad
- Pea Salad
- Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Moresalad recipes
Thank you for stopping by The Kitchen is My Playground. We'd love to have you back soon!
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Salads
Italian
Copycat Olive Garden Salad & Dressing
Love Olive Garden salad? Enjoy it at home! With this copycat Olive Garden Salad & Dressing recipe, you can easily whip up a bowl of this restaurant favorite yourself and enjoy it at home. It's the perfect salad to go with just about any everyday meal.
Prep time: 20 MCook time: Total time: 20 M
Ingredients:
Olive Garden Dressing:
- 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 c. mayonnaise
- 1/4 c. white vinegar
- 1 T. lemon juice
- 1 T. light Karo syrup (corn syrup)
- 1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
Olive Garden Salad:
- 1 small head iceberg lettuce, chopped
- 1 small head Romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 small red onion, sliced
- 2 Roma tomatoes, sliced in rounds
- 1 (4 oz.) can black olives, drained
- 4 to 6 whole pepperoncini peppers, drained
- 1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 (16 oz.) package Caesar flavored croutons
Instructions:
Prepare the Dressing:
- In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice, and Karo syrup.
- Add grated Parmesan, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and parsley. Whisk until well combined.
- Use immediately, or refrigerate until serving time.
Prepare the Salad:
- Place iceberg lettuce, Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, and pepperoncini peppers in a serving bowl; toss to combine. Place red onion slices on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
- Drizzle desired amount of salad dressing over salad mixture (you won't need all of the dressing). Top with croutons.
- Serve immediately and enjoy.
TRACEY'S NOTES:
- Grated Parmesan is key in this recipe, both in the dressing and salad itself. Shredded Parmesan just doesn't bring the same texture and flavor, especially to the dressing.
- If you'd like a milder pepper, whole or sliced banana peppers can be substituted for the pepperoncini peppers if you prefer.
- The dressing will keep in the refrigerator just fine for about a week or so.
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