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Olive Garden Salad Dressing

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March 29, 2009 162 Comments

Olive Garden is known for their salads. The salad and the Olive Garden Salad Dressing are served complimentary with every meal. Their cold, crisp salad is hard to be beat; when it comes with Olive Garden salad dressing, it always seems to taste better. Everyone must love the Olive Garden salad dressing, because they don’t offer any other flavors of salad dressings. We hope you enjoy our version of the salad dressing.
Olive Garden Salad dressing recipe at home–it’s easy to do.

Olive Garden Salad Dressing

Place all ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little too tart for your own personal taste, add a little extra sugar. You can enjoy your Olive Garden salad dressing for about 10 days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Another great use for the Olive Garden salad dressing is as a marinade for vegetables or even meats that you might like to grill. So you can see the Olive Garden salad dressing can be used in more than one way.

Be sure to serve this recipe with the Olive Garden Salad Mix.

Making Olive Garden Salad Dressing at home is easy to do. You can make other recipes that taste just like they do in a restaurant.

How about Applebees Oriental Salad Dressing? This is a terrific way to bring the taste of a restaurant a home with this recipe.

You can find more Olive Garden Recipes at CopyKat.com, the web’s most popular destination for copycat restaurant recipes.

Olive Garden Salad Dressing

Author: CopyKat Recipes
Recipe Type: Olive Garden Copy Cat Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serves: 10

You don't need to leave home, you can make salad dressing that tastes just like the Olive Garden tonight.

Ingredients

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoon corn syrup
2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoon Romano cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt, or one clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
1 tablespoon lemon juice
sugar (optional)

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little too tart for your own personal taste, add a little extra sugar. You can enjoy your Olive Garden salad dressing for about 10 days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Another great use for the Olive Garden salad dressing is as a marinade for vegetables or even meats that you might like to grill. So you can see the Olive Garden salad dressing can be used in more than one way.

Be sure to serve this recipe with the Olive Garden Salad Mix.

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chefaal

If you have ever looked at the sodium content of the Olive Garden Dressing – 1 serving – 1930 mg of sodium (taken from the nutrition facts from their website) you will understand why this copy cat recipe is not exactly the same…WOW!
Look at the rest of their menu – I get hypertension just looking at theri menu!!
- rickcain2320
  
  Everything on the Olive Garden menu is punishingly salty. I refuse to eat there now. The time I complained about an inedible dish due to salt the manager just looked puzzled and offered to give me another salty dish instead. I can’t believe nobody else notices this.
Lthodde116

this isn’t even close to the recipe. i’m sure it would taste fine but the olive garden’s italian dressing is NOT a creamy one at all. I hate creamy dressings.
Joyyvette66

TOO many ingredients and not not correct! There is pectin in it, no mayo. Buy the book Top Secret Restaurant Recipes from Amazon. Flawless!!!!
- Mgmcitylights
  
  Dear Joyyvette66: Which “Top Secret Restaurant Recipes” book exactly? Great tip you have. I just need more info to be sure that I buy the right book! Thanks a bunch.
Seynard

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Michelle Archuleta

How do I view the recipe.
- Stephanie Manley
  
  It’s right here on the page.
rico

If any of the readers have tried, and enjoyed, Freschetta’s Hawaiian Pizza, here is the recipe for the BBQ sauce. I use sandwich rounds for my pizza – the white flour – toast them first so they are crispy. Then, smooth the sauce on, add mozzarella, in fact add more than is on the Freschetta, add ham bits and pineapple tidbits – drained a bit. Now, the sauce recipe. 6 oz. tomato paste. 2 TA brown sugar, 1/4 cup Tamarina. Add just water enough to make it easy to spread. Bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes, or when the cheese is melted. Tamarina is a brand name for a tamarind sauce. i buy mine from an Indian foods store. It is also available for purchase on the Internet. May also be available in Asian food stores or even Philippine food stores. It is tamarind, which is a sour fruit that is used in cooking and baking. Add sugar and it is a sweet/sour, tangy taste. The Tamarina is ready to use since it is a dipping sauce for samosas and other Indian foods.
rico

I have been reading and trying many of the OG dressing recipes. May I add mine. 1/3 cup white vinegar, 3 TA vegetable oil, 2 TA sugar. Add the sugar to the vinegar and let it dissolve into a simple syrup. Add oil and shake. It keeps well in a glass jar with cover. I realize it is just three ingredients but they are those which appear consistently. Plus, the dressing is consciously created to be palatable to the American taste and thus is not made with olive oil and red wine or balsamic vinegars. My husband likes it and we eat at the OG fairly often.
ali

i worked at olive garden, its very close:) but i still love theres more.lol….and some is massed produced and shipped but i know the olive garden I worked at…we made fresh soup daily!the cooks made it early in the morning and the let it cool and put it in the fridge and heated it through the day…i watched them…so not every thing is put in a microwave and cooked…:)
james

Very good not exactly like Olive Garden Dressing, But good substitute.
http://Website(optional) Kyle

All these chain restaurants do not create there food from scratch. All of the food is mass produced and shipped frozen to the restaurant. The main cooking implement in an applebees or olive garden kitchen is an industrial microwave to warm up the food . There is no cooking that takes place in these kitchens – just a little reheating.
- http://www.copykat.com Stephanie
  
  I am guessing at one time they made more of their stuff from scratch. I know TGI Friday’s doesn’t make their own soup anymore.
- Jewels
  
  But isn’t it great that Steph can give us recipes that are made from scratch, right in our own homes, that taste exactly like the restaurants! Thanks Steph!
- Gizelle
  
  Actually, I worked in Olive Garden for 2 years. We make a lot of things fresh, every day, and if/when we ran out of something, we went to the market to go get it.
- Hopper77
  
  True about Applebee’s, but not OG. They make a lot of their food fresh. Applebee’s is a sit down drive thru… Terrible.
Linda S

I Googled for this recipe, read thru all the comments and found the whole thing entertaining, as well as informative. A lot of good comments, and honest reactions.
I made the recipe as written, I thought, and found it sour and runny. Then I realized that I had never put in the mayo. Duh.
So I remade it, with a few changes inspired by previous comments:
Add the egg, but boil it, let it cool and pulverize it in the food processor first, adding all other ingredients on top. Double the oil, double the corn syrup. I used an olive oil based mayo. I also used granulated garlic 1/4 tspn. instead of garlic salt. (less sodium)
It tasted okay, and was definitely less runny but I think it could still use a little more corn syrup, but I have to admit I like a slightly sweeter dressing! It still seemed a little too runny.
I think I will remake it, using Miracle Whip, as someone suggested. Maybe cut down on the vinegar and lemon juice just a bit.
What fun! and I don’t really like to cook!
Ruth

Go to Todd Wilbur’s Top Secret Recipe website and try his version. I think it tastes just like the Olive Garden’s. No mayo in his, but he does use pectin
http://copyKat ELontz

This was horrible, I followed the recipe to a “T” and it has so much vinegar in it that I started choking. As soon as I saw the mayonnaise in the recipe I thought it was wrong, but I gave it a shot.
- Jk
  
  I did the same thing last night – smells DISGUSTING!!!
- Jk
  
  I did the same thing last night – smells DISGUSTING!!!
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gma22

The recipe I have is from a former employee at OG who made the dressing and the one listed here is close to be being what they use and they do put mayo in it, because I remember thinking my husband would die if he knew there was mayo in the dressing, which he loves, but he can’t stand mayo.
- maya
  
  hi!
  you wrote in a forum that you have a recipe for olive garden salad dressing and that you got it from a former og employ. would you mind sharing it with me? i would really appreciate it! thanks, maya
  maya_gut06@walla.co.il
Betty

really, mayo. I don’t believe I have ever detected mayo any time I have eaten this dressing at the restaurant.
- http://www.copykat.com Stephanie
  
  Yes, really Mayo, the salad dressing is creamy. Mayo makes a salad dressing instantly creamy.
  - bennie
    
    I used to work at OG, and mayo is in the ingriedients.
- http://Website(optional) Brittany
  
  Everyone does realize that Mayo is made of Oil, egg, vinegar, and a touch of salt right? If you don’t like mayo fine, but all of these ingredients are already in salad dressing anyway.
Alex

This is not Olive Gardens salad dressing. I have the recipe for one that taste almost identical to the real one. Even if wishbone does make the dressing I have their recipe! They use no mayo and thats where this recipe is completely wrong. Sorry. F-
- http://www.copykat.com Stephanie
  
  Alex, why don’t you share your recipe? I am sure others would love to have your recipe since you think it is better.
  - yvonne
    
    Yes Alex please share!!!!!
- Jewel
  
  Yes Alex, please share your recipe!
  I HATE mayo, and so seeing that as an ingredient was a huge turn off. I won’t eat or use anything with a mayo base.
  Now I know that for this recipe the mayo is used to thicken and keep the vinegar & oil from separating…I’ve seen other copy cat recipes using Pectin though.
  - http://www.copykat.com Stephanie
    
    I personally don’t like using ingredients like pectin, because is it is a little out of the way. Mayo words well as an emulsifier.
  - kayla
    
    I just wanted to make a quick comment…if you look at the ingredient list on the olive garden dressing bottle you’ll see that it contains oil and eggs…which is all mayo is. This recipe might have a bit too much mayo in it…however..if you love the olive garden dressing…you’re eating a dressing with a mayo and vinegar base. Try making your own mayo once when making this recipe (using soybean oil, eggs, and lemon juice as the flavoring agent like the ingredient list states), it might have a different effect on the flavor than using a store bought kind. Also, olive garden uses xanthum gum (which you can purchase) to stabilize and thicken their dressing, not pectin.
  - kayla
    
    I just wanted to make a quick comment…if you look at the ingredient list on the olive garden dressing bottle you’ll see that it contains oil and eggs…which is all mayo is. This recipe might have a bit too much mayo in it…however..if you love the olive garden dressing…you’re eating a dressing with a mayo and vinegar base. Try making your own mayo once when making this recipe (using soybean oil, eggs, and lemon juice as the flavoring agent like the ingredient list states), it might have a different effect on the flavor than using a store bought kind. Also, olive garden uses xanthum gum (which you can purchase) to stabilize and thicken their dressing, not pectin.
- Davisbillpam
  
  Alex,
  Can you email me the recipe you have for Olive Garden salad dressing??
  
  THANKS
  
  Pam
  davisbillpam@hotmail.com
  - Jeneve48
    
    I was wondering if you have the OG salad dressing recipe???
    If so can you email me the recipe
    Thanks
    Jeneve48@verizon.net
- Sylvia
  
  I also just tried this recipe and did not think it even came close to Olive Gardens dressing and was way too thin. We ate it as it was already in the bowl, and it wasn’t too bad, but not Olive Gardens.
- Pamrf
  
  Please, please, please send your recipe to pamrf@yahoo.com. It will be greatly appreciated.
- cheryl
  
  could you please send me your OG salad dressing recipe? I would greatly appreciate it!
- Fklayer
  
  Hi Alex, Please send me your recipe. I have been looking for one that is like olive garden for a while now. Thanks
  - Ann Alessi
    
    I also would like the OLive Garden Salad dressing recipe.
    Thanks
- Simplygoldcandles
  
  Could you send me your Olive Garden salad dressing recipe please? simplygoldcandles@yahoo.com
- jennifer
  
  alex please send me your olive garden recipe:) readeroftheriderwaite@gmail.com i would so appreciate than you!
- Sillub
  
  Alex – could you please share your recipe with me: rbullis@nycap.rr.com
  
  thanks so much. greatly appreciated. :0
- Michelle
  
  Hey, can I have the recipe too? It’s my absolute favorite!!! THANKS! mgriswold66@gmail.com
- Dkeeshen
  
  Alex..would love to have your Olive Garden recipe…dkeeshen@comcast.net. Thanks!!
- Dkeeshen
  
  Alex..would love to have your Olive Garden recipe…dkeeshen@comcast.net. Thanks!!
- Dkeeshen
  
  Alex..would love to have your Olive Garden recipe…dkeeshen@comcast.net. Thanks!!
- Dkeeshen
  
  Alex..would love to have your Olive Garden recipe…dkeeshen@comcast.net. Thanks!!
- Dwgully
  
  Alex, I would love to have the salad dressing recipe–dwgully@tritel.net
  Thank you
  - Cricket1025
    
    Comment removed. Please do not post materials that violate copyright protection rules.
- Jo
  
  Did Alex post/send the recipe to anyone?
  - Chatwoman
    
    Nope – big talk – no action…..
Beth

What I have found that tastes the closest is Ken’s Steakhouse Northern Italian salad dressing.
- Beth
  
  oh my god this creeped me out. i am reading this recipe because i am currently working for an olive garden, and my name is Beth, and I LOVE love love that dressing (ken’s northern italian) it has tomato basil and either parmesan or romano cheese in it and it is amazing dressing. i was starting to think… wow… did i write this comment???
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lynfony

This tastes notin like Olive Garden’s salad dressin. I really question the use of mayonnaise; it tasted and looked more like a coleslaw dressing.
Stan

How many servings does this make?
- http://www.copykat.com Stephanie
  
  The recipe yields about 1 cup, so I believe that would be 12 tablespoons. So if you are using a tablespoon of dressing as a serving, this would yield about 12 servings.
Mon

Olive Garden salad dressing. It is “Wish Bone” Dressing. Plain and simple.
I used to work there at Olive Garden and I saw it come in huge canisters which would be opened and distributed into smaller containers. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I found out it was “Wish Bone,” dressing.
- http://www.copykat.com Stephanie
  
  I am going to guess that maybe they got the folks at Wishbone to make them up their own personal recipe for this.
- Chrissy
  
  REALYY??!!
- dan
  
  Dude, it doesn’t even look like Wishbone dressing. Wishbone is translucent and OG is opaque. Wishbone has no cheese in it, either.
  
  Perhaps Wishbone makes salad dressing for Olive Garden but it is not the Wishbone Italian variety on our grocery store shelves.
  - Joyce
    
    You should try Wishbone “House Itailian” dressing. It is not translucent and it resembles Olive Gardens dressing and taste like it.
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Jim

I’ve tried it and it doesnt’ taste the same; it’s ok; not a mayo guy; good effort though.

I appreciate your comment, the dressing is a creamy dressing, I know it is really had to see when they have already placed it onto your salad.
- Dean
  
  Blah blah blah, let’s see your recipes. This one is BETTER than Olive Gardens, and it does taste a little like it but BETTER! Everyone’s taste buds are different, so these are opinions, not facts.
  - Carol
    
    Not bad if you like sweet dressings, but definitely not Olive Garden’s recipe.
ash

How about everyone say thank you for trying??? I haven’t tried this recipe yet but plan on making it tonight so I don’t know if it tastes like the real deal or not but just want to say thanks in advance for taking the time to try and duplicate their recipe!
Ellen

I agree with the others – this recipe makes an interesting salad dressing, but it’s NOTHING like Olive Garden! The mayo makes it very thin, milky and sweetish. It tastes okay, but I was hoping to duplicate the OG recipe, and avoid driving 45 min. to the restaurant and paying $7.00 for a bottle!
Joy

a little extra sugar? there is no sugar indicated in the recipe.

Thanks for pointing that out, I will put sugar down as an optional ingredient. ~Stephanie
- Shazaam
  
  corn syrup is sugar
  - Chip
    
    Corn Syrup is NOT sugar. Sugar is made from Sugar Cane, Sugar Beets, etc. Our Sugar has a majority of Sucrose, with (possibly) some Glucose and / or Fructose.
    
    Corn Syrup is make from grinding up corn and adding an enzyme extracted from genetically “enhanced” bacteria and fungi (fungus) to turn it into Glucose (or Fructose if you’re talking about High Fructose Corn Syrup-HFCS). The enzyme “digests” the corn and we eat and drink the results. Yum!
    
    Think about that while you’re using Corn Syrup or drinking a soft drink containing HFCS…
    
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_syrup
    - Me
      
      Go spaam your agenda somewhere else Hitler!
      - Bob V
        
        I had clipped the recipie from a magazine and misplaced it. But I specifically remember it called for Miricle whip and not mayo. That jumped right out. I will try your recipie and substitute the mayo for miricle whip and see how it tastes.
    - MissRandie
      
      Before you start on a tirade about how different high fructose corn syrup is compared to table sugar, maybe you should do some more research, or understand what you’re reading. High fructose corn syrup contains almost the SAME RATIO of fructose to glucose as regular table sugar does. the “digestion” that you’re talking about is using bacteria to add an enzyme that breaks the molecular bonds between the repeating chains of glucose that makes up the starch in the corn. Then, they add another enzyme (from bacteria, as most are) that isomerizes (changes the shape of) the molecule, turning some of it into fructose. Viola! HFCS! Remember, it’s the dose that makes the poison.
Lee

This isn’t the recipe they told me they use kraft dressing with cheese

I find it odd they would say that. You can buy a bottle of the dressing there, so I believe a supplier is making the dressing for them. Just ask your waiter if you want to purchase a bottle of dressing, they will be happy to sell you a bottle of their dressing. ~Stephanie
kristin

while I don’t think this recipe tastes anything like the Olive Garden dressing, it is DELICIOUS and I would without a doubt make it again.
Helen C.

I totaly agree with Olive Garden dressing and the best part is you can buy it at the restaurant and not make it from their recipe. When I have lunch there I come home with several bottles of their dressing.
- LMS
  
  You’re lucky — the nearest OG to me is almost 3 hrs away. The last one I bought before a long flight home, it broke in my carry on. Wow, what a mess I had but did I smell amazing lol
georgia

Thank you for the salad dressing recipe. Can’t wait to make and enjoy.
http://www.greatsalsarecipes.com Anonymous

Simpson
I made this recipe quite a few times, I do add pectin and substitute the vinegar with red wine vinegar. I make it for my church and it is known as the “Church House dressing”a hit everytime
http://www.copykat.com Anonymous

Just do what I do…I buy some before I leave Olive Garden …this way I know I’m gonna have it on hand.
- CED
  
  hey that’s a great idea can’t go wrong there thanks
Nicole

April has it right! The recipe with the Paul Newman dressing is awesome!! Takes just like OG’s dressing!
Aaron

This did not look the same, but it was AMAZING!!!
marchel murphy

OK I TRIED THIS RECIPE AND IT WAS TO DIE FOR A BIG SUCCESS IN MY HOUSE, I THEN TRIED THE ONE WITH PAUL NEWMANS AND HAD TO ADD 6 TSP OF WHITE VINEGAR BEFORE THE WHOLE FAMILY THOUGHT IT WAS GREAT, I WOULD RATHER MIX THE EXTRA INGRED. AND IT B PERFECT. THANKS ALOT
Kelly

April had the right one. I have made this many times and it is very good. Wishbone can be used…not much of a taste diff in it and Paul Newmans.
http://www.babypop.com/ Sherry

This is dressing is the only way I can get my daughter to eat salad. When we go to olive garden she will eat an entire bowl thanks for sharing now i can get her to eat it at home. Great web site!
http://www.copykat.com Stephanie

April, that I believe is very similar to the Gloria Pitzer recipe, and I think some people have a hard time Paul Newman’s Own Vinegar and Oil dressing, so I have also seen some variants with Wishbone Italian dressing. Some people also add a raw egg to this dish as well.
April

I found the recipe using Newman’s Own Olive Oil dressing as a base. It is really the best. I have tried the other and it was too thin and milky and didn’t taste the same. My husband won’t eat any salad unless it has the "olive garden" dressing on it. LOL This is the absolute closest to the restauraunt’s recipe I have found. The only changes I made was using Splenda instead of sugar and mixing it in a seperate container then pouring it back into the original bottle. The dry ingredients just dont seem to fit until they rehydrate with the liquid.

<b><u>Ingredients:</u></b>
8 ounces Paul Newman’s Own vinegar and oil dressing
1 garlic clove — peeled, halved
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon sugar
(or 3 pkgs of Sweet and Low)
Cooking Directions:
Put ingredients into the bottle of dressing and shake well.
Refrigerate 24 hours before using.
- Melinda Woodard
  
  I tried this tonight, and used Ken’s Lite Oil & Vinegar dressing (much less calories) but it was very good. Thanks for posting your recipe.
http://www.copykat.com Stephanie

I had heard that as well about the Paul Newman’s, they also I think had you sticking a raw egg in there. To me, this reminds me of souped up Italian dressing.
Carol

I heard that they used Paul Newmans Italian dressing & doctored it up. Don’t know if that’s true or not. I don’t think they sell the dressing anymore. At least not where I go, Anitoch, Ca.
- Rue Stahl
  
  Yes they still sell their dressing at the Restaurant
  - http://www.copykat.com Stephanie
    
    I don’t think they will ever stop selling their salad dressing there. I think it is very popular.
Eric

Yes, I found this same recipe elsewhere on the internet provided by a "chef." It tastes nothing like olive garden dressing. I found a second one that sounded closer, but it too isn’t the same. I don’t think the preservatives is what’s missing. Both of the recipes I tried are way too vinegary. OG dressing is sort of a sweeter Italian dressing.
Amanda

Sheila – how much dressing/ egg/ cheese do you use to mix up your recipe?
sheila

the olive garden use to make their dressing in house. it is very simple to duplicate and i promise it will not disappoint. it is wishbone italian dressing, egg (i use pasteurized egg beaters), and parmesan cheese (kraft). i work at the o.g.. one time we ran out of dressing and had to finish our shift using the original recipe. no one noticed a difference. a true copy cat recipe!
Christina

I agree with Sharon… what a waste of ingredients!
http://copycats Marilyn

I absolutely love your website. Couldn’t find it for the longest time. At last, we’ll be happy to eat at home.
http://www.copykat.com admin

When they manufactor this recipe they use a lot of preservatives and other additives that we don’t have at home, these affect the taste and texture of this salad dressing. I believe this recipe we made about 8 years or so ago, so I am sure their recipe has changed by now. You may want to try to purchase their salad dressing. It is very hard to duplicate textures of additives in the home kitchen.

Stephanie
http://copykat.com Sharon Strickland

My family absolutely LOVES Olive Garden’s salad and dressing, so I was thrilled to find the dressing “recipe” on this site. Sorry to say…but this recipe tastes NOTHING like Olive Garden’s salad dressing. I was soooo dissapointed and so was my family. The restaurant’s dressing is not as sweet or “milky” looking as this version and has a completely different taste and texture. Does anyone out there have the REAL recipe??

Thanks!
Sharon
- Phoenix19
  
  WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH PEOPLE!?! Sharon was soooo disappointed and so was her family?! Really?? Did you all put your heads in your hands and sob at the table? Did your children fall onto the floor in a rage and did your husband call in sick to work then next day?! IT’S F*&KING SALAD DRESSING!!!! This recipe is awesome, I make a double batch. You people are acting like someone raped your puppy in at your family reunion. Thanks Stephanie, I love your blog!
  - Valerie
    
    Phoenix19,
    
    I couldn’t stop laughing at your comment! You’re right, it is just salad dressing, but I can also understand really looking forward to a meal and then being really disappointed when it doesn’t taste like you expected. Especially when you’re making a copycat recipe because the actual restaurant isn’t in your state or too far away to eat at very often.
    - Cfodonna
      
      Where do you live, Russia?? There are Olive Gardens everywhere!
      - Sk8angel99
        
        Trust me, there are NOT olive gardens everywhere.
    - Cfodonna
      
      Where do you live, Russia?? There are Olive Gardens everywhere!