Homemade Italian Dressing Mix

By Inger Dec 13, 2025 Salads 6 Comments

It’s easy to whip up a Homemade Italian Dressing Mix. Tasty and economical, it’s perfect to give or keep.

I enjoy making my own salad dressing–partly because it’s healthier, but also because it tastes better. Yes, sometimes when I look at the ingredients in a commercial dressing, water is the first ingredient. Well, no wonder it tastes like, um, water??

Now normally I mix up a little of this and a little of that right before I serve a salad. This allows me to tailor the flavors of the dressing to the salad ingredients. Citrus kale salad? Hmm, cardamom or ginger would be good.

But when times get particularly busy, it can feel like every minute counts. So today I’m making up an Italian Dressing Mix that I can mix up super easily into a multi-day homemade dressing bottle.

And to help out friends who may also be busy, I’m going to share some of this for the holidays!

Why You’ll Love This!

There are just so many reasons to make your own homemade Italian Dressing Mix including:

Healthier. Use olive oil, reduce the salt and sugar. Go organic if you’d like.
Flavorful. With a higher ratio or herbs, olive oil, and quality vinegar, you’ll taste the difference!
Economical. Pay real money for a dressing mix whose first two ingredients are salt and sugar? Count me out. And you can buy dried herbs in bulk for even greater savings (see more in Tips below)!
Avoid plastics. If you’re concerned about microplastics, homemade make it easy to use glass (again, see tips below).

Step by Step Overview

Measure dressing mix ingredients into a lidded container.

Replace lid and shake to combine.

To prepare the dressing, mix 2 Tablespoons of dressing mix with olive oil, vinegar and water. Shake or whisk to combine.

Ideally let rest for a half hour for the herbs to rehydrate, but it can be used immediately. Store in refrigerator.

Variations

Feel free to make this dressing your own. For example, add in some crushed red pepper to give it a little kick.

Or reduce the olive oil and add some mayonnaise or buttermilk for a creamy Italian dressing.

Like a nice balsamic? Use ¼ cup of wine vinegar and 1 Tablespoon of balsamic. Yum!

And don’t restrict this just to salads. Homemade Italian Dressing can also be used to flavor meats and/or vegetables like in my No Marinade Shish Kabob.

Tips & FAQs

Concerned about microplastics? I’ve been washing and taking the labels off commercial glass jars then reusing them. They are more airtight than Pyrex and very convenient.

I buy herbs and spices that I use a lot in 1-pound packages. Currently Frontier brand organic Italian seasoning is selling on Amazon for 10.54/ounce if you buy it in the .65 ounce bottle. But it’s 1.06/ounce in a 1-pound bag.

Now herbs and spices don’t last forever, but if you go through multiple jars in a couple years, it may make sense to buy in bulk. And then I can also share extras with friends and family.

To save even more time you can use 5 Tablespoons of dried Italian Seasoning in place of the oregano, parsley, basil, thyme, celery salt and marjoram.

Homemade Gift Mixes

Homemade Chinese Five Spice Powder from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Homemade Gingerbread Spice Mix from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
Hot Cocoa Mix from Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box
Italian Dressing Mix from Art of Natural Living
Lentil Soup Mix from That Recipe
White Hot Cocoa Mix from Creative Cynchronicity

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