How to make an easy homemade Italian dressing recipe with Parmesan cheese. This dressing is delicious on salads, in pasta salads, and as a dip for sandwiches.

I'm trying to avoid preservatives and artificial food dyes and certain other ingredients, so I make a lot of my foods from scratch. I've been making my own salad dressings for over 10 years.

Over the years, I've tried several different recipes. I tweaked recipes, added ingredients, and adjusted the amounts until I found a recipe that I loved.

This homemade Italian dressing recipe with Parmesan took some tweaking, but I managed to make it and easy recipe with simple ingredients.

It's slightly sweet, a little tart, and packed with flavor. It's perfect for a salad topped with steak or chicken.

Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe With Parmesan

I use Italian dressing for a lot of different recipes and not just for salads. I have a homemade zesty Italian dressing mix recipe that I really like for a quick bottle of salad dressing or marinade.

It has a great flavor, but this homemade Italian dressing recipe with Parmesan has a little more depth with the added cheese.

My favorite salad with this recipe is one with leftover steak or grilled chicken, but I'll eat it on a salad with just about any combination of ingredients.

I also really like this for a pasta salad. It gives it a tangy and slightly sweet flavor that I think other dressings are lacking.

How Do You Make Italian Dressing From Scratch?

Italian dressing is very simple. You'll need some dried herbs, olive oil, and a vinegar. I also add fresh lemon juice, Parmesan, and some honey.

What Vinegar Do You Use for Homemade Italian Dressing?

I use a white wine vinegar, but you can use balsamic vinegar, white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar. It's a personal preference.

What's the Best Oil for Italian Salad Dressing?

I use olive oil because I always have it. You can use any neutral oil that doesn't have a strong flavor. Safflower, sunflower, vegetable oil, or canola oil.

Parmesan Cheese

You can certainly make this without the Parmesan cheese, but it does take the flavor up a notch. Freshly graded Parmesan works the best. It will dissolve into the dressing. However, you can use Parmesan from a can if you have it.

I used Parm from the can, which is why mine separated.

Choosing Herbs

I buy my dried herbs from an Amish bulk food store. Buying them in bulk is cheaper than buying them in the stores, and it tastes a lot better.

And when I say bulk, I mean I buy about a cup at a time. I couldn't use a whole pound before it lost its flavor.

I am fortunate that I live near bulk food stores. If you don't have them in your area, Old Town Spice Shop on Etsy has bulk spices in smaller quantities. They have 100s of items listed, so they have a very large selection.

I highly recommend buying herbs and spices in bulk. The difference in flavor is unbelievable. You can use them in several recipes like this dry onion soup mix recipe or this mulling spices recipe.