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This Olive Garden copycat Salad dressing tastes just like the real thing, made at home! It’s paleo and whole30-friendly, and modifiable for AIP.

olive garden copycat salad dressing

Olive Garden Salad Dressing

It’s been years since I’ve been to Olive Garden, but few restaurant items are more iconic in American culture than Olive Garden soup, salad, and breadsticks! From their Zuppa Toscana (which I also have a recipe for) to their breadsticks, Olive Garden has some pretty popular stuff! I’ve been eyeing their classic salad dressing for quite some time and decided it was time to make my own.

This is a creamy and delicious salad dressing made with all real food ingredients! It screams comfort food, all while being paleo, Whole30-friendly, gluten-free, dairy-free, and AIP-friendly.

The Ingredients for the Olive Garden Salad Dressing

  • Mayo, Olive Oil, Red Wine Vinegar & Lemon Juice: The base of the dressing! Use AIP mayo for AIP.
  • Dried Parsley, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Dried Basil, Sea Salt, Black Pepper: These all give the dressing its classic flavor! You can omit the black pepper for AIP.
  • Nutritional Yeast: This rounds the dressing out with its cheesy flavor! Substitute parmesan cheese if tolerated.

How to Make Olive Garden Salad Dressing

  • Combine The Ingredients: Add all of the ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Use a small tasting spoon to ensure the dressing doesn’t need any more of a specific ingredient to your own taste.
  • Chill & Serve: Serve chilled over a salad or store covered in the fridge for 2-3 days.

olive garden copycat salad dressing

 

What mayo should you use?

Here are some of my favorites!

  • Paleo Homemade mayo (or you can make a vegan mayo)
  • Sir Kensington Avocado Oil Mayo

Can you make this dressing without the nutritional yeast?

Technically, yes you can. The nutritional yeast is added in place of the parmesan cheese which this dressing is heavy on. So it will still work without it, but it will be significantly less cheesy.

Can you make this ahead of time?

Yes! It’ll keep in the fridge for a few days.

What should you serve it with?

This is a versatile dressing, but a salad like Olive Garden’s is perfect! Including…

  • Romaine dressing
  • Black olives
  • Tomato
  • Red onion

olive garden copycat salad dressing

 

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Olive Garden Copycat Salad Dressing (Paleo, Dairy Free)

  • Author: Michelle
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
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Description

This Olive Garden copycat Salad dressing tastes just like the real thing, made at home! It’s paleo and whole30-friendly, and modifiable for AIP.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 cup paleo mayo (see notes for AIP)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tsp dried parsley
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper (omit for AIP)
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional, this is to substitute parmesan cheese)

Instructions

  1. Add all of the ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Use a small tasting spoon to ensure the dressing doesn’t need any more of a specific ingredient to your own taste.
  2. Serve chilled over a salad or store covered in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Notes

For the mayo, you can either make an easy homemade paleo mayo or use a Paleo mayo such as Sir Kensington or Primal Kitchen. For AIP, you can try to use a mayo like this, though I haven’t tried it myself in this recipe!

  • Prep Time: 5

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 260
  • Fat: 27.6g
  • Carbohydrates: 2.7g
  • Fiber: 0.4g
  • Protein: 0.7g