Creamy Italiano Salad

Creamy Italiano Salad with Homemade Dressing Recipe – our favorite salad!!! Romaine, tomatoes, thinly sliced seedless cucumbers, sliced banana peppers, croutons, parmesan cheese, and homemade Creamy Italian dressing. The creamy dressing really puts this salad over the top!!! Mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, milk, sugar, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, and pepper. I made this for a dinner party and everyone RAVED about it!! A million times better than Olive Garden’s salad!  

Creamy Italian Salad Dressing

We are obsessed with this yummy Creamy Italiano Salad. It is seriously delicious. The salad is good, but it is the homemade Italian dressing that really puts this salad over the top! I made this for a dinner party and everyone LOVED it! Everyone asked for the dressing recipe. I am not even kidding! The dressing is seriously the best. It is a little tangy with tons of great flavor. I could drink it with a straw. It is hands down our favorite dressing recipe. One bite and you will know why!

How to Make Homemade Creamy Italian Dressing

The salad is super easy to make with only a few simple ingredients. Start with making the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, milk, red wine vinegar, sugar, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Next, in a large bowl, toss together the salad – romaine, tomatoes, thinly sliced seedless cucumbers, sliced banana peppers, shaved parmesan cheese, and croutons. Toss the salad with the dressing and serve. Store leftover salad dressing in mason jars in the refrigerator.

Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions

• I know some people don’t like cucumbers, so they are totally optional.
• Can substitute grated parmesan for shaved parmesan.
• For extra garlic flavor, use fresh garlic cloves in place of garlic powder.
• Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the dressing for a little kick.
• Can add bell peppers, red onion, or black olives to the salad mixture.
• For the croutons, I like to use the Olive Garden croutons that are in the grocery store.
• You can make the creamy Italian dressing ahead of time and refrigerate it until you are ready to toss the salad. I usually make the dressing a day or two in advance of serving.
• You can assemble the salad mixture in advance and refrigerate it until ready to serve. Toss it with the dressing just before serving so the lettuce isn’t soggy.
• If you aren’t making this for a crowd, just make as much salad as you want and toss it with a little dressing. YUM!
• The dressing will keep a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Better than Olive Garden Salad

This Creamy Italiano Salad is the perfect addition to our traditional Christmas Eve lasagna. This salad, my homemade lasagna, and some garlic bread is my all-time favorite meal! This dressing is equally delicious as a dip with raw veggies. Give it a try the next time you have a salad. I promise it will be a hit!

Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this salad:

Pasta

Three Cheese Chicken Rosa Pasta Bake

Three Cheese Chicken Rosa Bake – great make-ahead pasta dish. Penne pasta, four cheese rosa sauce, sour cream, ricotta, garlic,…

Casserole

Million Dollar Chicken Alfredo

Million Dollar Chicken Alfredo – seriously delicious! Chicken, pasta, alfredo sauce and 4 cheeses! The BEST chicken alfredo EVER!!! Can…

Pasta

One-Pot Spaghetti {No Boil}

One-Pot Spaghetti Bolognese – I finally found my go-to spaghetti recipe! SO easy to make and is ready in 20…

Pasta

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti Casserole

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti Casserole – everyone goes crazy over this dish – they always ask for the recipe! Make…

Recipe Print Recipe

Creamy Italiano Salad

Author: Stephanie @ Plain Chicken

Yield: 6 people

Prep Time 15 mins

Total Time 15 mins

Creamy Italiano Salad – our favorite salad!!! Romaine, tomatoes, thinly sliced seedless cucumbers, sliced banana peppers, croutons and homemade Creamy Italiano dressing. The dressing really puts this salad over the top!!! Mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, milk, sugar, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper. I made this for a dinner party and everyone RAVED about it!! Give it a try for your next dinner party. You won’t be disappointed! #salad #saladdressing #sidedish #vegetables #nobake

Ingredients:

Dressing

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Salad

• 1 (9-oz) bag chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 cup sliced seedless cucumbers
• 1 cup purchased croutons
• ½ cup banana pepper rings
• ½ cup grape or cherry tomatoes halved
• ¼ cup shaved parmesan cheese

Instructions:

• Whisk together mayonnaise, milk, vinegar, sugar, Italian seasoning, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
• In a large bowl, combine romaine lettuce, cucumbers, croutons, banana peppers, tomatoes and parmesan.
• Add some dressing and toss. Continue to add dressing until the salad is dressed to your preference. You may have some leftover dressing.

Notes:

Can make dressing in advance and refrigerate until ready to serve the salad. 

The dressing will keep at least a week in the refrigerator.

Plain Chicken

https://www.plainchicken.com/creamy-italiano-salad/

All images and text © Plain Chicken, Inc.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @plainchicken or tag #plainchicken!

Steph