This homemade Olive Garden Salad recipe is a copycat of the famous restaurant chain, quickly prepared with fresh lettuce, juicy tomatoes, crunch croutons, olives, peppers, parmesan, and onion, all tossed with its signature creamy Italian dressing. It is so easy to replicate this bright, crisp, and colorful dish at home with fresh ingredients–serve it as a simple side or top it with protein to make it a main meal.
Olive Garden House Salad…but better!
What if I told you that I’ve replicated the famous Olive Garden Salad (you know the one that’s all-you-can-eat and served with the bottomless basket of buttery breadsticks) and created my own version that tastes even better?
I’ve done it! My recipe is so quick and easy to make using only fresh ingredients that combine into a copycat dish with the same delicious flavors and textures. It’s crunchy, creamy, salty, tangy, and even has a bit of heat. The colors are bright and vibrant–it’s simply a satisfying, made-from-scratch restaurant favorite that I love to make at home!
The dressing in this salad is so delicious that many grocery stores are now selling it. And while the ingredient list is fairly long, it only takes minutes to make and when poured over the contents you have on your plate, it’s pure perfection!
Plus creating recipe favorites at home is not only cheaper (and you don’t have to leave a tip), but you can customize the flavors and have fun experimenting–add a protein for a main meal, leave out the olives, or change the cheese. No matter how you serve it, this Olive Garden Salad is addictively amazing!
Why we love this Recipe for Olive Garden Salad
- Quick and easy to create this colorful dish at home.
- Uses simple, fresh ingredients to replicate a restaurant recipe.
- Dressing is so delicious that it’s even sold in stores!
- It’s super satisfying to make copycat meals at home and much more economical.
- Serve it as a side or top it with a protein for a main meal.
Copycat Olive Garden Salad ingredients
- Iceberg lettuce: Any variety of lettuce or bagged salad can be used.
- Pepperoncini peppers
- Roma tomatoes
- Pitted black olives
- Red onion
- Seasoned croutons
- Grated parmesan cheese
Copycat Olive Garden Salad Dressing ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil
- White wine vinegar
- Water
- Mayonnaise
- Granulated sugar
- Fresh minced garlic
- Lemon juice
- Italian seasoning
- Kosher salt
- Fresh cracked black pepper
- Red pepper flakes
Olive Garden Salad Dressing Recipe substitutions and additions
- Tomatoes: You can also use halved grape or cherry tomatoes for the salad. This can also make it easier to eat as they are a bit smaller than the Roma tomatoes.
- Tasty Toppings: You can add chopped bacon, cubed ham, or even shredded cooked chicken or grilled shrimp to make it a main meal.
- Dressing: Feel free to substitute Olive Garden’s premade salad dressing for the homemade dressing. You can also substitute a 0.7 ounce package of Italian dressing mix for the homemade dressing.
- Cheese Please: Add some mini mozzarella balls, chunks of feta, or cubes of fontina cheese for a fun twist.
- Vegan/Vegetarian Version: This Olive Garden salad only needs a slight adjustment to make this vegetarian or vegan. Chose a vegetarian or vegan parmesan cheese and mayo, or omit them completely.
How to make Olive Garden Salad at Home
- Layer lettuce, olives, onion, tomatoes, and croutons in a large serving bowl.
- Top with another layer of lettuce, olives, onion, tomatoes, and croutons.
- Top the salad with pepperoncini peppers.
- Sprinkle parmesan over the salad and set aside.
- Combine the olive oil, white wine vinegar, water, mayonnaise, sugar, garlic, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes in either a mixing bowl or a mason jar.
Pro Tip: If using a bowl, whisk until the dressing is well combined. If using the mason jar, tightly screw on the lid and shake until the ingredients are completely incorporated. - Pour dressing over the top of the salad and serve immediately. Enjoy!
tips for making olive garden house salad recipe
- Make sure your red onions are sliced nice and thin. A mandoline would work well to slice them.
- Small mason jars are just the right size to make salad dressing and to store any dressing leftovers in the fridge.
- This salad is best served right away, otherwise, the croutons will start to soften in the dressing.
- The dressing will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge in an airtight jar or bottle.
- If you are making the salad ahead of time, add the dressing just before serving.
Copycat Olive Garden Salad Dressing storage tips
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container, or a gallon-sized Ziploc bag, for up to 2 days. The dressing can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
What can I serve with my Olive Garden Salad?
This salad pairs perfectly with almost anything, from soups, to casseroles, to any of my main dishes. You can even serve like Olive Garden does with some simple breadsticks and soup for a light dinner or lunch.
Have you tried my Cauliflower Breadsticks or my Crack Chicken Noodle Soup? You can make this salad a main meal and top it with my Grilled Salmon, Lemon Chicken, or my Garlic Butter Steak Bites.
Other Copycat Recipes
Copycat Recipe for Olive Garden Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 6 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
- 6 whole pepperoncini peppers
- 4 medium firm Roma tomatoes sliced
- 1 cup whole pitted black olives drained
- 1 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1 cup seasoned croutons
- ¼ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
Dressing
- ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup white wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp fresh minced garlic
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1½ tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Using a large serving bowl, layer 3 cups of the chopped lettuce, ½ cup of the black olives, ½ cup of the sliced red onion, ½ of the sliced tomatoes, and ½ cup of the croutons.
- Layer the remaining lettuce, black olives, sliced red onion, sliced tomatoes, and croutons.
- Lay the pepperoncini peppers on top of the salad.
- Evenly sprinkle the grated parmesan on top of the salad. Set the salad aside.
- Using either a small mixing bowl and a whisk, or a quart-sized mason jar with a lid, combine the olive oil, white wine vinegar, water, mayonnaise, sugar, fresh minced garlic, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, kosher salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. If using the bowl and whisk, whisk until the dressing is well combined. If using the mason jar, tightly screw on the lid and shake until the ingredients are completely incorporated.
- Immediately pour the dressing over the top of the salad. Serve immediately.
Jenn’s Notes
- Make sure your red onions are sliced nice and thin. A mandoline would work well to slice them.
- Small mason jars are just the right size to make salad dressing and to store any dressing leftovers in the fridge.
- This salad is best served right away, otherwise, the croutons will start to soften in the dressing.
- The dressing will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge in an airtight jar or bottle.
If you are making the salad ahead of time, add the dressing just before serving.
Excellent! More garlic😊
Can not wait to make this salad!!
Super good!! Super close. The dressing felt like it was missing something. Not sure what!
My daughter made this salad for Thanksgiving and it was better than Olive Garedens!