For many customers, Olive Garden’s all-you-can-eat salad is even better than the bottomless basket of breadsticks. The dish has been on the menu since the first restaurant opened in 1982, and it has become so popular over the years that Olive Garden started selling the dressing in grocery stores in 2017. The secret to re-creating the texture at home: a few spoonfuls of Miracle Whip.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 15 min |
| Active: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons Miracle Whip
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 10-ounce bag American salad blend
- 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
- 4 small pepperoncini or other pickled peppers
- 1 small vine-ripened tomato, cut into wedges
- 2 tablespoons sliced black olives
- 1/2 cup large croutons
- 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Make the dressing: Combine the olive oil, vinegar, Miracle Whip, lemon juice, parmesan, garlic salt, Italian seasoning and 1 to 2 tablespoons water in a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth.
- Make the salad: Place the salad blend in a large bowl and top with the red onion, pepperoncini, tomato, olives, croutons and cheese. Drizzle with the dressing and gently toss.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 206 |
| Total Fat | 16 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 12 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Cholesterol | 5 mg |
| Sodium | 165 mg |
Reviews
Needs more salt and oregano to taste like the Olive Garden. I will make it again!
Hello
I really liked this dressing, so I made a bottle of it for a friend and she really enjoyed it too. The ingredient list does not include the 1 or 2 Tbls of water, glad I read the recipe twice. Served the salad with homemade gnocchi, yum!
It tasted pretty good but it needed a little honey and more olive oil
So first off, as is, this is a terrible dressing. Basically tastes like liquified Miracle Whip and a little seasoning. Don’t get me wrong, I like Miracle Whip, but this just wasn’t good. In order to make it edible I added regular mayo, more garlic salt, more olive oil and honey. It’s still not 5 stars, but at least we can eat it on our salad without thinking its a bologna sandwich from third grade.
Pretty close to the original. I used regular mayo with a pinch of sugar in place of the Miracle Whip.
Simple, easy and delicious.