Olive Garden Salad and Dressing Copycat

My favorite part of Olive Garden is the salad. I think I could eat an entire bowl of it by myself. That is why I made a double batch of this recipe because I knew my entire family would love it and since we have not had a salad in a while I knew it would not last long.

The best part of making this salad at home it you can adjust the amount of ingredients to suit your taste. Like the whole banana peppers, like my husband and I do, no problem just add more. Not a fan of red onions, add less or leave them off. So easy to tailor to you own likes and dislikes.

To be honest the best part of this salad is the dressing. This dressing is similar to the one Olive Garden uses. The dressing will taste better after being refrigerated overnight, but you can use it immediately after making.

Olive Garden Salad and Dressing Copycat

Ingredients:

Salad

• 1 bag Italian salad blend
• 5 slices red onion
• 6 black olives
• 2 banana peppers
• 1/2 cup croutons
• 1 small tomato quartered
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Dressing

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise with olive oil
• 1/3 cup white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

1. Place a salad bowl in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. You could also put the individual salad bowls in the freezer like Olive Garden does.
2. Open salad bag and dumped into the salad bowl.
3. Add onions, olives, banana peppers, croutons and tomatoes to the lettuce.
4. Top with Parmesan cheese if desired.
5. Place all the dressing ingredients into a blender and blend until well combined.
6. Refrigerate overnight for best flavor.
7. Drizzle over salad.

Enjoy!!!

Serves: 4
Calories: 253
Total Fat: 14.7g
   Saturated: 3.9g
   Polyunsaturated: 4.7g
   Monounsaturated: 3.7g
   Trans: 0g
Cholesterol: 22.9mg
Sodium: 584.7mg
Potassium: 162.8mg
Total Carbs: 24.4g
   Dietary Fiber: 3.5g
   Sugars: 13.5g
Protein: 7.6g
Vitamin A: 58.8%
Vitamin C: %53.1
Calcium: 14.3%
Iron: 7.5%
*The nutritional information will vary slightly depending on the brands you use.
*Adapted from Copycat Restaurant Recipes.