Description
Crisp lettuce, tangy dressing, and a medley of delicious toppings make it the perfect appetizer or side dish. The good news is that you can recreate this iconic salad right in your own kitchen!
Ingredients
Scale
Olive Garden Salad Dressing:
- ½ c. mayonnaise
- 1/3 c. white vinegar
- 1 tsp vegetables or canola oil
- 2 Tb. honey
- 4 Tb. Parmesan or Ramano cheese (or a blend of both)
- 1 tsp or a clove minced garlic (or 1/4 tsp garlic powder)
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp parsley flakes
- 1 Tb. lemon juice
Salad:
- 1 large head romaine lettuce
- Several cups of spinach leaves (optional but I like the addition)
- sliced red onion
- black olives
- 2–4 banana peppers (optional–not pictured)
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced
- grape tomatoes (or small tomatoes cut in wedges)
- ½ c. croutons
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Homemade Croutons:
- 2 cups cubed bread (I like to use sourdough )
- 1 Tb. butter
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- dried parsley flakes
Instructions
For the salad:
- If you have the time chill your salad bowl 30 minutes before you want to serve the salad. It is a nice touch! Put lettuce and spinach in your chilled bowl. Then add the red onions, black olives, banana peppers (if using), carrots, grape tomatoes, and croutons. Add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and then pour on some of Olive Garden Salad Dressing.
For the salad dressing:
- Mix all dressing ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little too strong for your own personal tastes, add a little extra honey or sugar.
For the homemade croutons:
- Cut bread into cubes (you can remove crust first if you want). Melt butter in small fry pan on medium heat. When butter is melted, stir in the garlic salt. Toss bread cubes in the butter and spread out in the pan. Stir occasionally and allow to crisp and brown. Turn the heat down if needed. After a few minutes they should be ready. Sprinkle with parsley. Allow to cool and then add to your salad.
- Category: salad
- Cuisine: Italian