Olive Garden Salad Dressing

It was a happy day last week when I finally found the recipe for the Olive Garden's salad dressing.  I combined a few recipes and tweaked them and have come up with what we consider the closest possible version without going to the actual restaurant. 

To make make my discovery even more heavenly, the next morning I found breadsticks at Sam's that are almost identical to Olive Garden's.  Yeah baby!  Now I realize that Olive Garden is not exactly the most authentic Italian food out there, and I lovingly think of it as "generic Italian".  However, it is some pretty delicious food! 

Coming soon..... the copycat recipe of their Stuffed Mushrooms.  Go ahead and wipe the drool off your face.  I did. 

Copycat Olive Garden Salad Dressing

~ Serves about 6 ~

Ingredients

  1/3 cup white wine vinegar
  1/3 cup water
  1/3 cup vegetable oil
  1/4 cup corn syrup
  2 1/2 tablespoons shredded romano cheese 
  2 tablespoons dry pectin
  2 tablespoons Egg Beaters egg substitute
  1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  1 teaspoon lemon juice
  1 teaspoon minced garlic
  1 teaspoon italian seasoning blend (I use the one from Whole Foods) 
  1 pinch dried oregano
  1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes

Directions


Put all ingredients into a mason jar and shake like crazy for about at least one minute.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour prior to serving.  Shake again right before using, to distribute the cheese again.

Tip for Serving
When you get ready to serve, the best thing to do is pour your dressing in the bottom of your salad bowl, then add in your salad ingredients.  You can then put the whole bowl into the fridge until serving time.  When you're ready to eat, use your salad tongs to turn the salad mix a few times and coat in dressing.  Voila!  Restaurant Salad on the cheap!

Enjoy!