Last Updated on March 5, 2026 by Deliciously Organic Editor
Back in the 90’s, I loved going to Olive Garden to eat a house salad and breadsticks. I’ve missed that salad over the years, so I created a copycat Olive Garden salad recipe using real food ingredients for us all!
The salad dressing is a combo of olive oil, white wine vinegar, mayo, lemon, parmesan, garlic and a bit of raw honey for a touch of sweetness. And, the beauty of the dressing is that you put it all in the blender and blend until smooth. So easy!
FYI – Becky Winkler does all of my food photography on the site (she does such an amazing job!) and when I sent her this recipe it autocorrected “peppercini” for “pepperoni” and I didn’t realize! So, there’s pepperoni in the salad pictures, but you can switch it out for the peppercini as listed in the recipe. 🙂
PrintCopycat Olive Garden Salad Recipe (Gluten-Free)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Salad, Side Dish
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten-Free
Ingredients
For the Dressing:
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise (I used Sir Kensingtons)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 ounce parmesan cheese (omit for dairy-free)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
- 1 teaspoon raw honey
For the Salad:
- 1 head Butter leaf lettuce, washed and torn into bite-size pieces
- 1/4 red onion, sliced thin and soaked in ice water for 10 minutes, then drained
- 1/4 cup chopped peppercini
- 15 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1/4 cup black olives, cut in half
Instructions
- Place all of the dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Place all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss with salad dressing. Serve immediately.
Photo Credit: Becky Winkler
The recipe does sound close but I have been a server for Olive Garden for several years and have made thousands of those saads over the years it may taste almost as good as ours but the image pictured here is not even close to what we offer I have had many customers and I also have purchased the dressing we use to make them from the restaurant and EVERYONE says it’s just not the same I have never been a fan of italian dressing until I started using it working there now it has been my favorite for.several years
I cannot wait to try this, but in the comments you mentioned the dressing contains red wine vinegar, but the actual recipe lists white wine vinegar. Which one should I use, please and thank-you!
Just an FYI, there is a problem/error with your affiliate link on the celtic sea salt! Just wanted you to be aware so that you are able to be compensated for your efforts!
I fixed it. Thanks for letting me know!
It doesn’t look like the question ever got answered re if you used red wine vinegar, as you say in the post, vs white wine vinegar, which is listed in the ingredients ? This is my question as well, as the 2 vinegars do taste different.
That was a typo, but I fixed it. It’s supposed to be white wine vinegar.