Green Salad with Copy Cat Olive Garden Dressing

Name: Green Salad with Copy Cat Olive Garden Dressing
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 head romaine lettuce (cleaned and torn into bite size pieces); 1/2 small red onion (sliced thinly); 15 grape tomatoes (halved); 1 medium carrot (grated); 1/2 cup radicchio (or purple cabbage, chopped); 15 black olives; 5-6 mild pepperoncini (halved if large); croutons; 1/2 cup olive oil; 1/4 cup white vinegar; 2 Tbsps mayonnaise; 2/12 Tbsps grated Parmesan cheese; 1/2 tsp lemon juice (preferably fresh); 1 tsp sugar; 1 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp garlic salt; 1 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper

Published: Mar 16, 2017 · Modified: Jun 19, 2020 by Carolyn Hetke · This post may contain affiliate links,

I stumbled on this Olive Garden copy cat salad by accident -but what a happy accident! It is easy to make and full of flavor.

We don't have an Olive Garden in our city so I have been only once or twice. I am definitely not very familiar with their menu items. I may have to track down more copy cat recipes to try since this one was so good!

I served it as part of my Casual Italian Buffet and it was delicious! As an added bonus- the dressing will keep vampires away because it is quite garlicky! If you are sensitive to garlic you may want to cut it back.

This is my version of the salad. I am not a fan of radicchio so I omitted that. I didn't have pepperoncini on hand, although I am a fan of that, so I had to leave that out! It was still delicious.

If you want to make this ahead you can combine all the salad ingredients except the croutons in a large zip lock bag. Put a square of paper towel in the bottom of the bag and on the top. Mix the dressing and refrigerate until ready to serve. Pull them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before serving. Remove paper towels and transfer salad to a bowl. Add the croutons and the dressing and toss just before serving.

Green Salad with Copy Cat Olive Garden Dressing

You can enjoy this familiar Italian salad at home. The tangy Parmesan dressing is a standout!

Author: Carolyn Hetke

If you tried this, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know it went in the 📝 comments below!

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 20 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

▢ 1 head romaine lettuce cleaned and torn into bite size pieces
▢ ½ small red onion sliced thinly
▢ 15 grape tomatoes halved
▢ 1 medium carrot grated
▢ ½ cup radicchio or purple cabbage, chopped
▢ 15 black olives
▢ 5-6 mild pepperoncini halved if large
▢ croutons

Dressing

▢ ½ cup olive oil
▢ ¼ cup white vinegar
▢ 2 Tbsps mayonnaise
▢ 2/12 Tbsps grated Parmesan cheese
▢ ½ tsp lemon juice preferably fresh
▢ 1 teaspoon sugar
▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
▢ 1 tsp garlic salt
▢ 1 teaspoon salt
▢ ½ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Toss all the salad ingredients. Add croutons last, just before serving.
For dressing, combine all ingredients in jar with a lid and shake until well combined.

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Mention @thewineloverski or tag #thewineloverski!

Reader Interactions

5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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Hi! I am Carolyn - the Wine Lover in the Wine Lover's Kitchen! I absolutely love having friends and family around my table with great food and wine to enjoy. If you want great recipes and wine recommendations, you have come to the right place!

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