updated keto italian dressing feature
Dressings & Sauces, Low Carb

Keto Italian Dressing

Ready in just 5 minutes, this Keto Italian Dressing is a crazy flavourful addition to bring any salad. It’s easy to make and uses every day ingredients.

Glass dressing jar with keto Italian dressing. A fresh green salad is in the background with a lemon and some garlic.

Italian has always been my #1 favourite dressing for any type of salad. I love tasting all the different ‘house Italians’ that you find at restaurants and of course, have always enjoyed having my very own bottle at home.

This Keto Italian Dressing is Mama Bear’s very own House Italian, tweaked a little bit to go from a healthy, homemade dressing to one that is keto friendly.

It is made with few ingredients you may even already have at home, and ready in the ‘blitz’ of an eye!

I hope you love this Keto Italian Dressing as much as I do!

Ingredients

I love how simple this dressing is. No need to hit up the grocery store unless I run out of the staples I always keep on hand. This is all you will need to make Keto Italian Dressing:

  • clove of garlic
  • a lemon – to juice
  • dijon mustard
  • powdered erythritol / monk fruit sweetener
  • Italian seasoning
  • sea salt
  • ground black pepper
  • red wine vinegar
  • olive oil
Cutting board with ingredients added to an immersion blender cup, all ready to be pureed.

How to make Keto Italian Dressing

It’s so simple to make!

Start by juicing the lemon, then peel the garlic and either mince it or run it through a garlic press.

Add the lemon juice, garlic, dijon mustard, powdered erythritol / monk fruit sweetener, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and red wine vinegar to the cup of an immersion blender.

Puree the dressing for a few moments with an immersion blender, then, while the immersion blender is running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil.

That’s it!

If you do not have an immersion blender, this dressing can just be whisked together, but it won’t come out quite the same.

Freshly made Keto Italian Dressing, still in the immersion cup, before being transferred to a dressing jar.

Expert Tips

1. Use a lemon juicer to avoid getting lemon juice into any little cuts you may never even knew you had! It also saves you the annoying task of diving into that produced lemon juice and fish out all the seeds that slipped past – they are slippery little stinkers! I like this one from amazon because it is easy to clean and the juice pours into a little measuring cup!
2. I find an immersion blender invaluable when it comes to mixing vinaigrette dressings like this. You are to whip the oil into the vinegar quickly as you pour the oil in, which saves a lot of time and effort. If you just dump the oil in and slowly whisk, the oil will not be able to mix entirely into the vinegar; the oil will adhere to itself instead.

Recipe ideas

Salads

There are a lot of delicious salads you can make with this Keto Italian Dressing. Here are a couple ideas:

Green Salad with Chicken – One of my favourites, this green salad features whatever fresh veggies I have on hand. My favourites to use are red pepper, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, carrots (if macros allow), radishes, cucumber, celery, and avocado. I like to add Lemon Herb Chicken Thighs, feta cheese and roasted almonds.

A green salad with chicken, peas, red pepper, broccoli, feta and almonds, next to a jar of Keto Italian Dressing.

Italian Chopped – This gorgeous salad has chopped romaine, red onion, artichokes, olives, cherry tomatoes, red pepper, feta cheese and prosciutto salad. It is, hands down, my husband’s favourite salad. Get the recipe!

Marinade

This Keto Italian Dressing is also excellent as a marinade!

Try it as a marinade for chicken or prawns. Add them to a large ziploc and marinate for 1 – 24 hours, then remove the meat from the marinade and toss onto the barbecue.

So easy and delicious!

Frequently asked questions

I’ve put together some frequently asked questions and if I have missed anything, feel free to drop your question in the comment section below the recipe card. I’ll answer it as quickly as I can!

How long will this dressing last?

This Keto Italian Dressing will last about two weeks if kept in an air tight container in the fridge. You can use a jar with a tight fitting lid or an old dressing container that has been cleaned.

What dressings can you eat on keto?

Store bought salad dressing can be loaded with preservatives, sugar and other ingredients that are not keto friendly. For this reason, I like to make my own.

Besides this Italian Dressing, here are some other delicious salad dressing recipes that are keto approved:

What is the healthiest dressing?

Carbs and calories aside, this Keto Italian Dressing would be the healthiest of the three because of the individual ingredients. Lemon, garlic, vinegar and olive oil are all very good for you!

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keto italian dressing feature

Keto Italian Dressing

This fast and easy Keto Italian Dressing is packed with flavour, perfect for any salad and excellent for marinating chicken or prawns!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Course dressing
Cuisine Canadian, Low Carb
Servings 1 cup
Calories 160.5 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp powdered erythritol / monk fruit sweetener
  • 2 tsp Italian seasoning
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • cup olive oil

Instructions
 

Equipment Needed

Directions

  • Juice the lemon and add to the cup of an immersion blender.
  • Peel the garlic, press it with a garlic press or mince, then add to the cup.
  • Add the dijon, sweetener, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and vinegar, then puree with the immersion blender until smooth.
  • With the immersion blender running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until fully combined.
  • Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Notes

If you do not have an immersion blender, a bowl and whisk can be used instead.
 
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition facts are an estimate only! The ingredients you choose could have different nutritional values than the ingredients I have used.  
 * Net carb count excludes both fibre and sugar alcohols, because these do not affect blood sugar in most people.
Deduct fibre ( 0.2 g ) and sugar alcohols ( 0.5 g ) from the total carbs to get 0.5 g net carbs per serving of 2 TBSP.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tbspCalories: 160.5kcalCarbohydrates: 1.2gProtein: 0.1gFat: 17.9gSodium: 69mgFiber: 0.2g
Keyword keto italian dressing, low carb italian dressing
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

28 thoughts on “Keto Italian Dressing

  1. Gloria says:

    5 stars
    Homemade dressings are the best. Made with simple ingredients, and in a few minutes. You can always have fresh dressing made just the way YOU like it.

  2. 5 stars
    Such a nice dressing, this Italian dressing! Love the ingredients, at least you know what you’re putting in! A simple, fresh and delicious addition to any salad!

    1. Aleta says:

      Thank you so much!

  3. 5 stars
    Tis the season of homemade dressings! I love it and I love that this one is keto friendly! It’s a great thing to easily whip up for guests that are keto. Thanks for sharing!

    1. Aleta says:

      Thanks Lori, my pleasure!

  4. Michelle says:

    5 stars
    Italian dressings are my favorites too! I love the addition of a little Dijon in this recipe. It adds flavor and a little kick.

    1. Aleta says:

      Totally agree, dijon is key! Thanks Michelle 🙂

  5. 5 stars
    I’m a big fan of homemade dressing and this keto italian dressing will be a perfect addition to my collection.

    1. Aleta says:

      So good, right Kelly?

  6. Tammy says:

    5 stars
    I love that this is lowcarb and keto friendly. Definitely to give it a try! 😀

    1. Aleta says:

      Thanks Tammy I hope you love it!

  7. Marisa F. Stewart says:

    5 stars
    Yes, indeed! Homemade dressings are the very best – at least you can read the ingredients without being a scientist. We love our Italian dressing it just makes all the veggie flavors shine through. And your tip about the immersion blender is great. Thank you.

    1. Aleta says:

      So true Marisa! Thanks so much 🙂

  8. Amanda Mason says:

    5 stars
    I love homemade dressing recipes like no other and this one looks absolutely amazing!! Loving that you added dijon mustard!!! That’s my favorite ingredient!!

    1. Aleta says:

      Thanks Amanda, it’s definitely one of the best ingredients!

  9. Michele says:

    5 stars
    Homemade dressings are the best! Italian dressing is my husband’s favorite. I can’t wait to make this for him. He’s going to love it!

    1. Aleta says:

      Thanks Michele, I hope he loves it!

  10. Anne Murphy says:

    5 stars
    I’ve always loved an oil and vinegar Italian dressing… Never added lemon, though – sometimes subbed it in for the vinegar but never used both. Intriguing.

    1. Aleta says:

      I hope you love it Anne 🙂

  11. Julie says:

    I agree that homemade salad dressings are always the best. I’ve started making my Italian dressing with no sugar or sweetener at all – I don’t even miss it anymore! I don’t understand why there is so much sugar in bottled dressings!

    1. Aleta says:

      I agree Julie, it’s crazy how much is added!

  12. Pam M. says:

    Love this recipe! It has astounded me how much sugar and how many carbohydrates are in store-bought, “healthy,” “organic” salad dressings! 7g carbs in a 2 tbl serving of a vinaigrette? Outrageous! I had an idea in my head of how to make my own. Thankfully, your recipe helped me nail it down. The Dijon is definitely necessary to act as an emulsifier for the oil and vinegar plus adds a great flavor compliment. Thank you once again for your help!

  13. Bev says:

    2 stars
    I liked the method of assembly and how the dressing looked and the texture but I didn’t like the taste—not caring for the Dijon mustard in it.

  14. Dawn says:

    5 stars
    So I made this dressing and absolutely love it! I put everything in my magic bullet, allulose sugar substitute first to make powder, then garlic to mince it up. After those two were powdered and minced, I added everything else. One little trick I like to use when making Italian dressing is to substitute olive juice for the salt and/or water. So I added a 1/4 cup of olive juice and the flavor was amazing. Thanks for a great dressing!

    1. Aleta says:

      Hey Dawn, I’m so glad you loved it! What a great idea with the olive juice – that would add a whole other level of flavour, I’ll have to try that myself!

  15. Linda says:

    5 stars
    Perfect dressing for our antipasto salad. Even my picky husband like it!

    1. Aleta says:

      So glad you both liked it!

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