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Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Homemade "Olive Garden" Salad


I grew up going to Olive Garden and that restaurant still holds a dear place in my heart.  I will always love their fettuccine alfredo, breadsticks, and most of all, their salad!  It is one of my favorite restaurant salads of all time and I was so excited to find a way to make a very similar version at home.  The real secret to this salad is the dressing.  The veggies in the salad themselves aren't very unique (which makes it easy to make!), but the flavor it great!  I only make this salad with farm fresh romaine lettuce.  I feel that makes a huge difference in all my salads.  My husband doesn't really like the olives or peppers in the restaurant version, so we leave them out.  But feel free to add whatever veggies you want!  


Dressing Ingredients
 - makes enough for 2 salads-

1/2 C mayonnaise
1/3 C white vinegar
1 tsp canola oil
1-2 Tbsp agave nectar
2-3 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2-3 Tbsp freshly grated Romano cheese
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Salad Ingredients
- for 1 salad that serves 4 as a side-

1 very large head of romaine (usually 2 when store bought)
2 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced into wedges
your favorite croutons


Shared on Orgjunkie!

4 comments:

  1. If I don't have the agvar nectar, could I just use sugar? Looks good and I love their salad dressing as well!

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    Replies
    1. I would probably use corn syrup instead. I don't know if the sugar would dissolve enough. I hope you try it! :)

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    2. You can use honey or maple syrup but it will affect the taste of the dressing. You can also try a simple syrup as a substitute. From personal experience using it, I think your best bet is to grab a bottle! It's inexpensive and a lot of groceries carry it. It's sweeter than regular sugars, but without as many calories. In other words...it's amazing. =]

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  2. Fantastic! I love the salad at the Olive Garden! Unfortunately (or maybe not for my waist!!) there isn't one near us. I'm going to have to try this out!!

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