Does your local Italian restaurant serve a red house dressing that you love? Is it this delicious Red Italian Salad Dressing that looks like tomato sauce? THIS! This is like the yeti of salad dressing. I have been searching and testing ingredients to make this dressing at home for the longest time, and I’ve found it! So now you can make it at home, too!
updated 2/21/2023
I love this salad dressing so much that I ask for extra to take home because I can’t find it anywhere. It’s the perfect dipping sauce for pizza (especially NY style pizza) and especially for those rolls they serve at the Italian restaurants. It is so good!
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The Search for Red Italian Salad Dressing
I have literally tried to find a recipe like this for as long as I can remember…until now. Years ago my mom tried to make one with zesty Italian dressing mix and tomato sauce, but it wasn’t quite right.
I have scoured Pinterest with all kinds of search terms, and I can’t believe no one has attempted this.
Even a Google Image Search just brings up pictures from pizza and pasta restaurants. I started to wonder if there was a secret network of Italian restaurant, and they were guarding this recipe with their lives.
What’s the Secret Ingredient!?!
Then, I heard mention of using a chili sauce. I searched again and all I could find was Thai chili dressing recipes, and I knew that wasn’t it.
I realized Heinz chili sauce is sort of like their ketchup except it has chili powder and garlic powder in it. I decided to give it a whirl.
Well guess what? That is the secret ingredient – Heinz Chili Sauce! I think I figured it out.
I have a recipe that tastes just like that Red Italian House Dressing at the Italian restaurants. That was exactly the missing kick in that Italian house dressing I’ve been searching for.
Ingredients needed for Red Italian House Dressing
- 1 cup Heinz chili sauce
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Blind Taste Test
You won’t believe this, but after much research and testing, I have literally blind taste tested my family with this recipe right next to the real deal from the Italian restaurant nearby. They could not tell the difference!
Looking for more salad dressing recipes?
- Caesar Vinaigrette Dressing
- Blood Orange Vinaigrette
- Citrus Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Greek Salad Dressing
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Red Italian House Dressing
Do you love the red house dressing at your local Italian restaurant? I have finally discovered the secret ingredient to making Red Italian House Dressing!
Ingredients
- 1 cup Heinz chili sauce
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Combine vinegar and oil. (I used canola oil as I was out of olive oil.)
- Next, add the chili sauce and tomato paste and whisk together.
- Add the Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.
- Whisk until everything is completely combined.
- Add to a mason jar and store in the fridge.
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21 comments
So anxious to try this. We have a local pizzeria that has the best salad dressing. I know that they use chili sauce. I hope this is it!
Perfect!!
Yes! Tried this recipe yesterday for a dinner party and it was exactly what I was looking for. Yumm! And so easy. Thank you!
I’ve never tried to make “My Favorite Dressing” but yearned for this stuff. Especially now that I’m not going out. While masked up yesterday I bought the Chili Sauce, followed your recipe (cut in half) and OMG! with a splash of water to thin it a bit THAT’S IT!
Thank you so so much for working out this recipe. I might survive this quarantine after all.
I’m so glad! It’s one of my favorites.
So excited to try this! I, like you, have been searching for a recipe for this for years. I’m not much of a cook, so this may be a dumb question, but is the parmesan cheese just the Kraft stuff that’s kind of powdery and comes in like a plastic shaker type thing?
Yes it is!
Late here and my husband was pulling out some store bought Italian dressing… I am such a Italian dressing snob. So Google I go to look something up…. and boom I can have that yummy red house Italian dressing that they serve w just lettuce and mozzarella at the restaurants lol. The recipe is spot on for flavor. I don’t normally keep heinous chili sauce in the pantry but we had some from Christmas and the famous grape jelly and chili sauce meatballs. My dressing was a bit thick and after adding a couple splashes of water I just added another quarter cup of oil and vinegar each to it. YUM
Thanks for the recipe!
Can you tell me what you use for the Italian Seasonings? A certain brand or mix of spices ? I never have that mix on hand and but usually all of them individually. But I’m hoping this is a copy of a dressing I found at a restaurant.
Thanks for your help in advance!!
Often you can find a bottle of “italian seasoning” in the spice section. Usually it’s just a generic brand and it has the typical italian spices to go in spaghetti sauce or on pizza. Here is an example of one: https://www.kroger.com/p/kroger-italian-seasoning/0001111000317?fulfillment=PICKUP&storecode=03500493&&cid=shp_adw_shopl_.kroger_g_lia_shop_acq_evgn_ship_pantry&gclid=CjwKCAjwoduRBhA4EiwACL5RP_bEU4HDcwn8mnxM3G-wwesbmUKCYPiNYg7u4EK_h_tE015F9gAkgRoCRkEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Ok, I FINALLY made this. It took a while, because, first my store was out of Chili Sauce, then when I managed to get everything, I forgot to buy the actual vegetables for the salad (like, uh, lettuce!). But we had it last night, and even my husband said it was just like Dinapoli’s. I have been wanting to know how to make this for years! I mean YEARS! I have loved this since I was a little kid. Thank you so much for this recipe!
I made this tonight with a couple of changes. I used Sweet Chili Sauce (what was at hand), which gave it a slight kick. As my husband doesn’t like cheese (I know!!), I left out the Parmesan. It was perfect! For several years I had been searching for a recipe to match that of a little restaurant we used to frequent. This is better! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
My husband is a lover of the mom and pop red Italian dressing. This was our first attempt at it and it came out delish. We actually had some in our fridge (from a mom and pop) to compare. The homemade seemed a tad oilier, so we added more vinegar and and some fresh black pepper. This is a keeper.
Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I think you are right! I am heading to the store RIGHT NOW for ingredients! Ohhhh my mouth is watering! Thanks so much for your research and invention1
How long do you think would last in the refrigerator?
I usually keep it for about 4-5 days since it has tomato sauce in it.
I can’t have red wine vinegar due to allergy. Can I substitute another vinegar?
Definitely. I’ve used white vinegar to make this dressing.
Yup! This is exactly how I remember this dressing. So very tasty! I’ll be sure to keep some on hand going forward. Thank you for sharing!
What type of Parmesian Cheese would I use? I assume powdered but want to make sure – can’t wait to make this, its my favorite!!!
Yes, just use the powdered kind.