My Mom Uses This “Perfect” Store-Bought Italian Dressing Seven Nights a Week (It’s Been Her Favorite for 40 Years!)
There are certain foods that just taste like home. For me, it’s Italian dressing. And I’m not talking about a homemade recipe, although I love that as much as the next person.
My entire life, my mom used the same dressing packet — Good Seasons Italian Dressing & Recipe Mix — to dress our greens (iceberg and romaine when we were kids, before we graduated to spring mix), and a jar of the dressing was always hanging out in the pantry until we went through a batch. (We’re not alone — this writer swears by a similar dressing for pasta salad.) I didn’t even know having a creamy dressing like ranch or blue cheese in the fridge was an option; from my earliest memories, it was Italian dressing or bust.
What’s So Great About Good Seasons Italian Dressing & Recipe Mix?
Turns out, my mom didn’t discover this dressing on her own. Both of my grandmas also swore by this stuff — and started using it way back in the ’70s! “This is a true all-in-the-family tradition,” my mom proudly told me. She’s become more health-conscious in the last 10 years or so and eats salad for dinner every single night (different story).
She still only uses her trusted packet of Italian dressing, despite my insisting that I demonstrate for her how to wing a simple vinaigrette from scratch every time we’re together. No matter how many times I’ve spelled out how to whisk one up, she always peppers me with the same questions: “So how much oil do you pour in? And you add Dijon? How do you know how much is too much?”) She’s not one to riff in the kitchen. She likes what she knows — and she likes that the Good Seasons dressing packet spells out exactly what to do.
The dressing packet is truly foolproof to mix up. You can buy your first one with the glass cruet, which has lines indicating exactly how much oil, vinegar, and water to add. (My mom prefers avocado over a robust olive oil for a more subtle flavor.) One bottle lasts my parents three to four dinners, so she buys a new box (which comes with four dressing packets) every two weeks. (Pro tip: She claims Target sells it cheapest at just $5 a box — trust me; my mom has hunted for the best deal.)
So what makes it so great? “I just love the flavor of it,” she says. “It’s a little sweet because it has sugar — it’s old-school! I’ve never been able to recreate it. It packs in flavor from dried garlic, onion, bell peppers, and carrots and has a little soy sauce for some added depth and savoriness.”
“People always compliment it when they come over,” she says. “It’s a universally pleasing dressing. Everyone just loves it.” This dressing will go down in history in my family. Maybe yours, too.
Buy: Good Seasons Italian Dressing & Recipe Mix, $4.79 for 4 packets at Target
What’s your family’s favorite store-bought salad dressing? Tell us about it in the comments below.