Here’s another one from the new restaurant recipe cookbook. I was a little leery of this one, since we HATE Carrabba’s. But I don’t think I had evil thoughts about their salad, so I decided to give this one a try. As you can see by the recipe, it’s really easy to make and doesn’t include alot of ingredients. In the notes for it, they say that if you don’t have buttermilk that regular milk is fine. I used Silk plain soymilk instead and it tasted great. This is a really good creamy dressing. It’s one of those dressings where you want to eat it with a spoon. 2 Thumbs up. We had a salad with this dressing, along with a Spicy black bean burger, cole slaw, and potato pancakes.
**Edited 7/8/13: I gave Carrabba’s another chance and now we actually really like them! I especially like their fried zucchini appetizer and their pizza!
rating: 9
Carrabba’s House Salad Dressing (Creamy Parmesan)
(“Top Secret Recipes- Super Secret Restaurant Collection” by Todd Wilbur)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup buttermilk (I used Silk Soymilk)
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp minced fresh parsley (I used a little dried parsley)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Directions:
Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. Makes 1 cup.
The Peppertree 
Glad you gave Carrabba’s another try…. I have to say…. I love the Carrabba’s in Westminster, Co. The food is always fresh and the bread and Herb dip is always a treat.
I am a regular at Carraba’s. I have never ordered anything I was less than delighted. I could eat their salad with their houuse dressing every meal.
This dressing is spot on. Very easy too. Thank you!
What brand of mayonnaise did you all use?
I used to use Duke’s mayo, but have since switched to Vegenaise.
Try Hellmann’s if you live East of the Mississippi River. Best mayo on the planet. Think it is call Best Foods West of the Mississippi?
Funny post, that you gave them another chance!! Thanks for the laugh!!
So, maybe I’m picky or i did something wrong but this tasted nothing like the dressing from carrabbas. Perhaps i need to let it sit? Does it need heated? Heating it seems to bring it to the correct color, but i had already tried to fix it by adding more ingredients. Therefore it just got worse.
Needs at least 2 cups parm, more garlic & Lemon juice
Carraba’s House Dressing actually includes anchovy paste…I substitute with calamata olive paste for taste and texture.
I add to the recipe about 1 1/2 t of anchovy paste and a little tarragon and a splash of
white wine. These recipe’s from the best restaurants always leave out one or two
main ingredients on purpose, as they don’t want to reveal their own. So, I tried
different things to try to match them until I got close. My dressing is GREAT!
Nancy
I just went to Carrabba’s this past weekend and had their Creamy Parm dressing. I loved it and asked for the recipe. Though the cook couldn’t give me amounts, she said there was oil, mayo, splash vinegar, anchovies, fresh garlic and tarragon in it. This sounds nothing like what you’ve listed. I’m going to try to replicate as it was the most delicious dressing I’ve had in a long time.
Oh, and parm cheese.
This is delish, thanks for sharing! It is very close to Carrabba’s house dressing which we love. I add a bit of horseradish for a bit of kick and use 1% milk instead of buttermilk and it is 5 stars!! I’ve found that shaved parm instead of the fine shredded makes all the difference.
I would love Carrabba’s Italian dressing recipe.
You need to up the parm cheese to 2 cups! Just bland and runny otherwise.
Carrabba’s dressing definitely has a hint of tarragon, which this recipe does not include.
Add a nice splash of Tarragon Vinegar and it becomes spot on.
I cant wait to try this!! I have tried the original recipe before and it was good, but not as good as Carabbas. I am going to try with all of your suggestions
Have you mastered the recipe???
Glad I saved this recipe, as it looks like Carabba’s is about to close up most of it’s locations. Their chicken marsala is out of this world!!