I don’t know why it always seems a salad from a restaurant tastes so much better than anything I can put together at home.  My only guess is the salad dressing.  At home, we’re stuck with whatever we can find in a bottle on the grocery store shelves.  Restaurant recipes will usually be something you’ve heard of, but with an added twist.

The Outback Steakhouse™ Ranch Dressing can be duplicated at home with the help of Hidden Valley Ranch™.  They have a dry salad dressing mix (not the ranch dip) which makes a wonderful starter for our Outback Steakhouse™ Ranch Dressing.

The most important step is letting the dressing “set-up” in the refrigerator.  Do NOT skip this step or cut it short.  In fact, if you can, make this a day ahead of when you’re going to need it and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.  At the very least give it an hour to chill.
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Outback Steakhouse™ Ranch Dressing Recipe

Restaurant recipes are very popular at pot lucks and this one won’t disappoint your friends and family.  It’s an amazing mix of the sweet candied pecans and the smooth creamy taste of the blue cheese.  I’ve modified this from some other recipes you’ll find online to make the dressing a bit sweeter than others.  This is as close as you’ll get to the real recipe from Outback Steakhouse.

If you’re bringing this to a potluck, make sure you chill the salad bowl before adding the salad and toss everything just before you leave.

It may be easier to just buy some ready-made candied pecans instead of making them from scratch.  If you want to duplicate the Outback salad recipe, you’ll need to put in the extra effort.

The blue cheese is very important because it’s such a strong part of the flavor.  If you skimp on this, you’ll be detracting from the entire salad.
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Outback Steakhouse Chopped Blue Cheese Salad Recipe

The regular house salad at The Olive Garden™ isn’t really one of the restaurant recipes you’ll have trouble finding.  It’s a simple matter of looking through the salad and finding out what’s in it.  The real trick is trying to figure out how to make the salad dressing.

A cool crisp salad with a great tangy dressing makes this a great way to start your meal.  Fresh tossed at your table with Parmesan cheese grated right there on your salad.  With everything being prepared at your table, it’s one of the most anticipated salads you’ll eat.

Note: make sure you’re mixing this up in a chilled salad bowl.  This will add greatly to the fresh and crispy texture of the salad.
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Olive Garden™ Salad Recipe