Ken’s Steakhouse Lite Northern Italian with Basil and Romano

Normally I am not an Italian dressing lover – even a full-calorie version, however this one is a pretty good one. The smell is not extremely strong but the flavor is full-bodied and smells like basil and oil. It is somewhat thin like all Italian dressings are but this one is full of suspended particles included light-colored ones (probably the Romano cheese, dark ones (probably the basil), and some larger chunks (which appear to be red peppers). There are enough of these to make me feel like the dressing really includes them although I cannot pick out the distinctive tastes.



Once again, this product calls itself “Lite” by comparing it to its regular dressing. It claims it has “60% Less Fat 60% Fewer Calories” and advertises that it has “still only 1g carbs per serving”. I don’t know why it used the word “still” unless it has recently changed the ingredients. It also compares itself to its regular version stating this has 5g of Fats vs. 15g and calories of 50 vs. 130 so I guess this proves it is a light version.

It contains a list of ingredients that is much more extensive that the ones I have reviewed so far. The list is water, distilled vinegar, vegetable oil (soybean and/or canola), Romano cheese (cultured milk, salt, enzymes), salt, and that it contains 2% or less of high fructose corn syrup, dried garlic, dried red bell pepper, dried onion, basic, spices, lemon juice concentrate, xanthan gum, annatto and turmeric, beta carotene, potassium sorbate and calcium disodium EDTA as preservatives. It is the first one I have reviewed that indicates it has any real nutrimental value when it states that it has 2% of daily value of vitamin A, 4% of vitamin C, and 2% of calcium. Stay away from this dressing if your diet required you to be careful of the sodium levels because it has 330 mg which is 14 % of the daily value.

The label calls this product a marinade as well as a dressing and I cannot attest to this but I frequently use Italian dressings as part of my home-made marinades. This appears to be thicker than some other Italian dressing and in my book this is a good trait and makes this a good choice for a light Italian dressing.

Taste Rating = 5
Overall Rating = 4
Style Category = Italian
Fat Category = low fat
Calorie Category = medium calorie
Nutritional Category = low
Sodium Category = med high