Homemade Thousand Island Dressing Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (2024)

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10 minutes mins

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By: Rachel GurkPosted: 03/11/2020

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Easily made from scratch, homemade Thousand Island dressing is so much tastier and more economical than store bought.

Recipe Overview

Why you’ll love it: The dressing can be used on salads, as a sandwich or burger spread, or as a delicious fry sauce.

How long it takes: 10 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: small bowl or jar
Servings: makes 1 ¾ cup

Homemade Thousand Island Dressing Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (1)

Table of Contents close

  • 1 Recipe Overview
  • 2 Thousand Island Dressing (It’s the Secret Sauce)
  • 3 Why Is It Called Thousand Island Dressing?
  • 4 How To Make Thousand Island Dressing
  • 5 Ways to Make This Dressing your own
  • 6 Storage Tips
  • 7 More Dressing Recipes
  • 8 Get the Recipe: Homemade Thousand Island Dressing

Thousand Island Dressing (It’s the Secret Sauce)

Ever wonder what that “secret sauce” on a Big Mac is? Or maybe you wonder what makes a Reuben sandwich taste so good (besides the corned beef, sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese)? Well, here’s the secret: Thousand Island dressing!

  • It’s so versatile. We love Thousand Island dressing because it has so many uses. It’s just amazing on a sandwich, whether it’s a hamburger or turkey burger, or a classic Reuben or Rachel sandwich. It’s the perfect dressing for these oven baked turkey sliders (aka Rachel sandwiches).
  • Add it to sandwiches and burgers. Please don’t settle for plain ol’ mayonnaise on your sandwich! Make it much more interesting and delicious with creamy, tangy and slightly sweet Thousand Island dressing.
  • Top your salads. Some salads just call for a good creamy dressing, especially salads with romaine or iceberg lettuce. Have you ever tried Thousand Island dressing on taco salad? Yum! Or try mixing Thousand Island dressing with coleslaw mix to make a knock-out coleslaw. Don’t these Reuben eggs Benedict made with Thousand Island dressing sound delicious? Can’t wait to try those!
  • Easy ingredients. You make your own homemade version using ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry or fridge. Nothing compares to homemade dressing! It’s so much fresher tasting and you can customize it to your own preferences.

Why Is It Called Thousand Island Dressing?

Here’s a little bit of history if you’ve ever wondered where the name Thousand Island comes from. The dressing originated in the Thousand Islands region, an archipelago of 1,864 islands located along the upper St. Lawrence River between the United States and Canada. Who created this dressing first is sort of a mystery, as there are many people claiming to have been the first person to make it.

Homemade Thousand Island Dressing Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (2)

How To Make Thousand Island Dressing

It’s pretty simple. You’ll need only nine ingredients, and two of those ingredients are salt and pepper. While there are often only 3 ingredient recipes for this dressing (mayo, ketchup, pickle relish), the extra ingredients add more layers of flavor.

You’ll only need one small bowl. Begin by stirring together mayo, ketchup, sweet pickle relish. Next, stir in a tablespoon of white vinegar and a tablespoon of sugar, amping up the sweet/sour flavor. For the final touch, stir in a little finely chopped onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Make it ahead. For the best flavor, prepare the dressing at least an hour or up to 24 hours in advance so the flavors have a chance to integrate, and the onion and garlic soften up a bit.

Homemade Thousand Island Dressing Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (3)

What’s the Difference Between Thousand Island and Russian dressing?

Although the two dressings are similar, it appears that Russian dressing was created first, sometime in the mid 1800s. Thousand Island dressing is most likely a variant of Russian dressing, appearing in the early 1900s. Both dressings are mayonnaise based and contain ketchup or chili sauce. Russian dressing tends to have hot sauce or horseradish, while Thousand Island dressing more often includes chopped pickles, onions, peppers, and/or hard boiled egg.

Homemade Thousand Island Dressing Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (4)

Ways to Make This Dressing your own

There are many ways you can customize Thousand Island dressing. Here’s a few ideas but feel free to experiment. Make your own “secret” sauce!

  • Add an egg. Many Thousand Island dressing recipes call for a finely chopped hard boiled egg. Keep in mind, this will reduce the length of time you can store the dressing in the fridge. I’d toss it after a week.
  • Don’t care for garlic or onion? Leave it out. You could substitute finely chopped peppers or olives.
  • Try a different kind of vinegar. Cider vinegar, rice vinegar, or white wine vinegar would all be fine although each would lend a slightly different flavor to your dressing.
  • Pickle relish options: I confess that I don’t always have sweet pickle relish in my pantry so I often use dill relish for this dressing and it tastes great! Alternatively, make it without relish. Or just chop up a few pickles and add those.
  • Add spicy heat. If you want to spice it up, add a little hot sauce, chili sauce, or horseradish, to taste.
  • Make it keto. Use avocado oil mayonnaise and a no-sugar-added ketchup. Skip the sugar, and use dill pickles instead of sweet.

Storage Tips

Refrigerate leftover Thousand Island dressing in a glass jar or airtight plastic container. It should keep for at least a week.

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Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Homemade Thousand Island Dressing Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (9)

Recipe

Get the Recipe: Homemade Thousand Island Dressing

4.58 from 57 votes

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 10 minutes mins

14 servings

Print Rate Recipe

Easily made from scratch, homemade Thousand Island dressing is so much tastier and more economical than store bought. Use it for salads, sandwiches, or as a delicious fry sauce.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup sweet pickle relish (dill relish or chopped pickles can be substituted)
  • ¼ cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons finely diced onion
  • ½ teaspoon finely minced garlic (about 1 clove)
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Mix all ingredients together in a bowl or jar. Refrigerate for at least one hour to let flavors meld.

Notes

  • Makes 1 ¾ cups.
  • Refrigerate dressing in an airtight container or jar for up to 1 week.
  • Variations: add hot sauce, chili sauce, or horseradish. Add 1 chopped hard boiled egg, if desired (use dressing promptly).

Nutrition Information

Serving: 2tablespoons, Calories: 123kcal, Carbohydrates: 4g, Protein: 0.2g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.03g, Cholesterol: 7mg, Sodium: 218mg, Potassium: 19mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 86IU, Vitamin C: 0.4mg, Calcium: 3mg, Iron: 0.1mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Author: Rachel Gurk

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Reader Interactions

Leave a Review

  1. Bev says

    Homemade Thousand Island Dressing Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (17)
    Yummy!!!!!
    Much better than store bought!

    Reply

    • Rachel Gurk says

      So glad you like it! Thank you for leaving a review!

      Reply

Older Comments

Homemade Thousand Island Dressing Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (2024)

FAQs

Homemade Thousand Island Dressing Recipe - Rachel Cooks®? ›

Thousand Island Ingredients: It's mixture of mayonnaise, sour cream, ketchup, sweet pickle relish, red onion vinegar, sugar, garlic, and salt and pepper. All ingredients are combined by hand to make a perfect, thick, and creamy dressing, dip, or sauce.

What is Thousand Island made of? ›

Thousand Island Ingredients: It's mixture of mayonnaise, sour cream, ketchup, sweet pickle relish, red onion vinegar, sugar, garlic, and salt and pepper. All ingredients are combined by hand to make a perfect, thick, and creamy dressing, dip, or sauce.

What is the difference between French and Thousand Island dressing? ›

French dressing tends to be a tangy vinaigrette with a liquid or semi-liquid consistency, while Thousand Island dressing is a creamy and tangy dressing with a thicker texture, often containing mayonnaise and sweet pickle relish.

What does thousand dressing taste like? ›

This tangy, slightly sweet salad dressing is traditionally made with mayonnaise, ketchup, pickle relish, and vinegar or lemon juice. But as everyone's particular preferences for Thousand Island dressing develops, some use additions like minced onion, paprika, celery, even hard-boiled eggs.

Is Big Mac sauce just Thousand Island? ›

The answer is no… but they are similar. Both of the condiments have a creamy consistency and include pickle relish. But, McDonald's Big Mac Sauce includes vinegar and has a bit more pickle relish in it than Thousand Island dressing.

How was the Thousand Islands made? ›

One day, while Boldt was out adventuring nearby on his yacht (steam-powered, natch) and ready for lunch, his onboard chef and trusted steward suddenly discovered he had neglected to bring along the dressing for their salads — so he whipped up a little sauce with a few ingredients he had handy: mayo and ketchup, along ...

Which is better Russian or Thousand Island dressing? ›

And while the horseradish arguably makes Russian dressing a little more flavorful, Thousand Island tends to be the secret sauce of choice for burgers, perhaps because the horseradish would just get buried beneath the other elements anyway. Russian and Thousand Island have lots of other cousins, too.

What is the healthiest salad dressing? ›

8 Simple and Healthy Salad Dressings
  1. Sesame ginger. This simple salad dressing doubles as an easy marinade for meat, poultry, or roasted veggies. ...
  2. Balsamic vinaigrette. ...
  3. Avocado lime. ...
  4. Lemon vinaigrette. ...
  5. Honey mustard. ...
  6. Greek yogurt ranch. ...
  7. Apple cider vinaigrette. ...
  8. Ginger turmeric.
Jul 27, 2023

What is Russian dressing vs Thousand Island? ›

While there are a lot of overlapping ingredients, there are also some key differences between these two iconic slathers. To start, both are mostly made from a mix of mayonnaise and ketchup, but generally, Russian dressing is a little spicy while Thousand Island tends to be on the sweeter side.

Who made the original Thousand Island dressing? ›

Miss Irwin, a renowned cook and cookbook authoress in her own right, was particularly impressed with the dressing and asked George for the recipe. The dressing was actually created and made by George's wife Sophia, who was flattered by the request and willingly gave the recipe to Miss Irwin.

What are the ingredients in Ken's Thousand Island dressing? ›

Soybean Oil, Sweet Pickle Relish (Cucumber, Sugar, Distilled Vinegar, Salt, Xanthan Gum, Natural Flavor, Spices [including Mustard Seed, Celery Seed], Minced Onion, Red Bell Pepper, Turmeric), Water, Distilled Vinegar, Sugar, Tomato Paste, Egg Yolk, Contains Less Than 2% Of Salt, Xanthan Gum, Mustard Flour, Onion,* ...

What is another name for Thousand Island dressing? ›

What is another word for Thousand Island dressing?
dressingsecret sauce
special sauceThousand Island sauce
Russian dressing

What is the most unhealthy salad dressing? ›

Depending on the ingredients, some dressings tend to be less healthy than others.
  1. Caesar. And at the top of that list? Caesar dressing. ...
  2. Thousand Island. Next in line is Thousand Island. ...
  3. Blue cheese. The delicious crumbles that make blue cheese dressing a fan favorite can also make it dangerous for a balanced diet.
Oct 27, 2023

What is the most requested salad dressing? ›

Ranch Dressing

The ranch is hands down America's most beloved salad dressings. It is made from a number of ingredients such as buttermilk, mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, onion, chives, salt, and pepper.

What is the most popular salad dressing in the world? ›

Most Famous Dressings in the World
  1. Ranch Dressing. The ranch is a salad dressing or dip made with buttermilk, salt, garlic, onions, herbs (dill, parsley, chives, etc.), and spices (mustard seeds, black pepper, paprika, etc.) ...
  2. Fry Sauce. ...
  3. Chermoula. ...
  4. Blue Cheese Dressing. ...
  5. Thousand Island Dressing. ...
  6. Italian Dressing.

Is Thousand Island same as mayonnaise? ›

The base for all Thousand Island dressings is mayonnaise. That's going to be the conduit for all the other ingredients.

What is special about Thousand Islands? ›

Lighthouses, historic castles, maritime museums, world-class fishing and diving, quaint downtown shopping, on-the-water dining, family amusem*nts and more make the 1000 Islands a destination that visitors come to again and again. Anywhere you go, the 1000 Islands is truly a fun and friendly destination.

Are there bears in the Thousand Islands? ›

Black bears and coyotes may be present in the park. They are most commonly observed on mainland properties, but have been found on the islands periodically.

How many islands is 1000 Islands actually made up of? ›

Something of a misnomer, the Thousand Islands are actually made up of an incredible 1,864 islands, constituting one of the American continent's largest archipelagos.

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