This homemade Catalina dressing recipe is so easy and so tasty that you will want to make it over and over again. Use it to brighten up any fresh garden salad. You could even use it for another simple dish that needs a great tangy sauce, such as taco salad.
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Homemade Catalina Dressing Recipe
Catalina Dressing is a deliciously tangy dressing that is somewhere between a French Dressing and a Russian Dressing. While very similar to Russian Dressing, Catalina is more of a sweet and sour version from the addition of apple cider vinegar and sugar. Catalina dressing is sometimes used for other meals besides a basic salad such as Taco Salad.
I love making homemade dressings because they make my salad taste so fresh, no matter what time of year it is! I think I especially love it in winter because a fresh salad in the middle of winter always reminds me of warmer, sunnier summer days. How about you?
Summer, winter, spring or fall, this Catalina dressing can be made and enjoyed any time of year just by combining a few simple pantry ingredients. And it always tastes like it was just fresh-picked from the garden!
Ketchup. This will provide the tomato base for this dressing. If you don’t have any from the store, you can always use Homemade Ketchup.
Sugar. This dressing is a little sweeter so it needs some added sugar. If you’d prefer not to use white sugar, you can sub out honey instead.
Apple Cider Vinegar. This is a staple in this recipe because it will help to balance out the sweetness and give it that trademark tang. I buy my vinegar by the gallon from Azure Standard. Many recipes call for red wine vinegar but my recipe uses apple cider vinegar instead because that’s what I usually have on hand.
Onion Powder. This is something I always have on hand! I buy it in a one pound bulk quantity like most of my spices.
Paprika. I don’t tend to use as much paprika around our home so I just pick this up in a small container when I need it. Paprika will also help give this recipe just a hint of a bite.
Worcestershire Sauce. If you don’t want to go to the store and buy this ingredient you can useHomemade Worcestershire Sauce.
Salt and Pepper. These are optional but they give a great little boost to the flavor. Use as much or as little as you’d like.
Vegetable Oil. For this recipe, and for most salad dressing recipes, try and use a mild tasting olive oil. I usually have Safflower Oil on hand for recipes just like this. You could also use grapeseed oil or maybe even avocado oil. You can use olive oil, but the flavor will be slightly different.
FAQ About Catalina Dressing
What’s the difference between Catalina dressing and French dressing?
French Dressing has celery seed and Creamy French Dressing has the addition of half and half or cream which give it a different flavor profile. Catalina Dressing uses Worcestershire Sauce to give it a different depth of flavor.
What is a good substitute for Catalina Dressing?
Dorthy Lynch would make a great substitute for Catalina Dressing. The next best substitute would be French Dressing, followed by Russian Dressing.
Why do they call it Catalina Dressing?
Catalina Dressing has many origin stories, just like many recipes. But most believe it originated in the Catalonia region of Spain, giving it its trademark name.
What to Serve With Homemade Catalina Dressing
Chef Salads. A big chef salad is the best with Catalina Dressing! You can make a full meal out of the salad depending on the toppings you select.
Taco Salad. This was one of my favorites when I was growing up! Basically, all you need to do is put all your taco toppings (lettuce, cheese, crushed chips, chicken, etc) in a large bowl, and toss it with Catalina Dressing. So good!
Pasta Salad. This dressing would be great on a cold pasta salad.
As a Burger Sauce. Mix with mayo for a tangy, creamy sauce for burgers!
Use as a Dip. You could use this recipe (or most salad dressing recipes) as a veggie dip as well!
Why Make Homemade Catalina Dressing?
One bottle of store-bought Kraft Foods Catalina Dressing currently costs $2.12 at Walmart. While they do claim that it has no artificial flavors, the ingredients do contain several colors of dye (including red #40), soybean oil, EDTA, and some other items I’m not sure how to pronounce.
Homemade Catalina Dressing costs roughly $1.10 per recipe and contains only ingredients that you can control. Plus it tastes much fresher!
Instructions to Make Homemade Catalina Dressing
This recipe is as simple as they come. Just place all the ingredients together in the blender. Pulse until everything is mixed together. If you don’t have a blender or don’t want to pull out your blender, you can blend the recipe together by using a whisk instead.
Store the dressing in a container or a jar in the fridge and use over salads or any of your favorite meals. This dressing will stay good for at least a week when stored in the refrigerator. You could freeze extras of this recipe if you make too much to use at one time. Just thaw and reblend it when you remove it to use it again. These Reditainers are my favorite for freezer storage.
I like to store my homemade dressings in a pint-sized mason jar. They even make these really cool Mason Jar Pouring Spouts to make the pouring even easier.
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Homemade Catalina Salad Dressing
This Catalina dressing recipe is so easy and so tasty that you'll want to make it over and over again. Use it to brighten up any fresh garden salad, taco salad or pasta salad!
½TablespoonWorcestershire Sauceyou can use Homemade Worcestershire Sauce
½teaspoonSalt
½teaspoonPepperoptional
½cupmild-tasting Oil
Instructions
Place all the ingredients together in the blender. Pulse until everything is mixed together.
Store the dressing in acontainer or a jar in the fridge and use over salads or any of your favorite meals.
Recipe Notes
This dressing will stay good for at least a week when stored in the refrigerator.
Nutrition Facts
Homemade Catalina Salad Dressing
Amount Per Serving
Calories 1270Calories from Fat 1008
% Daily Value*
Fat 112g172%
Saturated Fat 8g50%
Trans Fat 0.4g
Polyunsaturated Fat 32g
Monounsaturated Fat 71g
Sodium 1823mg79%
Potassium 322mg9%
Carbohydrates 70g23%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 64g71%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 831IU17%
Vitamin C 7mg8%
Calcium 30mg3%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
More Homemade Salad Dressings
Homemade Dorthy Lynch Dressing
Homemade French Dressing Recipe
An Easy Dressing Recipe
Russian Salad Dressing Recipe
Homemade Ranch Dressing
Easy Salad Dressing Recipes
Have you ever made your own Catalina dressing before? Is your recipe the same or different?
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Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple life since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to the 100-acre farm on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from theContact Page.
This Catalina Dressing Recipe was originally published on Little House Living in Dec 2014. It has been updated as of June 2023.
Most Catalina dressings are made with a blend of ketchup, vinegar, sugar and oil. This recipe gets its zippy flavor from the addition of Worcestershire sauce, ground mustard and a dash cayenne pepper.
The basic distinction between the two is that Catalina contains more ketchup, less oil, and usually fewer spices than French dressing, making for a deeper red-orange color. Because French dressing has more oil, it tends to taste creamier and look a paler shade of orange.
Russian dressing typically contains mayonnaise and horseradish.Together, these two ingredients give Russian dressing a much more decadent creaminess than Catalina Dressing. In contrast, Catalina Dressing contains vegetable oil and vinegar, which thin the dressing and make it less rich and more pourable.
It's a basic recipe made simply with olive oil, lemon juice (or vinegar), garlic, Dijon, salt and pepper that can be whipped up in just 5 minutes. And I'm telling you — this salad dressing somehow magically works with just about any type of salad you might be craving!
This is equally true for even something as simple as a salad dressing, which a vinaigrette is as simple as it gets. Vinaigrettes are an emulsion of 3 parts vegetable oil (usually olive oil) and 1 part acid (usually vinegar or acidic fruit juice), seasoning, and sometimes other flavourings.
In general, dressings with fewer ingredients tend to be healthier. And it doesn't get any simpler than oil and vinegar. “This is a great option, because it won't have any added sugar or salt,” says Allers.
French dressing tends to contain more oil and spices, while Catalina has a higher proportion of ketchup. As a result, French dressing is usually lighter in color and a bit creamier than Catalina.
The U. S. Food and Drug Administration is revoking the standard of identity for French dressing in response to a citizen petition from the Association for Dressings and Sauces. The petitioners shared information documenting that the standard is outdated.
As you can see, Italian dressing is generally the most calorie-dense, with French and honey mustard close behind. In terms of sugars, honey mustard packs the most, with 6 grams of sugar in a single 2 tablespoon serving! French dressing also loads the sugar into the same size serving.
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.
In the United States, Russian dressing has largely been supplanted by Thousand Island dressing, which is sweeter and less spicy than Russian. Other combinations of mayonnaise and ketchup, but without the spicy ingredients, are known as fry sauce or other names, and typically served with French fries or tostones.
Balsamic vinegar: Makes a bold, slightly sweet dressing that is wonderful on green salads with fruit, such as apples, strawberries or peaches. Red wine vinegar: Packs a punch and works well with other bold flavors and bright veggies, like tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, cabbage and more (think Greek salads).
Despite its name, Italian dressing is not used in Italy, where salad is normally dressed with olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, salt, and sometimes balsamic vinegar at the table, and not with a pre-mixed vinaigrette.
It can be used for pickling, in marinades, and in some sweet-and-sour preparations. Since it's an acid without flavor, when it's used in salad dressings, its taste can be enhanced by adding lime or lemon juice, a pinch of sugar or mustard, or chopped green onion or garlic.
Whether you're choosing a suit or a casual hoodie, applying the Golden Ratio by proportioning your outfit into one-third top and two-thirds bottom, or vice versa, can significantly elevate your look.
Fashion is also a visual medium, and while we don't divide our outfits in 9 equal sections, applying the Rule of Thirds requires diving our outfit in three equal parts to visually create a ratio of 2:1. This ratio is basically the Golden Mean, simplified.
If we prepare the three most popular ingredients used to season a salad we have: oil, vinegar and salt. And interestingly, that is the order most commonly used at the time of preparing this dish. However, this is erroneous. The correct order for dressing a salad is first the salt, then the vinegar and finally the oil.
Vinegar/acid: A little goes a long way when adding vinegar/acid to a dressing for flavour and health benefits. Vinegars add a unique taste while encouraging a healthy bowel, improving digestion, and providing the body with vitamins and nutrients.
French or Catalina dressing contains 1048 calories per 250 g serving. This serving contains 98 g of fat, 2.2 g of protein and 47 g of carbohydrate. The latter is 44 g sugar and 6 g of dietary fiber, the rest is complex carbohydrate.
Kraft. That's right—even Kraft has “accidentally vegan” creamy salad dressings, including Classic or Zesty Catalina and Fat Free Creamy French. The Creamy Italian is also milk- and egg-free, but the variety made with olive oil isn't, so be sure to check the ingredients.
Introduction: My name is Merrill Bechtelar CPA, I am a clean, agreeable, glorious, magnificent, witty, enchanting, comfortable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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