Thousand Island Dressing Recipe

Name: Thousand Island Dressing
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 cup mayonnaise; 1/4 cup yellow onion, minced; 2 tablespoons ketchup; 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish; 1 teaspoon lemon juice; 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika; 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

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If the craving for a Reuben sandwich strikes or you need a "secret sauce" for your next burger, you probably have all of the necessary ingredients around to make this quick, creamy and delicious dressing.

Homemade Thousand Island dressing takes just minutes to whip together, and like most food, the flavor of homemade outperforms even the best bottle of store-bought.

Finding the Perfect Recipe

Traditional versions of this dressing are often made using a hardboiled egg, but I decided to leave it out for two reasons. First, of the four versions I created, my taste testers liked the one with egg the least.

Second, hardboiled eggs have a strong odor, even when mixed with other ingredients, and they overwhelmed the dressing.

A wedge of iceberg lettuce on a plate with Thousand Island dressing on it — Elise Bauer

I found a few versions online that use plain yogurt instead of mayo. I tried that, too, but when it comes to Thousand Island, I think it’s best to use mayo. This is traditionally a fairly sweet dressing intended to temper the bitterness of certain salad greens. With that in mind, the sharpness from plain yogurt interferes too much with the sweetness of the dressing.

Fun Fact

Thousand Island dressing is named after New York state's Thousand Islands region, where it originated.

Ways Use Thousand Island Dressing

Thousand Island is most famous for inspiring the secret sauce on McDonald’s Big Macs and the appearing as a creamy spread on tangy, cheesy, meaty Reuben sandwiches. But it’s also a fantastic dipping sauce for vegetables—or, as one taste tester suggested, crispy French fries.

Surprise your guests with some zippy homemade Thousand Island dressing on the relish tray!

A bowl of Thousand Island Dressing with a spoon in it; a dressed wedge salad is in the background — Elise Bauer

Swaps and Subs

No sweet pickle relish? Chop up enough dill pickles to get 2 tablespoons and add 1/2 teaspoon sugar.
From John R: Add jalapeno relish instead of the pickle relish or picante sauce instead of the ketchup for a kicky version.
From puzzled1: Use sweet onions like Vidalias for a mellower sauce.
From Brenda: Use sweet chili sauce for some of the ketchup.
From Oliver: Add a dash of garlic powder.

Other Ways to Dress Things Up

Thousand Island Dressing

Prep Time 10 mins

Total Time 10 mins

Servings 8 servings

Yield 1 cup

This dressing is ready to eat as soon as you mix it, but the flavors meld together and the onions soften creating a more complex flavor after 24 hours in the fridge. For a sweeter dressing, add a little more pickle relish.

1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup yellow onion, minced
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer
Transfer to a jar with a lid and store in the refrigerator until needed:

For best flavor, wait 24 hours for the flavors to meld. The dressing will keep for about a week.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
200	Calories
21g	Fat
3g	Carbs
0g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories	200
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 21g	26%
Saturated Fat 3g	16%
Cholesterol 12mg	4%
Sodium 281mg	12%
Total Carbohydrate 3g	1%
Dietary Fiber 0g	1%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 1mg	3%
Calcium 5mg	0%
Iron 0mg	1%
Potassium 33mg	1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.