Classic Thousand Island Dressing (2024)

A Southern Soul › Recipes › Salads

by Donya Mullins March 15, 2019 5 Comments This post may contain affiliate links.

Jump to Recipe

Ready in less than 10 minutes, this Classic Thousand Island Dressing is the best way to show off any fresh greens! With a hint of sweetness and tanginess, this creamy dressing recipe is easy to whip up with just 6 ingredients.

More than just a salad dressing it’s also wonderful on crockpot Mississippi chicken sliders, or as a dip for fresh veggies or air fryer green beans or oven-roasted Brussels sprouts.

This dressing has been a staple in my kitchen for years. I use it to dress my greens, but it has so many other uses. It’s a must on my Slow Cooker Corned Beef Reuben Sliders and when grilling season starts, it’s the perfect topping for a juicy burger.

What Is Thousand Island Dressing?

Its original nameThousand Island Dressing, has graced many a restaurant’s menubut you might also know it as “special sauce” or “secret sauce.” As far as the history of the recipe, it appears it was introduced in the early 1900’s and is named after New York state’s Thousand Islands region. It’s usually a combination of ketchup, mayo, relish, and some vinegar.

Ingredients For Thousand Island Dressing

Mayonnaise – This should be good-quality, creamy mayo, not dressing. Some recipes use Greek yogurt, but I find that to be too tangy for this sauce.
Ketchup – Any ketchup will do, but I wouldn’t use a no-added-sugar one. This dressing needs the sweetness from the ketchup to balance the lemon juice.
Sweet Pickle Relish – Another slightly sweet item, the pickles add a little texture. You can also chop up enough dill pickle to replace the relish and mix it with ½ teaspoon of sugar if you don’t have relish.
Lemon Juice – All Thousand Island dressing recipes use some type of acid, some vinegar, and some citrus. I prefer using lemon juice because it brings brightness to the sauce. White vinegar will work, too.
Grated Onion – This is another textural part, like relish. Other recipes use hard-boiled chopped eggs, but I feel grated onion provides a better texture but adds the essential sweet and tangy flavor of onion. I use white onion but feel free to use yellow.
Salt and Pepper – Always taste and adjust to your preferences.

Variations And Additions

Use jalapeno relish or add my candied jalapenos instead of the pickle relish.
You can use sweet chili sauce or Picante sauce instead of the ketchup.

How To Make This Homemade Thousand Island Dressing

Add all the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to combine well. Transfer to a mason jar and store for up to a week.

Donya’s Success Tips

To save dishes, you can mix up this dressing right in a mason jar. This is great for storing and traveling with the dressing.

Questions And Answers

What’s the difference between Russian dressing and Thousand Island dressing?

The most significant difference is that Russian dressing contains horseradish. Otherwise, these sauces are pretty similar.

How long does this dressing last?

You can store this in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

What To Put This Dressing On

I am not kidding when I say this dressing goes well with so many dishes. Some of my favorites are Salad For A Crowd, Roast Beef and Cheese Sandwiches, or Air Fryer Chicken. It’s also delicious as a dipping sauce for French fries, Baked Salami Chips, and Loaded Tater Tot Bites.

More Homemade Salad Dressings

Creamy Vinaigrette Dressing
See Also
Corned Beef Pancakes cheddar-scallion biscuits How to make Chef Ryan Scott's amaretto bird cookies with orange glaze 23 Vegan Tempeh Recipes
Homemade Blueberry Vinaigrette
Homemade Greek Salad Dressing
How To Make Red Wine Vinegar

If you tried thisThousand Island Dressing Recipeor any other recipe, please leave a 🌟star ratingand let me know how it went in thecommentsbelow. Thanks!

4.72 from 7 votes