Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: The perfect blend of tangy and sweet, this homemade Catalina dressing is great on tossed green salads, taco salads, and more! It’s easy to make your own.
How long it takes: 10 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: immersion blender (handheld) or small blender
Servings: makes 1 cup
I recently compiled an entire list of homemade salad dressing recipes, and I already have one to add to that list! And this is a good one. It’s a take on the popular Catalina dressing, which is a variety of French dressing.
DIY Catalina Dressing
A versatile salad dressing. Catalina dressing is sweet but tangy, zesty, and so popular. You’ll find that it’s perfect for almost any type of green salad. It’s commonly used as the dressing for taco salads, and also works well for this southwestern BBQ chicken salad.
Better than store-bought. We tested our homemade version side-by-side with a popular brand of Catalina dressing. After a few tweaks, we think that our dressing tastes better than commercial brands. We love that it doesn’t have any artificial ingredients. Our homemade dressing is a little lighter in color but we were shocked to discover red and blue dye on the list of ingredients in our store-bought bottle, along with a few other questionable additives.
Easy to make. Homemade dressings really are super easy to make. Instead of shaking the ingredient up in a jar like I usually do with a vinaigrette, I create an emulsion by using my hand blender (aka immersion blender). You could also use a traditional blender, which would work especially well if you wanted to make a double batch.
Ingredient Notes
- Ketchup: The base of Catalina dressing is ketchup which gives it the signature bright reddish-orange color. I usually look for a brand without high fructose corn syrup.
- Red wine vinegar: This flavorful vinegar gives the dressing a nice tangy flavor. It isn’t as acidic-tasting as regular white vinegar can be. My second choice would probably be apple cider vinegar.
- Sugar: Purchased Catalina dressing is a fairly sweet, in fact, the first ingredient listed is sugar. To imitate the flavor of store-bought, we add a quarter-cup of sugar. It gives the dressing a sweet and tangy profile. The amount of sugar added can certainly be adjusted according to taste.
- Paprika: Ground paprika adds a subtle flavor and enhances the color of the dressing.
- Onion powder: To keep the dressing ultra-smooth and creamy, I use onion powder which is simply dehydrated onions ground into a fine powder.
- Garlic powder: The same deal with garlic powder! You don’t really want little pieces of onion or garlic floating in this dressing.
- Olive oil: You can use any oil that isn’t strongly flavored. I use a light olive oil, but grapeseed, canola, avocado, or vegetable oil would be fine too.
How To Make Catalina Dressing
Add ingredients to blender container. Measure out the ketchup, vinegar, sugar, and seasonings, and add them to the container that comes with your immersion blender. Blend until smooth.
Slowly add oil. Slowly add the oil while you’re blending. This is easier to do if you are using a regular blender. I’ve found that with my immersion blender, it’s okay to add the oil all at once, and blend well. The dressing should be emulsified, that is, the oil should be completely blended into the other ingredients. The dressing should look somewhat creamy and thickened, without any separation of oil and the other ingredients.
Refrigerate. Transfer the dressing into a smaller container with a lid. It can be served immediately, or chilled until you’re ready to use it.
Refrigerate: Homemade Catalina dressing should be refrigerated promptly in an airtight container or small jar with a lid. It will keep for up to two weeks. Shake well before serving.
More Salad Dressings
Catalina Dressing
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (see note)
- ¾ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup olive oil (avocado, grapeseed, or canola oil would work well, too)
Instructions
- Combine ketchup, vinegar, sugar, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder in a blender, or a container that works with a handheld blender.⅓ cup ketchup, ⅓ cup red wine vinegar, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¾ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Blend until combined.¼ cup olive oil
- With the blender on, drizzle in the olive oil until the oil is completely blended into the dressing. If you're using a handheld blender, add the oil all at once and blend until smooth and emulsified.
- Use immediately or store in a covered container in the fridge for up to two weeks. Makes 1 cup.
Notes
- Sweetener: You could substitute the same amount of honey for the granulated sugar, if you prefer. We tested it both ways and the dressing made with honey tasted slightly less sweet and less like store-bought dressing. The amount of sugar or honey can be adjusted to your personal preference.
- Storage: Recipe makes about 1 cup. Refrigerate Catalina dressing in an airtight container or small jar. It will keep for up to 2 weeks. Shake well before serving.
- Recipe retested 6/25, and republished with minor changes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Is that sweet paprika or smoked paprika?
Sweet! Always sweet unless I specify smoked.
I make this dressing every few months, and I made a new batch to top a shrimp salad for dinner. The salad’s a bit of a “whatever’s in the fridge,” but it’s yummy with the dressing
Looks amazing!
I decided to make a “Dorito Taco Salad” for the first time tonight, but the one ingredient I didn’t have was Catalina dressing. A quick search led me here and I’m so glad I found you! The dressing was easy to make, and tasted so much better than the store bought one I’ve tried. It made the salad a big hit. Thanks so much!
I’m so glad this recipe could save the day! I’m suddenly craving a taco salad!
How long will it last in the refrigerator?
Probably a week or so! Ditch it if it smells bad or looks super watery or gross. ;)
LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe! We always buy store bought but was aghast at all the unknown ingredients in there. This is so fresh tasting, tangy and just DELICIOUS! We doubled the recipe, used 3/4ths of the Agave (all we had) and added no salt. The ketchup we used was all organic and also sweetened with Agave. It was PERFECT!!! We feel so much better about eating this dressing now. Thank you so much for the awesome recipe! PS. I have a severe allergy to Fish & Seafood but found a Worcestershire Sauce that doesn’t contain anchovies. YAY!!!!!
So glad you like this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review that includes your helpful tips on how you make it your own!
Can this be made with stevia instead of honey and real garlic instead of powder?
That should work fine!
Just made it per directions using honey, and ketchup with HFCS. Hey, I worked for A.E. Staley for 7 years and not afraid of the stuff. :) It is sweet and tangy, but not too much of either and it looks Great! Gonna use on salad at dinner with baked chicken thighs with a honey-lime glaze and turnip mash.
So glad you like it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
If I use sugar would it be 1/4 cup? Super excited to try this! Looks to be gluten-free, correct?
Yup, that will work great! Should be gluten-free, the only thing I’d double check are the ingredients on your brand of Worcestershire sauce.
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe today. My only suggestion would be to stick to coconut, olive or avocado oil if you want to keep this a healthier recipe. Vegetable oils are very unhealthy. Thanks for the warning about being able to taste the honey. We used to keep bees and I love bees but just can’t make myself like honey. :-)
I hope you love it!
this sounds really good. I’d probably use the sugar. my honey is from my dad’s apiary and has a strong flavor which doesn’t always work in recipes.
Yes, then you’ll probably want to stick with sugar. Lucky you to get that tasty honey, though!