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Homemade Thousand Island Dressing is creamy, tangy, slightly sweet, and ready in just 5 minutes. This lighter twist combines Greek yogurt with mayonnaise, ketchup, sweet pickle relish, apple cider vinegar, and a splash of hot sauce for an easy salad dressing, sandwich spread, or dipping sauce.
Table of Contents
- Kellie’s Note Better Than The Bottle
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Thousand Island Dressing Ingredients
- How to Make Thousand Island Dressing
- Kellie’s Tips for the Best Thousand Island Dressing
- Thousand Island Dressing Variations
- What is Thousand Island Dressing?
- Thousand Island Dressing vs. Russian Dressing
- How to Use Thousand Island Dressing
- Storage and Make-Ahead Instructions
- More Easy Salad Dressing Recipes
- Homemade Thousand Island Dressing Recipe
Kellie’s Note
Better Than The Bottle
I first fell for Thousand Island Dressing while working at Pizza Hut as a teenager. Whenever things slowed down, I would load up a plate with vegetables from the salad bar and use the dressing as a dipping sauce.
It is that creamy, tangy, slightly sweet flavor that makes Thousand Island so nostalgic. This homemade version keeps everything I love about the classic while using Greek yogurt to give it a lighter twist.
This homemade Thousand Island Dressing is thick enough to use as a burger or sandwich spread but still creamy enough to drizzle over salad. Sweet pickle relish adds texture and sweetness, while apple cider vinegar and hot sauce balance the creamy base with a little tang.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ready in 5 minutes: Add everything to a bowl and whisk.
- Creamy but lighter: Greek yogurt lightens the traditional mayonnaise base without sacrificing its thick texture.
- Made with simple ingredients: You probably already have the ketchup, relish, vinegar, and seasonings on hand.
- Easy to customize: Adjust the sweetness, tanginess, heat, and consistency to suit your taste.
- More than salad dressing: Use it on burgers and Reuben sandwiches or serve it as a dip for fries and vegetables.
Thousand Island Dressing Ingredients
- Greek yogurt: Keeps the dressing thick and creamy while lightening the traditional mayonnaise base. Full-fat Greek yogurt or sour cream can be substituted.
- Mayonnaise: Adds richness and gives the dressing its familiar classic flavor.
- Ketchup: Adds tomato flavor, sweetness, acidity, and the signature pink color.
- Apple cider vinegar: Brightens the creamy base and balances the sweetness. White vinegar or fresh lemon juice can also be used.
- Sweet pickle relish: Adds sweetness, tang, and texture. Dill relish or finely chopped pickles can be used for a less-sweet version. I love using my Homemade Pickle Relish.
- Hot sauce: Adds depth without making the dressing noticeably spicy. Leave it out if you are sensitive to heat.
- Salt and pepper: Season to taste. Onion powder, garlic powder, or smoked paprika can also be added.
The full measurements are in the recipe card below.
How to Make Thousand Island Dressing
- Combine: Add the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, ketchup, vinegar, relish, hot sauce, salt, and pepper to a medium bowl.
- Whisk: Whisk until smooth, evenly pink, and no streaks of yogurt or mayonnaise remain.
- Adjust: Taste and add more salt, pepper, vinegar, relish, or hot sauce as needed.
- Serve or chill: Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the flavors blend.
Kellie’s Tips for the Best Thousand Island Dressing
- For thinner dressing: Stir in pickle juice one teaspoon at a time until it reaches your preferred consistency.
- For thicker dressing: Add another spoonful of Greek yogurt or refrigerate the dressing for 30 minutes.
- For more tang: Add a small splash of apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice.
- For more sweetness: Add a little more ketchup or sweet pickle relish.
- For less sweetness: Use dill relish instead of sweet pickle relish.
- For no heat: Leave out the hot sauce. The dressing will still have plenty of flavor.
- For the best flavor: Make it at least 30 minutes ahead and stir well before serving.
Thousand Island Dressing Variations
- Classic and richer: Replace the Greek yogurt with additional mayonnaise.
- With sour cream: Substitute sour cream for the Greek yogurt in an equal amount.
- Less sweet: Use dill relish instead of sweet pickle relish.
- With onion: Add 1 tablespoon finely minced sweet onion or ¼ teaspoon onion powder.
- With garlic: Add a small pinch of garlic powder or finely minced fresh garlic.
- Old-fashioned style: Stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped hard-boiled egg.
- Smoky: Add a pinch of smoked paprika.
- Spicier: Add extra hot sauce, prepared horseradish, or a pinch of cayenne pepper.
What is Thousand Island Dressing?
Thousand Island Dressing is a salad dressing popular in the United States made with a mayonnaise base. It originated in the Thousand Islands region on the upper St. Lawrence River between Ontario and New York State. It’s commonly used to top salads, dip French fries and as a sandwich spread because of its thick, creamy consistency.
And when I was working on the recipe, I did a little research, did you know that the original recipe has hard boiled egg in it? And not a chopped egg, one that’s been pressed through a sieve?
That just seemed like a lot of work, and mess, so I skipped it but feel free to add that to your recipe and let me know what you think.
Thousand Island Dressing vs. Russian Dressing
Russian dressing and Thousand Island Dressing are both creamy, tomato-based condiments, but they are not exactly the same.
Russian dressing is generally smoother, more savory, and spicier. Thousand Island Dressing is typically sweeter and chunkier because of the pickle relish. Recipes vary, so the ingredients and level of heat will depend on the version you make.
How to Use Thousand Island Dressing
There are plenty of ways to use Thousand Island Dressing beyond a basic green salad.
- Drizzle it over a classic house salad or Wedge Salad.
- Spread it on Reuben sandwiches, turkey burgers, a Patty Melt, or a French Dip Sandwich.
- Serve it as a dip for French fries, potato wedges, chicken tenders, or raw vegetables.
- Pair it with shrimp, crab cakes, fried fish, or other seafood.
- Spoon it into wraps or grain bowls for extra creaminess.
- Use it as a quick burger sauce or sandwich spread.
Storage and Make-Ahead Instructions
- Storage: Transfer the dressing to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Stir well before serving.
- Make ahead: The dressing can be prepared 1 to 2 days in advance. Its flavor becomes even better as the ingredients have time to blend.
- Freezing: Freezing is not recommended because the mayonnaise and Greek yogurt can separate and become grainy after thawing.
- Reheating: No reheating is needed. Thousand Island Dressing should be served cold or lightly chilled.
More Easy Salad Dressing Recipes
- Easy Greek Vinaigrette
- Easy Red Wine Vinaigrette
- Avocado Ranch is like the BEST thing ever.
- Quick and Easy Blue Cheese Dressing
- And don’t save this Champagne Mimosa Dressing for special occasions.
- Our FAVORITE Miso Ginger Dressing
- The Best Catalina Dressing
Get more easy healthy recipe ideas by following us on Instagram and Facebook!
Homemade Thousand Island Dressing Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Medium mixing bowl
- 1 whisk
- measuring spoons
- measuring cup
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 4 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce, optional
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, sweet pickle relish, hot sauce, salt, and pepper to a medium mixing bowl.
- Whisk until smooth, evenly pink, and no streaks of yogurt or mayonnaise remain.
- Taste and adjust the salt, pepper, vinegar, relish, or hot sauce as needed.
- Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
- Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Stir well before serving.
Video
Notes
- Full-fat Greek yogurt or sour cream can be substituted for the low-fat Greek yogurt. Regular plain yogurt can be used, but the dressing will be thinner.
- White vinegar or fresh lemon juice can replace the apple cider vinegar.
- Dill relish or finely chopped pickles can replace the sweet pickle relish.
- The hot sauce is optional and can be omitted.
- For a thinner consistency, add pickle juice one teaspoon at a time.
- For the best flavor, refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Stir well before serving.
- Freezing is not recommended.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve made this before with your recipe and it’s delicious. I don’t have yogurt on hand today. Will sour cream be okay?
Yes, that will work!
When did Thousand Island become spicy? Doesn’t the hot sauce give it a kick? I ask this because I truely can not tolerate any spiciness. Sometimes it’s hard to find healthy recipes that don’t include hot sauce or peppers ect,,,
You can leave the hot sauce out of the recipe. It’s not spicy at all but gives it a peppery flavor so if you’re sensitive to that then you can leave it out, it will still be delicious!
Can you tell me how much is a serving size?
It’s about two tablespoons.
Servings 0? And is it 92 calories per T? Or what?
92 calories per two tablespoons.
Easy to make and so much better than bottled. My go to for seafood and simple wedge salads.
Love this! Thank you!
I chopped up some pickles and used some of the brine instead of using relish, it worked out really well! So happy I’ve finally started making my own dressing because I’m constantly going through bottles with how many salads we make, and our little ones will only touch green leafy dishes if it’s smothered in thousand island dressing! Thanks for sharing!
I only eat leafy greens if smothered in thousand island, too! I’m so glad you shared your tip with the pickles, I’m going to definitely try that!