Mom’s Salad Dressing This dressing is so delicious! It’s my mom’s recipe that she made when I was growing up. I think it’s how she got me to eat salads as a kid
It’s well balanced with sweet and savory. And, it’s perfect on a salad, not only at holiday time, but any night of the week!
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Make ahead
This dressing keeps well in the refrigerator, so you can make it ahead for a party. Or, store any leftovers for a few weeks so you can have salads often.
Oh, and the dressing does tend to separate a bit when left in the fridge. Just give it a good stir or a good shake, and it’ll come back to its glory.
What kind of oil should I use?
Mom’s recipe called for “salad oil”. I believe Salad oil is another term for vegetable oil. And, I was able to find salad oil available for sale.
Rather than having to buy another oil, you can use just about any light tasting oil that you like in Mom’s Salad Dressing.
You can use oils like vegetable, grapeseed, canola, safflower, corn, peanut, or other light flavored oils. You’ll want to stay away from oils that give a lot of flavor to a dish.
I have found that olive oil, even light olive oil, tends to solidify if stored in the fridge. So, if you’re going to store the dressing in the fridge, I’d recommend not using olive oil.
I generally use grapeseed oil in most of my cooking, so that’s what I choose to use.
What kind of vinegar should I use?
I like the simplicity of white vinegar for this dressing. It is, after all a simple dressing.
However, I also think apple cider vinegar is great in the dressing. It, well, dresses it up a bit. You could also use a red or white vine vinegar here.
Spinach salad
She always made a spinach salad for holiday meals. She used a couple of bunches of spinach, fresh bean sprouts, canned water chestnuts, some crumbled bacon, and toasted (in butter) slivered almonds. Oh my gosh, that salad was awesome.
Now if mom makes the spinach salad, she keeps the bacon and the almonds in separate bowls so that people with different dietary needs can add them or leave them off as they see fit.
Ok, now what about those ingredients
This is possibly the elephant in the room.
Yes, I know these ingredients seem very odd. Downright perplexing.
I know. Normally I would shy away from a salad dressing like this. But, I swear to you, this is so delicious!
Please don’t leave me hater comments on how bad this is for you. Or how weird. Or anything like that. I know.
And, I also know that if I saw this recipe I’d move on.
Stay; make this recipe. Eat the recipe. It’s so yummy. It’s sweet. It’s savory. It’s well balanced. It’s delicious!
Changes to the recipe
I’m sure that some experimenting with the recipe could yield some great results. Maybe cut back on the amount of oil. Maybe swap the ketchup for tomato paste. Maybe increase the amount of vinegar and decrease the amount of sugar.
Yes, maybe some experimenting. But, for now, this is Mom’s Salad Dressing Recipe. It’s been a favorite of mine for a long time.
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Mom’s Salad Dressing Recipe
Mom’s Salad Dressing
This dressing is so delicious! It’s my mom’s recipe that she made when I was growing up. I think it’s how she got me to eat salads as a kid.
Ingredients
- 1 cup salad oil
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup vinegar
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons dried minced onion
- large pinch of salt
Instructions
Add all ingredients to a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well to combine. Or place all ingredients into a medium bowl, and whisk well to combine. Them, pour into a dressing bottle or pitcher.
Recipe Notes
Makes about 2 cups of dressing, or 16 servings at 2 tablespoons each Dressing will keep, tightly covered in the fridge, for about a year (depending on how fresh your ingredients are).
LydiaF says
I’d try your Mom’s dressing (well, I’d probably use half the sugar, but…) It’s very similar to some French dressing recipes I’ve come across. It sounds delicious!
Karyl Henry says
Wow, I’ve never heard of ketchup in a salad dressing! Now I need to try it out, just because of that. What a genius idea
Mirlene says
I dont think I should swap out any of the ingredients. That’s what make the dressing so homey. I like it the way it is. I am very much interested in trying this recipe, especially for the holidays. Thanks for sharing.
Veena Azmanov says
That looks delicious. I love the color it gets from the ketchup. Love such simple and easy recipes that you can make ahead of time.
Jyothi (Jo) says
oh goodness, that dressing looks absolutely delicious! Ketchup in salad dressing sounds new to me, i can’t wait to try it
Cheese Curd In Paradise says
This looks like a delicious dressing! I love the sweet and savory aspect this dressing! Delicious!
Marisa Franca says
Such a pretty color to your salad dressing. The ketchup makes the dressing look a bit richer. We eat a salad every single night and we detest store dressing. Your Mom’s Salad Dressing would be one we’d really enjoy.
Catalina says
I am so agree that the dressing is the most important part of the salad! Thank you for your useful tips!
Deborah says
This looks so easy and tasty, too. And if I use natural, unprocessed sugar, it’s vegan. Kudos, can’t wait to try.
Ruchi says
I will try this recipe on my kids, maybe your moms dressing will finally convince them to eat salads!
Ellen says
I always love finding new homemade salad dressings to try. They are so much better than store bought.
Alida | Simply Delicious says
Such a staple in every household.
Toni | Boulder Locavore says
I’d love to give this a try! Looks so delish!
Heather Q says
My mom made one very similar to this!
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1/3 c oil
1/3 c ketchup
Splash of lemon juice
Chopped onion if desired
This was the only salad dressing in our house!
Debi says
Heather, very similar – It’s so good!
Tambi says
Thanks for sharing!! My mom also made this for spinach salad. Only change–she made the dressing in a sauce pan and drizzled the warm dressing over the spinach to wilt it. Yummy!! I will be having a spinach salad soon.
W Reese says
I just mixed this dressing up and it’s delicious!! Not only am I going to use this on my salads, but I’m also going to use it to dip boiled shrimp in. Thank you for sharing your recipe!!
Debi says
W Reese, thanks so much for letting me know! You totally made my weekend! And I love the idea of dipping boiled shrimp in it! Thanks!
Brandi Burgess says
I can not wait to try this dressing! I have all the ingredients on hand!
Brenda says
J made this salad dressing this morning, and let it sit to blend the flavors. It is DELICIOUS! Thanks for posting it. Tell your mom “good job”.
Helen says
The only thing I would change is the sugar. I would use splenda half and half, the one for baking or cooking
Angie says
I’m going to make this with Pyurue…it doesn’t leave that licorice after taste in your mouth !!!
Carrie says
I don’t like ketchup but I like french dressing so I’m going to try this recipe, seems like it would be very tasty. Thnks for sharing.
Catherine L McNeal says
This is absolutely fantastic home made dressing and it will be my “house dressing” from here on out. I used avocado oil and only 1/4 cup sugar and it was perfect. The flavors blended so well together. I used it on a Romain salad with onion, red, orange and yellow peppers with Cranberries and glazed walnuts (store bought) and it was the highlight of our evening meal. Thank you so much for sharing your Mom’s salad dressing.
Debi says
Catherine, I like those changes. I told my mom a couple of days ago that her recipe was doing well on my blog, and she told me she even cut down the sugar from the original recipe she had. Wow! I love your changes. Thanks for the comment!
kruss says
just made this. i’m a southern girl, and you just made your momma proud with this post! it’s yummy!
carol posey says
I just made this and love it. it was very thick but i can live with that but i couldnt get the sugar to disolve, so it tasted a little gritty. is there a trick to that
Debi says
Carol, I’ve never had the problem of it not dissolving. I’d say that you probably just need to shake or stir a bit more. You could also try stirring the sugar into the vinegar until it’s dissolved and then adding the rest of the ingredients. That should work.