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Mom’s Salad Dressing ~ This salad 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! Also, be sure to try my Soy Vinaigrette Dressing.
We appreciate your support
Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.
Make ahead
This dressing keeps well in the refrigerator, so you can make it ahead for a party. Or, (affiliate link) 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.
Serve this beautiful spinach salad with a Toaster Oven Grilled Cheese, Pizza Biscuits, or with my Meatball Casserole for a classic comfort food meal!
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!
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. Savory. It’s well balanced. I swear, 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. Try swapping 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
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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Carrie
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
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
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
just made this. i’m a southern girl, and you just made your momma proud with this post! it’s yummy!
carol posey
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
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.
Sue
Absolutely delicious. Will make often. Thank you for sharing ❤️
Cindy
Made this today. Did my own adjustments, less sugar, more vinegar. Really good. Now I’ve at my salad and I’ll use the rest on my wings.
Joe
I just made this dressing, yum,yum. I might decrease the amount of sugar next time but I am reserving my opinion until it marinates for awhile
Laura
I am so addicted to this dressing.
I’m making it again tonight but adding fresh grated ginger to it too
I even dip cold chicken skewers that were leftover in it… It is that good❤
Leslie
Thank Goodness I found this recipe again !!!! Now I can finish making lunch Best Salad Dressing Ever – and great on Salmon as a marinade in oven or on grill !!!!!!!
Cara James
This dressing is absolutely AMAZING. It’s become a staple in my home!!!
Tammy
My mom would fixed a salad dressing similar to this and i have tried unsuccessfully to find a recipe. I always thought it was made with tomato soup, but i am definitely trying this. It was so delicious and pretty unique
Manda
Did not add as much sugar as recipe called for, cut by over half and still delicious.
Kelley
This dressing is out of this world, it will make you crave a salad. I can imagine children would love it. I did cut the sugar by a little more than 1/2.
Leva
My grandmother made this when she was young, taught to my mom then me. Same ingredients just different amounts. She called it homemade Catalina.
Aimee C
I absolutely LOVE this salad dressing, I can’t eat salad without it. I can’t even eat salads in restaurants because I have to have it, lol. Going to remember to bring some with me next time I go out to din. I only put half the sugar in and it’s perfect for me. I eat a salad everyday(or I try too)and this only takes a drizzle to make it delicious. Thank you
Ortiz
I was a little hesitant on trying this because I’m a picky eater and just seeing the ingredients it seemed a little weird to me but omg it’s BOMB. Like, I love sweet/salty…sweet/tangy…sweet/spicy… really just sweet and anything lol and this was definitely a good sweet/tangy taste. Maybe I’ll make it & put crushed red pepper to give spiciness if I have chicken with my salad next time.
Sue
Extremely good. Next time a bit less sugar. But will make it regularly. Thank you
Sue
I also added a few shakes Worcestershire sauce and 1/4 tsp of horseradish and it adds a little zing. It reminds me of the salad dressing at Susie Q restaurant in Royal Oak, Mi.