Catalina Dressing

Name: Catalina Dressing
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup ketchup; 1/3 cup white sugar; 1/2 cup red wine vinegar; 1 teaspoon onion powder; 1 teaspoon paprika; 1/2 teaspoon celery seed; 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce; 1 cup vegetable oil; 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

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Amy

Published Feb 22, 2021Modified Sep 16, 2022

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Sweet, tangy, and salty is everything you could ever want in this easy homemade Catalina Dressing recipe! Prep takes just 5 minutes from start to finish. Serve this easy dressing recipe over salads and as a dip. The flavor is incredible, and will keep you wanting more!

Making salad dressings at home is so fun, and a great way of know what is in your food! You'll want to smother our Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing over EVERYTHING (especially tacos!) and try our Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing for a classic you'll come back to again and again!

Have you tried Catalina Dressing before? It's sweet, salty, tangy, and SO addictive! When I set out to make my own version, I found a few very interesting things. 1. I already had all of the ingredients (how often does that happen?!), 2. It tastes so much better than store-bought, and 3. It was ready in just 5 minutes. Five minutes for an incredible easy and flavorful salad dressing is a win-win to me!

Even more, this homemade Catalina Dressing can be kept in the fridge for 2 weeks or more! It's perfect for lunches. Meal prep some chicken and salad at the weekend and have lunch ready in 5 minutes throughout the week with this dressing on the side. So easy!

This Catalina Dressing can also be used as a dip recipe. It goes incredibly well with meats like grilled shrimp, chicken tenders, and beef bites, and on the other hand, baked or fried appetizers are just perfect to dip in this sauce. Homemade Egg Rolls and Homemade French Fries are definitely calling my name when I use this as a dip.

Catalina Dressing in a jar on a table with salad in the background

What is Catalina Dressing made of?

Ketchup: Ketchup is such a versatile pantry staple to have on hand! It adds sweetness and saltiness as well as a tomato flavor. It also provides a beautiful, classic red color!
Sugar: Catalina Dressing is a sweet dressing so white sugar is added to achieve the best level of pure sweetness.
Vinegar: Red wine vinegar provides the dressing with a lip-smacking tart kick, as well as helping to thin the dressing out a little.
Seasoning: Onion powder, paprika, celery seeds, and garlic powder create an amazing vegetable flavor, and the paprika also enhances the red color. Salt and pepper are added to taste.
Worcestershire sauce: Worcestershire sauce is one of the best sauces out there, flavor-wise! It's loaded with different spices and seasonings and provides even more savory-sweet tartness to this Cataline Dressing.
Oil: Oil is added to dressings whilst blending to thicken them up, i.e. emulsify them. That's exactly what I use vegetable oil for in this Catalina Dressing recipe! You can use other oils like olive oil or avocado oil as well, however, they may result in a different flavor.

How to Make Catalina Dressing

Process it all together. Firstly, add all of the Catalina Dressing ingredients except oil to a blender and process to combine.
Add the oil. Secondly, slowly add the oil to emulsify.
Serve or store. Finally, serve this Catalina Dressing over salads, taco salads, and chicken. I even use it to make this yummy Russian Chicken. You can store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Catalina Dressing over a fresh salad, overhead shot

What can I serve this with?

Here are a few options this Catalina Dressing recipe will pair well with:

Tex-Mex Doritos Taco Salad
Persimmon, Pomegranate, and Spinach Salad
Grilled Cajun Chicken Salad (replace the cajun dressing)
On Juicy Grilled Turkey Burgers

As a dip for:

Is there a difference between French and Catalina Dressing?

Yes! Although quite similar, French dressing is creamier and lighter in color - more of an orange than a red color. It also has different ingredients like mustard in it. Catalina dressing, on the other hand, does not.

Where does Catalina Dressing Come from?

Most will say that Kraft Foods initially invented Catalina Salad Dressing, however, some say that it originated in Catalonia region in north east Spain, where they're known for for their sweet and savory foods.

2 plates of salad and a jar of the sauce in the background

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Did you make this recipe?

Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.