French Dressing Recipe

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Skip store-bought salad dressing and blend up your own tangy homemade French Dressing recipe in just 2 minutes. This easy salad dressing is made with all pantry staple ingredients.

A bowl of homemade French dressing.


 

Thick and tangy with a sweetness and some spice, this is the French salad dressing of my dreams. It’s what I remember from the Greek restaurants growing up, and it’s exactly what I want on my Dorito Taco Salad today.

The best part is, it comes together in 2 minutes pantry table ingredients you likely already have stocked in your kitchen.

Recipe ingredients

French dressing ingredients.

At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.

Ingredient notes

  • Granulated sugar: The 1 cup sugar in the dressing may sound like a lot, but it tastes just like the ones at Wisconsin supper clubs of my youth (they’d bring a small salad dressing caddy to your table with 4 different kinds of dressing: RanchItalianThousand Island, and French). If you don’t love sweet dressings, start with 2 tablespoons of sugar, taste, and increase if desired. Or, substitute a bottle of store-bought French dressing.
  • Light olive oil: Light olive oil is milder than extra virgin which allows the other flavor-boosters to shine.
  • Paprika: Use regular paprika (often simply labeled “Paprika” on the package) rather than hot or smoked paprika.

Instructions

  • In a food processor or blender, add sugar, ketchup, olive oil, white vinegar, celery seed, chili powder, dried mustard, onion powder, paprika, and salt to taste (I like 2 teaspoons). Process until smooth and store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Making French dressing in a food processor.

Recipe tips and variations

  • Yield: This French Dressing recipe makes 2 cups of dressing or 16 (2-tablespoon) servings. If you are making this for a Dorito Taco Salad, you’ll probably only need half the recipe.
  • Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. And I know what you’re thinking: “Everything in this ingredients list is shelf-stable! Why isn’t this dressing shelf-stable, or why can’t it last for a month?” Ingredients interact when they are combined, and without stabilizers and preservatives, it’s just as perishable as any other “leftover.”
  • Make ahead: Feel free to make this homemade up to 3 days in advance. If the dressing begins to separate during this time, give it a shake before drizzling over your salad.
  • Bonus salad pairings: In addition to taco salads, this homemade French Dressing tastes incredible tossed with or drizzled over my Easy Garden Salad, Wedge Salad, or Cobb Salad.
2 plates of Dorito taco salad next to a bowl of French dressing.

Delicious salad ideas

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A bowl of homemade French dressing.

French Dressing Recipe

Skip store-bought salad dressing and blend up your own tangy homemade French Dressing recipe in just 2 minutes. This easy salad dressing is made with all pantry staple ingredients.
Prep Time 1 minute
Cook Time 1 minute
Total Time 2 minutes
Servings 16 servings (2 tbsp each)
Course Pantry
Cuisine American
Calories 121
4.98 from 243 votes

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • In a food processor or blender, add sugar, ketchup, olive oil, white vinegar, celery seed, chili powder, dried mustard, onion powder, paprika, and salt to taste (I like 2 teaspoons). Process until smooth and store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Recipe Video

Notes

  1. Granulated sugar: The 1 cup sugar in the dressing may sound like a lot, but it tastes just like the ones at Wisconsin supper clubs of my youth (they’d bring a small salad dressing caddy to your table with 4 different kinds of dressing: RanchItalianThousand Island, and French). If you don’t love sweet dressings, start with 2 tablespoons of sugar, taste, and increase if desired. Or, substitute a bottle of store-bought French dressing.
  2. Light olive oil: Light olive oil is milder than extra virgin which allows the other flavor-boosters to shine.
  3. Paprika: Use regular paprika (often simply labeled “Paprika” on the package) rather than hot or smoked paprika.
  4. Yield: This French Dressing recipe makes 2 cups of dressing or 16 (2-tablespoon) servings. If you are making this for a Dorito Taco Salad, you’ll probably only need half the recipe.
  5. Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. And I know what you’re thinking: “Everything in this ingredients list is shelf-stable! Why isn’t this dressing shelf-stable, or why can’t it last for a month?” Ingredients interact when they are combined, and without stabilizers and preservatives, it’s just as perishable as any other “leftover.”
  6. Make ahead: Feel free to make this homemade up to 3 days in advance. If the dressing begins to separate during this time, give it a shake before drizzling over your salad.
  7. Bonus salad pairings: In addition to taco salads, this homemade French Dressing tastes incredible tossed with or drizzled over my Easy Garden Salad, Wedge Salad, or Cobb Salad.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tbspCalories: 121kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 1gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gSodium: 92mgPotassium: 35mgFiber: 1gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 78IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 4mgIron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag @culinaryhill on Instagram so we can admire your masterpiece! #culinaryhill
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.

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Comments

  1. Great recipe! I ran out of dressing and made this for my husband, we will not be buying French in the store anymore. It is perfect

  2. THANK YOU!!! Since they have taken French dressing off of the market I have missed salad. Herny’s was my favorite. This is perfect!!!! The first batch was Celery seed heavy, but I did add a heaping amount. Still delicious. When made with more accurate measurements it is perfect!5 stars

    1. You’re so welcome, Cathie! I’m so happy you love it! (Fellow fan of celery seed, I get it! 😉) – Meggan

  3. I searched for a good French Dressing recipe and threw out many batches. This one is perfect! I do cut the sugar way down – 1/3 cup, and I don’t add salt (there’s plenty in ketchup), but it’s awesome. Thank you.5 stars

  4. This recipe is to die for!! I used to buy an HEB spicy french dressing but they discontinued it. I am so glad I came across your recipe. I added cayenne pepper to make it spicy. It tastes just like HEB’s recipe. Love it!

  5. I thought Russian dressing was nothing… This was it, from my childhood… I even thought it was ethereal…my friends.. I thought it was frecnh.. be carfull in the prep.. it needs a little more katsup… But thin…

    Dar,

  6. I haven’t tried the French dressing recipe yet…sound delicious!! Wondering though, can it be used as a marinade??

    1. Hi Kelley, thank you so much for your question! Yes, it has acid, some fat, and flavor. It would work well as a marinade. Please write back when you make it! – Meggan

  7. Very good, used brown sugar instead of white but otherwise followed the recipe. Only made half as I don’t need that much. This will definitely keep longer than four days, I make homemade dressing all the time. I read why you have that on there but not sure why you think it needs to be there, seems like overkill to worry about someone suing you because their French dressing recipe didn’t last as long as expected lol. Anyway, as I said I make a lot of homemade dressing and I really like this one, would recommend.5 stars

  8. I love homemade French dressing among others! This one is delicious and I thought I was the only one who loved French dressing on taco salads!!

  9. We really enjoyed the flavor of this dressing. It’s very difficult to find this in the stores without horrible ingredients so this worked great for us.

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