Easy Homemade Russian Dressing

Creamy, tangy, sweet and perfectly balanced is what you will get when you make this homemade Russian dressing.  Perfect as a sandwich or salad topper.

If you’ve followed our blog for a while, there is one thing I especially like to make from scratch and that is salad dressings.  Most store bought dressings contain subpar ingredients to withstand long shelf lives, such as canola oil and soybean oil, natural flavorings, etc.

Russian dressing was a standard dressing when I was growing up.  I remember it vividly on store shelves as well as a choice at salad bars like Ruby Tuesday’s.  Not to mention that the famous Reuben Sandwich is nothing but a sandwich without it.

Today it seems harder to find Russian dressing as Thousand Island dressing becomes more mainstream.  My personal opinion is because Thousand Island is sweeter, which is where a lot of taste buds have unfortunately leaned towards.

The two condiments are not the same however.

Russian dressing recipes typically call for mayonnaise, chili sauce (or ketchup), relish (pickles or pickle juice), horseradish and seasonings which makes it considerably spicier and less sweet than Thousand Island dressing.

Thousand Island uses hard boiled eggs, lemon or orange juice, cream and sweet pickle relish or olives.

What I love about Russian dressing the most is the tang.  I would recommend you start with 1/2 a Tablespoon of pickle juice and go from there.  It can be a little much if you don’t want to actually taste pickle.  I personally love it, so it’s a full tablespoon for me.

Although it’s still offered on top of a salad at restaurants, both Russian and Thousand Island dressings are most commonly used as a sandwich spread, most notably on a Reuben.

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