Best Thousand Island Dressing
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Made with mayonnaise, boiled eggs, chili sauce, pickle relish, onion, and pimento, this is the best Thousand Island dressing recipe. Fresh, creamy, and ridiculously flavorful, one bite and you’ll be spoiled for life. It’s that good.
In a world of ranch dressing, we are Thousand Island people, but not that bottled madness with its sharp taste. We love homemade Thousand Island dressing and I must warn you that tasting this version will officially ruin you for that sharp orange stuff they pass off as Thousand Island on the shelves. This is Thousand Island at its freshest, creamiest, most flavorful best. Trust me, one bite of this will spoil you for life.
We actually had to do some fancy footwork to get this recipe. It’s originally from a steak house in my hometown of Huntsville, Alabama. My mother used to love to go there just to get to taste this and they asked for the recipe numerous times to no avail. When she found out one of her friends was dating a waitress at the steak house, she asked him if he could ask for the recipe and here we are. I guess it was the power of love – for Thousand Island salad dressing.
So, what ingredients can you expect in the best Thousand Island dressing ever? We’ve got creamy mayonnaise, pimentos, sweet pickle relish, minced onion, chopped hard-boiled eggs, and chili sauce. Combine those ingredients together, let them marry together in the fridge, and then enjoy it on everything! It’s a little bit tangy, a little bit spicy, and a whole lot creamy.
We eat this on hamburgers, salads (of course), dip carrot and celery sticks in it, and I have been known to just go to the fridge with a spoon from time to time just to taste it!
Recipe Ingredients
- Mayonnaise of your choice (make sure you use real mayonnaise, not miracle whip)
- Pimentos
- Sweet relish
- Chili sauce
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Onion
How to Make The Best Thousand Island Dressing
Place all ingredients in a large bowl.
Stir until fully blended.
Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight to allow flavors to blend before serving.
Dive in and enjoy every fresh and delicious bite!
Storage
Because of the chopped egg, this Thousand Island dressing only lasts up to 2 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge. However, if you remove the eggs and only stir them in before serving, the eggless dressing will last up to 10 days in the fridge.
Recipe Notes
Here are some variations to make this Thousand Island dressing recipe work for you:
- Instead of chili sauce, you can use hot sauce, like sriracha.
- Substitute the chili sauce for ketchup for less spice.
- Use red onion instead of yellow onion.
- Add a teaspoon of lemon juice, white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar for a little more tang.
- Use a different kind of relish, like dill relish.
Recipe FAQs
What is Thousand Island dressing good on?
- Add it to your favorite green salad.
- Use it in potato salad, egg salad, or tuna salad instead of mayonnaise.
- Spread it on a sandwich, Reuben sandwich, BLT, or hot dog.
- Add it as a “secret sauce” to your next burger.
- Drizzle it on tacos.
What’s the difference between Russian dressing and Thousand Island dressing?
While they’re both creamy mayonnaise-based dressings, the key difference is that Russian dressing is made with horseradish and chili pepper so has a spicy undertone. Meanwhile, Thousand Island salad dressing is made with sweet pickle relish, giving it a sweeter undertone.
Is Big Mac sauce just Thousand Island dressing?
Now, Big Mac sauce is similar to Thousand Island dressing in that it’s also made with mayonnaise and sweet relish. However, the burger sauce has a tangier flavor thanks to the inclusion of French dressing or white vinegar.
Check out these other delectable sauce and dressing recipes:
Comeback Sauce (3 Ingredients Only)
Ingredients
- 4 cups mayonnaise
- 2-4 chopped hard-boiled eggs
- 3/4 cup chili sauce
- 1/2 cup pickle relish
- 1 tsp minced onion
- 2.5 ounces diced pimento
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until fully blended.4 cups mayonnaise, 2-4 chopped hard-boiled eggs, 3/4 cup chili sauce, 1/2 cup pickle relish, 1 tsp minced onion, 2.5 ounces diced pimento
- Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- If you'd like it a little thinner, you can add a bit of milk. Enjoy!
Nutrition
I originally posted this recipe in 2008 but am reposting it with fresh photographs.
This looks so good. Thank you very much for passing this along.
I really don’t see how you can add “chili sauce”, when there are at least 100 different sauces, all with a different taste.
Chili sauce is found beside the ketchup. It is slightly sweet. You can use the chunky homestyle. I use a little ketchup as well. I have added granulated garlic but it is not necessary I use finely chopped green and/or red pepper and green olives with pimento so the extra pimento is not needed. I always use the chopped egg. That is what makes homemade 1000 islands over the jarred stuff.
Yes, you can definitely use ketchup to make your dressing. I have done that for years. Never thought of using the chili sauce (which is not hot!). I will certainly try this recipe.
I also add a dash of mustard, light or dark, your preference.
I would most definitely leave out the boiled eggs, prefer to have them on the side as Deviled Eggs!
Chili Sauce (bottled) is not spicy. I don’t ‘tolerate’ heat either. I even use grape jelly and chili sauce in my crock pot with meatballs during the holidays. Everybody LOVES them!
Try the Chili Sauce on the Thousand Island…..ketchup will make it too sweet, I think personally.
This sounds really good, but can I substitute anything for the chili sauce as I cannot tolerate any heat at all. Maybe ketchup?
I can’t really say how it will taste as I haven’t tried it, but yes, if you need to substitute it I would probably try ketchup first and see how it tastes.
I’ve used chili sauce several times in making Thousand Island Dressing and have never found it to be at all hot.
I live in The Thousand Islands, and our dressing was created at The Thousand Islands Inn, in Clayton, NY, many years ago. George Boldt, the founder of the Waldorf Astoria, built a Rhineland Castle on Heart Island, in honor of his wife. They often dined at this restaurant and fell in love with their Thousand Islands Salad Dressing. He ordered that it be served in all his restaurants, and that’s how the world came to know of our dressing. The restaurant is still in operation. I set up wedding cakes there in the summer. Each new owner has been given the secret recipe which is kept locked in the safe. They produce a limited number of bottles for sale each year. You are close on some of the ingredients, but not all.
I agree. You are right in some of your ingredients, but the best Thousand Island Dressing just isn’t that simple. My family has been creating what we feel is the best dressing since the forties in our small family restaurants. Our recipe was the star of our Crab Louis salads in our small family seafood café on the Northern California Coast. Our recipe too is passed on for many generations, and we feel it’s the best. To each his own taste I say. All of ours are the best. Who’s to compare?
PS, Don’t substitute cheaper brands of mayo, sweet pickles, or sweet relish in your recipe. Add more boiled eggs to suit your taste. Amp it up a bit by adding a few drops of hot sauce or a pinch of sugar and perhaps pinch of garlic powder. You’ll find your own best dressing that suits you with a little ingenuity and imagination. Good Luck!
What is the difference between your recipe and this one. I have tried this one and it is very good
It is so great hearing the story of how it came to be!! Thank you for sharing the history lesson with us Bunny!!
Hi Christy, thank you for the recipe. I’ve been looking for a good one. I have been making my own with mayo, ketchup and pickle relish. Your recipe sounds much better. Question- I don’t like pimentos, will it mess up the outcome if I leave it out? Thank you!
It should be fine without the pimentos.