Make this homemade Thousand Island Dressing that is 1000x times better than store-bought. Made with simple keto, paleo and Whole30 ingredients, this tangy sauce is a useful condiment to have on hand -great on reubens, salads, burgers and as a zesty fry sauce.
Photo Credit: Miss Allie's Kitchen
I'll be honest. Growing up, I was no stranger to indulging in a Big Mac, but as time time went on I became more conscious of what is actually IN food. Needlesstosay, what is IN a Big Mac isn't exactly "clean."
Truthfully, I could go the rest of my lifetime without most of a Big Mac (the bread, lettuce, cheese and "beef"), but that Big Mac sauce is something special. Sweet and tangy with pickle and shallot bits aka the perfect condiment.
Lucky for me, the secret is out and Big Mac sauce is essentially just thousand island dressing. Who knew? Sure, I could cure my mac sauce cravings with a bottle of thousand island, but the store-bought stuff is loaded with sugar, chemicals and preservatives.
This homemade Thousand island dressings is made with ingredients you can feel good about it. Enjoy everything you love about this classic condiment while sticking to your healthy keto, paleo and Whole30 habits.
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💭What is Thousand Island Dressing?
Thousand island dressing is a mayo-based American salad dressing and condiment. A variation of thousand island dressing is usually known as a "secret" or "special sauce" commonly served at fast food spots on top of burgers and as a dipping sauce.
😊 Why Make Thousand Island Dressing From Scratch?
- Making homemade thousand island is cheaper and tastes better than store-bought.
- This dressing is made with basic ingredients -many of which you may already have on hand.
- This variation is made with no added sugars or sweeteners and is compliant with keto, paleo and Whole30 protocols.
- It tastes just like Big Mac sauce (if not better)!
🧾 Ingredients You'll Need
While the ingredients vary from one thousand island dressing recipe to the next, these are the ingredients to make a delicious thousand island dressing without using any added sugar or sweetener.
One Minute Mayo or Primal Kitchen Mayo - provides a smooth, creamy and tangy base to the dressing. For keto and Whole30, be sure to use a compliant mayo.
Tomato Paste - thickens the sauce and gives it that signature orange color.
Worcestershire - adds salty, tangy flavor. For Whole30 purposes, use New Primal Classic Marinade.
Dill Pickles (minced) - add texture and classic thousand island flavor.
Shallot (minced) - adds mild sweet onion flavor and texture.
Dried Parsley - highlights the zesty flavors of the dressing and adds color.
Sea Salt - enhances the tangy, sweet flavors.
Garlic Powder - adds additional delicious flavoring.
Ground Black Pepper - rounds out all of the flavors with a hint of peppery heat.
📖 How To Make Homemade Thousand Island Dressing
1️⃣ Gather ingredients and add them to a medium size bowl.
2️⃣ With a whisk or heavy spoon, mix ingredients together well until dressing is smooth and fully combined.
Photo Credit: Miss Allie's Kitchen
👩🏻🍳 Chef’s Tips
Feel free to use ketchup in place of tomato paste. For a sugar-free ketchup try my homemade ketchup.
Instead of diced pickles, you could use a pre-made sweet or dill relish in its place. Just be sure to check the ingredients.
For the best flavor, make thousand island dressing 12 to 24 hours ahead of time so all of the flavors have time to mingle and the shallots and pickles can soften a bit.
🔁 Storing & Freezing
This homemade thousand island dressing will keep in the fridge for 5 to 7 days stored in an airtight container. It is not recommended to freeze mayo-based dressings.
❔ FAQ
While the ingredients vary for thousand island dressing, you can mostly find a combination of these ingredients: mayonnaise, ketchup, tomato paste, pickles, shallots, onion, garlic, vinegar, worcestershire, cream, mustard and lemon juice.
Thousand Island dressing can be made in many ways, but it can also be made low carb or keto by using tomato paste or sugar free ketchup and making sure that the pickles do not have any sugar. This recipe is low carb and keto.
Each thousand island dressing varies, but this recipe has less than 3 carbohydrates per serving. Make sure you check your labels if you are counting carbs as most store bought dressings contain sugar.
More Sauce & Dip Recipes
Habanero Ranch
Homemade BBQ Sauce
Homemade Ketchup
Primal Kitchen Avocado Mayo
One-Minute Mayo
Thousand Island Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 cup One Minute Mayo or [Primal Kitchen Mayo ]
- 2 tbsp [Tomato Paste]
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire or [The New Primal Classic Marinade] for whole30
- 1 oz [Dill Pickles] minced
- 1 Shallot minced
- 1 tsp Dried Parsley
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- ¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk until fully combined.
- Keep in an air tight container in fridge for up to 10 days.
Started following you from the whole30 takeover,and was just searching for a creamy dressing to top my steak salad for this week's whole30 lunch and this legit came out perfect! No edits, or additions! Thanks so much for making my last week a tiny bit easier!
That means so much to me! Thank you!!
I seriously put this on everything!
I made this for my family during my Whole30 and everyone loves it, especially as a vegetable dip!
Thousand Island is sweet, it is primarily vinegar and sugar together. How does this taste like thousand island with no added tbsp of truvia or splenda , and no vinegar? This would taste like mayo with a hint of tomato and onions, -not- zippy tangy sweet and sour of thousand island. Back to the google search !
This recipe is meant for paleo and whole30 ways of eating which do not contain sweetener. Hope you enjoyed your google search!