I’m sorry Mom, but I was never crazy about the salad you served when I was growing up. Chopped iceberg lettuce, carrots, celery, radish and cucumber served with a selection of bottled Ranch, Thousand Island or Catalina Dressing. Every once in awhile she’d get exotic and we’d find a bottle of Creamy Cucumber or Green Goddess on the table.
I can’t remember exactly when I first discovered there were actually other types of lettuce than iceberg, but I do know that when I did I went salad crazy. And with the countless recipes of vinaigrette’s that I’ve collected over the years, you will hardly find me on the bottled dressing isle. I do have to admit however, that I still grab a packet of Hidden Valley. Love their Buttermilk Ranch.
When I saw this recipe for Homemade Catalina Dressing, I decided to take a walk down memory lane and give it a try. It’s somewhat similar to the bottled I remember from years ago, but with more flavor, more tang and more pizazz. We loved it and have been drizzling it all week for a quick salad side dish. And if you’re looking for a sugar free version, I found this recipe.
Let’s take a look.
- 1/2 C . Sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 t . paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- grated onion to taste
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 2/3 cup ketchup
- 1 cup olive oil
- Place all ingredients into blender and mix. Pour into a jar and store in the refrigerator.
Homemade Catalina Dressing…It’s What’s for Dressing a Salad.
Pam says
March 2, 2013 at 8:05 pmOh, I bet this is good homemade!
Lea Ann says
March 3, 2013 at 7:01 amIt’s good Pam!
Sam @ My Carolina Kitchen says
March 3, 2013 at 5:21 amAs much as I love salads, I don’t believe I’ve ever tasted Catalina dressing that I can remember. How fun that you made your own. I refuse to buy bottled dressings and think making your own is the only way to go.
I will add that I was never a big salad lover until I discovered romaine lettuce (iceberg would never do again), then I moved on to the baby greens and I’ve never looked back.
Sam
Lea Ann says
March 3, 2013 at 7:02 amI think it was made by Wishbone. It’s a lot like the bottled French dressing, but I think a little tangier. And yes, all of those beautiful greens we can choose from now. I’m really liking Mache.
Edith D. Thurman says
January 2, 2017 at 5:52 pmMost dressings have MSG in them same as soup. Poisonous! Plus I want sugar free due to auto immune disease, and this sounds good. I read one where a lady subbed lemon juice for vinegar, cause vinegar gave her migraines. I like the sound of maybe half and half lemon juice/vinegar. I’m not a huge vinegar fan either except when cooking chicken in my pressure cooker melts the fat off! I like this one!
Larry says
March 3, 2013 at 5:53 amLike Sam, I can’t remember having Catalina and like you, I’m not a fan of bottled salad dressings. They all seem to have this same “wang” flavor that I don’t care for.
Lea Ann says
March 3, 2013 at 7:03 amI don’t even like the gourmet bottled dressings that Whole Foods have. Maybe it’s because I’ve been making my own so long. I’ve become very picky.
Karen Harris says
March 3, 2013 at 6:19 amHomemade dressing is so good and so easy to make. I’ll be trying this on my next salad. Seeing yours here with artichokes and green bell peppers, I am inspired to get out the salad bowl.
Lea Ann says
March 3, 2013 at 7:04 amSpeaking of salad bowls. I got the most beautiful wooden bowl for Christmas. It needs to appear in a blog very soon. Thanks for the reminder. 🙂 I agree Karen. They are so easy to make.
Chris says
March 3, 2013 at 6:20 amWishbone says they are going to get even with you 😉
Lea Ann says
March 3, 2013 at 7:04 amHopefully since I mentioned Hidden Valley, they’ll stick up for me. 🙂
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
March 3, 2013 at 10:59 amYour salads were exotic compared to what I grew up with in our home…iceberg with mayo. When I went out, it was French.
Lea Ann says
March 3, 2013 at 4:47 pmMayo and iceberg… I’d have to admit that does make my mom’s salads exotic. Thanks for the visit and the comment Karen. Always good to hear from you.
Karen says
March 3, 2013 at 3:51 pmI don’t even remember eating salads when I was a kid! Haha… that explains a lot. Really, with a recipe this simple, why don’t we all make our own dressings?! Beautiful plate of salad!
Lea Ann says
March 3, 2013 at 4:45 pmThanks Karen. And yep, we had salad next to all that roast beef, fried chicken ….. 🙂
Jane says
March 3, 2013 at 3:58 pmOh my gosh, that is so my mom too! Catalina all the time! And iceberg — I never even knew there was other types of lettuce! You won’t catch me buying bottled salad dressing these days either, but your version does sound good!
Lea Ann says
March 3, 2013 at 4:45 pmKnowing talented you, who makes everything homemade, I’d faint if I saw you on the bottled dressing isle. 🙂
adam @unorthodoxepicure says
March 3, 2013 at 4:00 pmYep. I understand your childhood pain. All I ever wanted was the bottled Wishbone Italian dressing. It was beautiful. But, alas, my family was a Ranch family (except we had to make it from the powder, since the bottled stuff hadn’t made it to market.)
These days, it’s Bleu Cheese, oil and red wine vinegar. And it looks like I’ll be adding homemade Catalina to the repertoire as well. Nice!
Lea Ann says
March 3, 2013 at 4:44 pmThat blue cheese vinaigrette sounds really good Adam. Don’t think I’ve had that exact combo. Actually, I think Wishbone made pretty decent bottled dressings.
Holly says
March 3, 2013 at 4:14 pmhow funny– Catalina dressing was considered “exotic” at my house growing up too!! It was a change from plain Italian dressing and it got me to try more vegetables in salads. your homemade version would be WAY better. Will have to try it, thanks!
Lea Ann says
March 3, 2013 at 4:43 pmHolly, I haven’t had Catalina dressing in probably 20 years. This recipe is really flavorful. I’ll have to look on the isle next time I’m in the grocery and see if they still make it.
Vickie says
March 4, 2013 at 8:57 amI love when you do a retro post like this – I remember those salads, too! We always had Green Goddess or Ranch. The first time I got to try Catalina was at my Aunt’s house in Denver. She was marinating skewers of steak, peppers, onions and mushrooms for grilling and I relished every bite. This post brought back that wonderful memory. And that salad photo rocks! 🙂
Lea Ann says
March 9, 2013 at 9:14 amBack then, I would have thought those skewers to be completely exotic! Makes me wish for grilling weather.
Rocky Mountain Woman says
March 4, 2013 at 2:06 pmMy Dad always made that same salad and we ALWAYS had bottled Catalina Dressing.
I’ll give this a try and take a little walk down memory lane…
Lea Ann says
March 9, 2013 at 9:15 amAren’t we glad California stepped in and put a stop to the iceberg lettuce thing??? Don’t know if it’s true or not, but it seems like they introduced us to real greens.
Jenn says
March 5, 2013 at 5:17 amCatalina is my favorite dressing!! I have a bottle of it in the fridge right now…. that will change once it’s gone though.. can’t wait to make my own!!! Thanks for sharing!
Lea Ann says
March 9, 2013 at 9:15 amPlease let me know what you think. I thought it was very good.
Susan says
March 6, 2013 at 4:26 pmOur parents generation was hooked on convenience foods. I’m glad we’re swinging the pendulum back 🙂
Beautiful salad and delicious Catalina dressing!
Lea Ann says
March 9, 2013 at 9:16 amGrowing up with parents that experienced the great depression, I can see why they thought all of that packaged food was a luxury.
Axelle the french cook says
March 7, 2013 at 1:45 pmNot so long ago, I discovered salad has a flavor !! Even without sauce !! Incredible and yummy 🙂
Lea Ann says
March 9, 2013 at 9:17 amThanks Axelle! Do you call dressing “sauce”?
lisaiscooking says
March 9, 2013 at 8:57 amYour salads from childhood sound a lot like my mom’s! Catalina was a favorite dressing of mine back in the day. Love this homemade version!
Lea Ann says
March 9, 2013 at 9:17 amThanks Lisa.
Velva says
March 9, 2013 at 12:37 pmMy experience is similar to yours. I can remember when I discovered that salad dressing did not need to come in a bottle but, I am left scratching my head when I discovered there was more to salad than iceberg.
A homemade Catalina dressing is a beautiful thing.
Velva
P.S. I buy my rice from Costco. I checked the label it is called Super Elephant It is a basmati rice (love it). I will pay attention next time at Costco for the Royal rice. Thanks for sharing it with me.
Lea Ann says
March 10, 2013 at 7:06 amI think that Royal rice is a basmati also. I’m going to grab a bag next time I’m there.
Dave says
March 12, 2013 at 2:27 pmI have been looking all over for this recipe, but I couldn’t remember what the name of the dressing was – I thought it was Western (not it) or Russian (good, but way not it). Thanks!
BWT – this stuff rocks on roasted Brussels sprouts.
Lea Ann says
March 12, 2013 at 5:16 pmReally? Brussels sprouts? I’ll have to try that. I think Western, French, Russian are all very similar.
Rhonda says
March 19, 2013 at 2:58 pmDid we have the same mom? It’s fun to go back and I’m sure homemade is waaaay better. Catalina makes a good marinade or a base for a quick BBQ sauce also!
Jaime, the German granddaughter says
August 8, 2013 at 5:47 pmI’m glad I found this recipe of yours !! I love almost all salad dressings but I definitely only ate French or Catalina or Western as a kid growing up. That’s it nothing else only French. So every now and then I just have to have it and I’ve never known a homemade way thanks so much
Lea Ann says
August 9, 2013 at 8:07 pmThanks Jaime.