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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.

Table of Contents
  1. Recipe ingredients
  2. Ingredient notes
  3. Instructions
  4. Recipe tips and variations
  5. French Dressing Recipe

Recipe ingredients

French dressing ingredients.

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: Ranch, Italian, Thousand 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.

Dorito Taco Salad

Inspired by Midwestern-classic "walking tacos," my crowd-pleasing Dorito Taco Salad is fully loaded with taco-seasoned beef, cheese, fresh vegetables, and nacho cheese chips. Try this 30-minute meal for an easy weeknight dinner idea or for…

View Recipe

Delicious salad ideas

French Dressing

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 min

Cook Time 1 min

Total Time 2 mins

Servings 16 servings (2 tbsp each)

Course Pantry

Cuisine American

Calories 121

  • 1 cup granulated sugar (see note 1)
  • 2/3 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 cup light olive oil (see note 2)
  • 1/2 cup white vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon paprika (see note 3)
  • Salt to taste

  • 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.

  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: Ranch, Italian, Thousand 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.

Serving: 2 tbsp Calories: 121 kcal Carbohydrates: 15 g Protein: 1 g Fat: 7 g Saturated Fat: 1 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g Monounsaturated Fat: 5 g Sodium: 92 mg Potassium: 35 mg Fiber: 1 g Sugar: 15 g Vitamin A: 78 IU Vitamin C: 1 mg Calcium: 4 mg Iron: 1 mg

Meggan Hill

Meggan Hill is the Executive Chef and CEO of Culinary Hill, a popular digital publication in the food space. She loves to combine her Midwestern food memories with her culinary school education to create her own delicious take on modern family fare. Millions of readers visit Culinary Hill each month for meticulously-tested recipes as well as skills and tricks for ingredient prep, cooking ahead, menu planning, and entertaining. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the iCUE Culinary Arts program at College of the Canyons.

Meggan Hill is the Executive Chef and CEO of Culinary Hill, a popular digital publication in the food space. She loves to combine her Midwestern food memories with her culinary school education to create her own delicious take on modern family fare. Millions of readers visit Culinary Hill each month for meticulously-tested recipes as well as skills and tricks for ingredient prep, cooking ahead, menu planning, and entertaining. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the iCUE Culinary Arts program at College of the Canyons.

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