Creamy Catalina Dressing - Small Batch - Vegan Recipe

Love a tomato-based, tangy sauce? Try this creamy Catalina dressing. It's a small batch, so no waste, and it's dairy-free and vegan.

I'm always trying out new salad dressings, and it's usually a small batch of dressing, so there's no waste.

My latest dressing is this creamy, tomato-based Catalina dressing.

It's gorgeous stuff and adds so much flavour to lots of dishes, not just salad bowls.

It makes a tasty dipping sauce too.

Jump to:

• 💭 What is Catalina dressing?
• 📋 What you need to make this tangy homemade dressing
• 🥣 Thin salad dressing with water not oil
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Save your jam jars
• 🥗 Storing salad dressing
• 🍔 How to serve Catalina dressing
• 🥛 Related small batch recipes
• ⭐ Save your recipes for free!
• 👩🏻‍🍳 How to make vegan Catalini dressing
• 📖 Recipe
• Comments

💭 What is Catalina dressing?

Catalina dressing is a rich, tangy dressing that was probably first created by the Kraft Company in the United States, but with a nod to the flavours of the Spanish Catalan.

Another suggestion is that the idea actually came from the Catalonia region of Spain and their love of tomato-based sweet and tangy flavours.

Who really knows?

It's usually a shop-bought bottle of salad dressing, but not one we are very familiar with here in the UK, or in Scotland.

However, Kraft Catalina Dressing became popular in the US, in the 1960's.

It's super easy to make at home, although I prefer a creamier version.

📋 What you need to make this tangy homemade dressing

Here are the simple ingredients you need to make a small batch of this Catalina dressing.

It's so much nicer than store-bought dressing.

Here's what you need:

• Olive oil
• Tomato ketchup - the store-bought version usually contains tomato puree (tomato paste) and vinegar, so ketchup covers these two bases
• Mustard - I like to use French dijon mustard, but English mustard or American yellow mustard would work too
• Mayo - adding a little vegan mayonnaise makes the dressing creamy and unctuous
• Turmeric - for colour and warmth
• Paprika - which is a staple in this dressing
• Garlic Powder - or garlic granules, although you could add fresh garlic
• Dried dill
• Salt & black pepper

This delicious salad dressing will make your taste buds tingle, and it's such an easy recipe to add to your meal prep.

If you prefer a sweeter dressing, you can add a little maple syrup or agave nectar.

See the printable recipe card for quantities, method, nutritional values, and notes.

To find the recipe card, keep reading, scroll down or use the jump to recipe button above, in the index.

🥣 Thin salad dressing with water not oil

Traditionally, people thin down salad dressing to a better consistency by adding more oil.

However, it's not particularly healthy to add more oil, and it also makes your dressing more calorific.

You want some oil in your dressing for that nice mouth feel, but not too much.

So instead of adding extra oil to thin a dressing that's too thick, try adding water instead.

Add a spoonful at a time, give it a good mix, and add more if it needs it.

The water won't split the dressing; it will emulsify well. You'll see when you try it yourself.

👩🏻‍🍳 Save your jam jars

Jam jars make the perfect storage for salad dressing.

You can see what's in the jar at a glance, how much is left, and give it a really good shake to mix it, without fear of the lid flying off.

There's no need for a food processor or whisk when you have a jam jar.

They stack well in the fridge too, and recycling is always a good thing for the environment.

🥗 Storing salad dressing

Store your homemade salad dressing in a jam jar or any airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Although this is a small batch dressing which is very moreish, even my teenager (who is a picky eater at times) loves it, so it's likely to be finished well before the week is up.

There's only 3 - 4 servings in the batch.

🍔 How to serve Catalina dressing

This easy homemade Catalina dressing is, of course, good on a salad, but it's much more versatile than that.

Here are a few serving suggestions for this creamy dressing.

• French fries - it's perfect for dunking French fries or chunky chips
• Burgers - use it as a tasty burger sauce
• Hot dogs - it's good on vegan hot dogs too
• Salad - the obvious choice
• Tacos or taco salad - try it as a dip with these mushroom & lentil tacos
• Sandwiches - or wraps, spread it on for extra flavour
• Popcorn tofu - the perfect dunking sauce
• Tortilla chips - make a batch of these paprika tortilla chips and dunk them
• Pizza crusts - what, you don't dunk your pizza crusts?
• Roast vegetables - drizzle it over for a burst of flavour
• Sheet pan dinners - or roasting pan dinners, you know the all-in-one, chuck it all in type of dinner

I'm sure you will come up with a few ideas too, or you may just eat it with a teaspoon, like I do every time I make it.

Well, you have to test it to make sure it's ok, don't you?

🥛 Related small batch recipes

Looking for more small-batch salad dressing recipes like this? Try these:

⭐ Save your recipes for free!

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Once logged in, you can save your favourite recipes and access them by hitting the heart on any of my recipes or going to grow.me where they will be stored for you for free.

👩🏻‍🍳 How to make vegan Catalini dressing

These step-by-step photos will show you how to make this delicious creamy salad dressing.

Step 1

• Add all the ingredients to a clean jam jar or another airtight container with a tight lid (full recipe below).
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add water to thin the dressing.

Step 2

• Add the lid tightly and shake like mad to mix all the ingredients well and emulsify the dressing.
• Taste it to check the texture and seasoning.
• Add more seasoning if it needs it, or more water if it's too thick, then shake again to mix well.
• Enjoy!

📖 Recipe