The Best Homemade Thousand Island and Ranch Dressing Recipes

Thousand Island is no question one of my favorite dressings for salads and dipping. Its hearty, tangy and works well with a variety of salad ingredients. When I first began to "do-it-myself," this was one of the first things I tried. It worked out well the first time, and it just got better after that. Now, not only is it my favorite salad dressing, but my 4-year-old absolutely demands it on all his salads.

• 1 Large Bowl
• 1 Whisk
• 1 reclaimed jar or any other container you can stand to dedicate to salad dressing for the next month or so.

• 1/1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 3 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tbsp coarse black pepper
• 3 tbsp pickle relish (dill or sweet, I like both)
• 1/2 tbsp onion powder

There really is no unique trick or extra steps needed for this dressing. Add all the ingredients together in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Check for taste and add more of what you like until the dressing is perfect for your next salad adventure. Also, if you find the mixture to be too runny can add another 1/3 cup mayonnaise to thicken it up. When it comes to Thousand Island, I prefer mine to stick to everything in my bowl, so I try to make sure my dressing is not runny at all. When I scoop it up in a spoon and drop it on my salad, I have to slap the dressing off with force or slide it off with my finger....its glorious!

My ranch dressing was greatly influenced by my six-year-old, who, unlike myself and his brother, prefers ranch over all others. It was my six-year-old who gave this dressing the name "Hulk Ranch." In my effort to incorporate as many natural ingredients as possible when making food for my children, I decided to modify popular ranch dressing recipes to be a little less fatty and calorically heavy and include something green. I have experimented at least three times with different "green" ingredients to make the final product appear green, and all have been successful.

• 1 Large Bowl
• 1 Whisk
• 1 reclaimed jar or any other container you can stand to dedicate to salad dressing for the next month or so.

• 1 cup mayonnaise or sour cream (optional)
• 1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt (or 2 cups if opting out of mayonnaise/sour cream)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (homemade or store-bought)
• 2 tbsp (fresh cilantro (optional), and dried dill)
• Green Options:
  • Avocado
  • spinach (chopped)
  • Fresh Basil (chopped)
• 1 tbsp coarse black pepper
• 1/2 tbsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried chives
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt

If you would like to make your buttermilk yourself, it is absurdly simple. You will need a 1 cup measuring cup, a tablespoon, white vinegar, and milk. To do this, your milk must still have some milk fat. Two percent is the lowest I've gone, and it is borderline successful, obvious whole milk would be best but work with what you got. Add one tablespoon white vinegar to your 1 cup measuring cup, then fill the measuring cup with milk until you reach the 1 cup line. Let sit for at least 15 minutes and you are done.

First, prepare your "green" ingredient. I like to add my "green" ingredient to a food processor with a tablespoon of oil and make a paste then add it, along with all the rest of the ingredients to a large bowl and whisk till smooth. After your initial whisking, check for taste and add ingredients as you see fit. This dressing is best if allowed to blend in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.

These are my two most frequently used salad dressings, and I absolutely adore these recipes. I find the flavors to be better in the homemade version because the recipe is without sugar and preservatives. Though this recipe is without added preservatives, it is not without a healthy refrigerator life. The ranch dressing does not last as long as the thousand island because of the dairy products so that dressing must be eaten pretty quickly. The Thousand Island dressing, however, has an excellent refrigerator life well over a month. My favorite part about these recipes is neither of them require any special ingredients. Every ingredient I've listed is a staple in my house so I rarely have to worry about if I can whip some up or not. And in the end its all just so tasty!