French Dressing Recipe

This homemade French dressing recipe takes me just 10 minutes to make, and it’s always my favorite to pour over a fresh salad. It’s tangy from the vinegar, sweet from the ketchup and sugar, and rounded out with a hint of garlic and paprika. I know you’ll enjoy the gentle sweetness in every spoonful of this easy vinaigrette.

I love a salad dressing that actually makes the whole salad better, and this homemade French dressing does exactly that. It’s flavorful, balanced, and so good I always find myself going back for another bite. If store-bought dressings aren’t really your thing, you’ve got to try my buttermilk ranch and my homemade balsamic vinaigrette recipes too. They’re both absolutely delicious.

French Dressing

French dressing is a simple oil and vinegar-based dressing with herbs and seasonings. The American version of French dressing is also a vinaigrette but is tart, sweet, and red in color due to the ketchup. This is a trendy dressing in the United States and is commonly served on a basic house salad.

This is a sweeter dressing, so I always recommend adding the sugar gradually and tasting as you go to get it just right for your taste. You can also adjust any of the other ingredients to bring out the flavors you enjoy most.

I leaned into ingredients I already had on hand and created a dressing that’s tangy, lightly sweet, and just creamy enough. I keep a jar of it in the fridge all week, ready to drizzle over greens or spread onto a sandwich.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Onion – You can use a white, yellow, or sweet onion in this recipe. You’ll also need a clove of garlic. If you love garlic, feel free to add an additional clove.
• Vinegar – I used apple cider vinegar. You could also use distilled vinegar.
• Ketchup – Any good organic ketchup will work. You can also use homemade ketchup.
• Sugar – Granulated sugar will help add a little sweetness to the French dressing.
• Seasonings – I used a combination of salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and paprika.
• Oil – Any good neutral flavored oil will work.

How to Make French Dressing

Grate: I finely grate the onion directly into a bowl, making sure it’s as smooth as possible so it blends easily into the dressing.

Add the Garlic: Next, I grate the garlic into the same bowl, letting it blend right in with the onion.

Combine: Then I add the ketchup, vinegar, hot sauce, Worcestershire, sugar, and paprika to the bowl, layering in all that sweet, tangy flavor.

Whisk: I slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking continuously, letting it blend into the mixture until everything is smooth and emulsified.

Finish: After tasting the dressing, I adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. From there, it’s ready to serve or can be stored in the fridge for later.

Chef Tip + Notes

Emulsifying is the secret to getting this homemade French dressing just right. That just means combining ingredients that don’t usually mix, like oil and vinegar. You don’t need a blender or mixer to make it work, though I’ve used a stand mixer before and it does the job beautifully. Most of the time, I just use a bowl and a whisk. As long as you pour the oil in slowly and keep whisking, it all comes together.

• Sweeten: I sometimes swap the sugar for honey, maple syrup, or agave. Just use what you enjoy or have on hand.
• Oil: Any oil works here, though I like using a neutral one. Blending a couple of oils also gives great results.
• Mixer: I’ve made this French dressing recipe in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and it turns out smooth every time. It’s a nice hands-free option.

Serving Suggestions

This dressing is my favorite for crisp greens like romaine or iceberg, especially with shredded carrots and cucumbers. I’ve drizzled it over chicken chopped salads and even used it as a spread on my smash burgers or sandwiches.

If I’m hosting or bringing a dish to a potluck, I pour it into a mason jar and shake it up right before serving. Everyone always asks if it’s homemade, and I love being able to say yes.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: You can make this French dressing recipe up to 3 days ahead. You can serve this immediately, but more flavors will come out with time. In addition, let it sit at room temperature before serving it.

How to Store: Place in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days. This will not freeze.

More Dressing Recipes

• Lemon Vinaigrette
• Russian Dressing
• Greek Dressing
• Italian Dressing
• Blue Cheese Dressing

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French Dressing Recipe

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5 from 11 votes

This homemade French dressing recipe takes me just 10 minutes to make, and it’s always my favorite to pour over a fresh salad. It’s tangy from the vinegar, sweet from the ketchup and sugar, and rounded out with a hint of garlic and paprika. I know you’ll enjoy the gentle sweetness in every spoonful of this easy French vinaigrette.

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes minutes

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• ¼ peeled finely grated yellow onion
• 1 finely grated garlic clove
• ¾ cup ketchup
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 cup neutral flavored oil
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Finely grate the onion into a bowl.
• Also finely grate the garlic into the same bowl.
• Add in the ketchup, vinegar, hot sauce, Worcestershire, sugar, and paprika to the bowl.
• Slowly drizzle in the oil while continuing to whisk until it is emulsified.
• Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper and serve or store.

Notes

Emulsifying is the secret to getting this homemade French dressing just right. That just means combining ingredients that don’t usually mix, like oil and vinegar. You don’t need a blender or mixer to make it work, though I’ve used a stand mixer before and it does the job beautifully. Most of the time, I just use a bowl and a whisk. As long as you pour the oil in slowly and keep whisking, it all comes together.

Sweeten: I sometimes swap the sugar for honey, maple syrup, or agave. Just use what you enjoy or have on hand.

Oil: Any oil works here, though I like using a neutral one. Blending a couple of oils also gives great results.

Mixer: I’ve made this French dressing recipe in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and it turns out smooth every time. It’s a nice hands-free option.

Make-Ahead: You can make this French dressing recipe up to 3 days ahead. You can serve this immediately, but more flavors will come out with time. In addition, let it sit at room temperature before serving it.

How to Store: Place in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days. This will not freeze.

Nutrition

Calories: 293kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 0.3gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0.1gSodium: 218mgPotassium: 87mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 239IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 7mgIron: 0.2mg

Course: Salad, salad dressings

Cuisine: American

Author: Chef Billy Parisi