Homemade Spicy Russian Dressing

By
Danilo Alfaro
Danlio Alfaro
Danilo Alfaro
Danilo Alfaro has published more than 800 recipes and tutorials focused on making complicated culinary techniques approachable to home cooks.
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Updated on 01/25/22
Russian dressing

The Spruce

Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 5 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
394 Calories
41g Fat
6g Carbs
1g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 394
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 41g 53%
Saturated Fat 6g 32%
Cholesterol 23mg 8%
Sodium 508mg 22%
Total Carbohydrate 6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 2mg 12%
Calcium 10mg 1%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 77mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

This spicy recipe features Sriracha sauce (sometimes called "rooster sauce" because of the large bird on the label of the bottle), which is obviously not traditional. But the unique, smoky kick the hot sauce imparts is so flavorful you might not think of making it any other way.

Although it was originally intended as a salad dressing, the best application of Russian dressing turns out to be on sandwiches and burgers. There's something about this tangy, piquant condiment that cuts through the heaviness of corned beef or a cheeseburger (or even french fries). 

At one time, Russian dressing was commonplace. Today, it can be difficult to find at the store, especially in an era in which Ranch dressing leaves such a massive footprint across the world of condiments not only for salads but as a dipping sauce and even a topping for pizza. (Thousand Island and French dressings have become similarly endangered species.) 

With just five main ingredients, making your own Russian dressing is so easy, why settle for store-bought brands (if you can find them)? If spicy isn't your thing, you can eliminate the Sriracha from this recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup mayonnaise

  • 1/4 cup ketchup

  • 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

  • 1 tablespoon minced shallot

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

  • 1 dash Worcestershire sauce

  • 1 dash Sriracha sauce

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for Russian dressing
    The Spruce 

  2. In a glass bowl, combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, half the horseradish, shallot, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and Sriracha sauce. 

    Mix in bowl
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  3. Taste and add additional horseradish as you deem necessary. Stir well.

    Add horseradish
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  4. Cover with plastic and chill for 30 minutes before serving.

    Cover with plastic
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  5. Use on your salad or for your Reuben sandwiches and enjoy.

Russian Dressing vs. Thousand Island Dressing

The pinkish color of Russian dressing bears a striking resemblance to Thousand Island dressing (named after a large group of islands on the St. Lawrence River between the U.S. and Canada), but there are differences.

Thousand Island is a bit milder than Russian dressing, as the latter is typically made with horseradish, giving it more pungency. They're similar, though, and on any given day the two can be indistinguishable. (Some recipes for Thousand Island dressing feature chopped hard-cooked egg.)

More About Sriracha

Sriracha is the brand name of a hot sauce that has been around only since the 1980s. It was created by David Tran who had emigrated to the United States from Vietnam and settled in Los Angeles. The story has it that, unable to find a hot sauce that appealed to him, he started making his own and the brand was born and is now distributed by Hong Fuy Foods.