Homemade Russian Dressing For A Reuben Sandwich
Our homemade Russian Dressing is tangy, slightly spicy, and seriously addicting! This recipe is the perfect sauce for a Reuben Sandwich and more!
What's The Difference Between Russian Dressing And Thousand Island Dressing?
Thousand Island Dressing and Russian Dressing are incredibly similar sauces, but there are a few key differences.
Thousand Island dressing:
- Includes bits of relish, pickles, onions, and hard-boiled eggs, making it sweeter and tangier
- Is made with a mayonnaise base
Russian dressing:
- Gets a distinct spiciness from horseradish and garlic
- Is made with a plain yogurt or sour cream base
What Is The Sauce On A Reuben?
People tend to use the names Russian Dressing and Thousand Island Dressing interchangeably nowadays.
Because of this, many restaurants just serve their Reuben sandwiches with Thousand Island Dressing, since they often already have it on hand.
But, Russian Dressing was the staple that made the sandwich famous.
Making Our Homemade Russian Dressing Recipe
The dressing you choose for your Reuben sandwich is up to you.
Even if you don't have either on hand, it's really easy to whip up a batch of homemade Russian Dressing with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry!
Yogurt, ketchup, and horseradish (prepared or fresh) start the base for this dressing. Then they combine with a little garlic and paprika to make this super simple and incredibly addicting sauce
What are you waiting for?
More Dressing Recipes You May Enjoy
If you'd like to try your hand at creating more of your own salad dressings from scratch, here are some classic dressing recipes to get you started.
- Ranch Seasoning for Homemade Ranch Dressing
- Homemade 1000 Island Dressing
- Blue Cheese Dressing From Scratch
- Poppyseed Salad Dressing
You can use them for sandwiches, dips, or on salads! Making your own salad dressing is an easy endeavor that will make you feel quite accomplished in the kitchen!
Homemade Russian Dressing
Russian Dressing for a reuben and more. It's a tangy, slightly spicy, and all-around addicting sauce!
Ingredients
- ¼ c plain yogurt, or sour cream
- 3 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated horseradish, or prepared horseradish
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Mix all dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Dressing can be used immediately, but the flavor will improve if refrigerated for at least 10 minutes before using.
- Store the dressing in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 1 week.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1 TbspAmount Per Serving: Calories: 15
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
I made this for a Reubox (substituting corned beef with lox or smoked salmon slices) and it was an awesome flavor combo with the dill soaked sauerkraut and swiss.
The only thing I would add is I prefer organic ingredients for everything and I was slightly dismayed with Heinz's organic ketchup which is a tad on the sugary side. So if people are going organic I would use a homemade ketchup or find an alternative off brand organic ketchup which can be a little more savory and less sweet.
But that's not your recipe's problem, this is a great way to start experimenting with the East Coast classic Russian Dressing. Cheers!! Really hit the spot.
Thanks for sharing Maxeem!
After adding a couple heaping tablespoons of mayonnaise and a heaping teaspoon of dill relish a little bit more sour cream and a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, it finally tasted the way I remembered it from the deli.
Thanks for sharing Judy. If the deli makes their dressing in house, then every one will be a bit different. Glad you found the tweaks that fit what you were looking for!
EXCELLENT better than any Restaurant We have ever had. Thanks
So glad you enjoyed the dressing!
I made this (both types: plain yogurt / sour cream) at the same time, to go with a corned beef brisket that I slow cooked to make some Reuben sandwiches, for my Mom on Mother's Day (as they are one of her favorite sandwiches). 🙂
We both preferred the recipe with the plain yogurt (I used greek plain yogurt). As for the garlic clove, I used the minced garlic that came in a little jar for a couple bucks, and I also added a touch more garlic 🙂
Recipe is great, well done!
As for the recipe with the sour cream, mom said she would prefer it on a salad and favored the dressing with the yogurt for the Reuben Sandwich.
PS
Mom usually only likes mustard on the reubens, but she liked the dressing so much that she didn't use mustard!! haha 😉
Thanks so much for sharing your test! We're so glad she loved the recipe. What a wonderful Mother's Day meal!
Addicting? Addictive.
Very true Joe!
the home made russian dressing is fantastic....love your stlye.
The best I have made.......Im a bit norty because I popped an extra bit of garlic in...
(No kisses for me tonight)
I cannot pretend to be as good as New York Deli's Rueben ,but this is GOOD !
My wife makes the great sauerkraut and ..:corned beef..
I do the rest and get the credit win ..win. : 0 )
So glad you enjoyed the dressing! Thanks for stopping by!
We came across the Ruben for the first time recently in the Adelaide hills town of Aldgate in South Australia. They used the authentic Russian dressing too. We loved it so much I'm making it for dinner tonight to introduce it to our kids! Next week I just might try the vegetarian version as porcini mushrooms are in season here.
We hope you enjoy our recipe! The vegetarian version sounds tasty as well!
Russian dressing isn't even Russian...it was invented new hampshire
You are correct Jack. Russian Dressing was invented in the early 1900s in New Hampshire. Thanks for your comment!
Finally! A proper recipie for Russian dressing! All the others call for mayo, but my husband is Russian and his family use so much yogurt, creme fraiche and sour cream, I just know he will prefer a more traditional take on this Russian dressing (no mayonnaise!) so thank you!
Thanks Evelyn! We hope you and your husband enjoy the dressing!
I'm going to use the Russian Dressing recipe with a vegetarian Reuben made with Portabella mushrooms. I had the sandwich at a moderately-upscale pizza chain restaurant and thought it would be something to make at home--and your recipe is the one that stands out.
Also--ad blocker disabled for your site. 🙂
Thank you Brook! Your Portabella Reuben sounds delicious! We'll have to give that a try some time! We hope you enjoy the dressing!