This is fantastic. I cut this recipe in half - for a taco salad at lunch. This dressing absolutely MADE the salad. I took reviewers advice - cut sugar in half (will cut even more next time) did add a small amount of mayo... couple dashes cayenne - dill - dried onion flakes, onion powder. No store bought - can touch this. Enough left over - for another taco salad tomorrow. Thanks for submitting. Adding to my recipe index box... for sure.

4.5 stars actually. Only due to sugar amount even if it's 'scant' measure. Anyway.. I make my own ketchup and used a light olive oil. I did 1/4 cup each of oil/red wine vinegar to 1/3 cup of ketchup and 1 tbsp. of pure sugar sub. I used smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp. each celery flakes and dried parsley. Also granulated garlic and onion for a bit of flavor. Due to the light olive oil mine was kinda runny so I also put in 1/4 tsp. of Xantham gum (you could use lecithin). Oh yeah, 1/4 tsp. sea salt with some fresh ground pepper. My smaller measures filled the smaller bottle of Catilina I had washed out. Outstanding without it being cloyingly sweet like commercial Catalina is. Real easy to put together as well. Thanks for the great jumping off place for this crowblog! Now I can have Catalina style dressing that's LCHF friendly.

Try Balsamic vinegar (it is already sweet) instead of regular vinegar - Balsamic vinegar is already sweet. It will make the dressing more complex and more tart - so add some more water if you are emulsifying it.

Use Balsamic Vinegar in place of the regular vinegar - you'll be able to leave out the sugar altogether if you wish.

Love this! I make it with just 1 tbsp of sugar.

For those who think the recipe is too sweet: it says "scant" 1/2 cup sugar - this means "less than" a half-cup (to your taste). Though I suspect the bottled kind probably has more sugar in it. Add dried vegetable flakes (parsley, onion, red & green bell peppers) for even more flavor.

Just made it, thought there was too much sugar so I added a bit more ketchup, turned out great after that.

Too much sugar!!! I only put in 1/4 of a cup, and that was PLENTY!

I made this using 1/4 cup splenda, since I'm diabetic. It was just as good.

I wanted to make my mom's taco salad with beans and fritos and I didn't have any catalina, so I gave this one a try. I loved it! I used some fresh dill from garden too.It brought back great memories of mom when I ate that salad.

fantastic and quick dressing. My spouse loves it too.

Crystal - I leave it in the fridge for as long as I would an opened bottle of ketchup, roughly - some weeks - seems to be fine. My husband likes it mixed 1/2 & 1/2 with mayonnaise, which I do for each serving. I use only dry seasonings though - so if using fresh you'd want to use it more quickly. I like it with dried dill, gives the salad a very "fresh" taste.

About how long does it last in the fridge? I'm about to start making all of our dressings from scratch, but just wondered how often I'll be having to do that.

I added 1 tbsp of lemon juice and diced sweet onion and it was wonderful!!!

I eat as alkaline as possible and with a tiny tweaking this recipe fits the bill and satisfied my taste for a Catalina style dressing. I used one can tomato paste instead of ketchup. Using the can I added 1/2 can braggs organic raw apple cider, 2 cans filtered water, 3 frozen strawberries and 2 spoons 100% pure Stevia powder (the spoon comes in the bottle). Excellent! If it needs thickener tomorrow I will add a 1/4 tsp of xanthum or guar gum powder. Thank you for the recipe