Keto Thousand Island Dressing
Published July 20, 2019 • Updated March 9, 2026
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My homemade thousand island dressing has 0.1g net carbs per serving, and it tastes like the diner version I grew up on. Sweet, tangy, creamy, and ready in about five minutes.
I have made a lot of keto salad dressings over the years. Keto ranch dressing, keto Caesar dressing, keto blue cheese dressing. But this keto thousand island dressing is the one I keep coming back to when burger night rolls around.
The secret is the minced dill pickle. Most homemade versions skip it and just use relish or leave it out entirely. That’s a mistake. The dill pickle is what gives this dressing that sharp, briny bite that separates it from a slightly sweet mayo. I use Claussen pickles, finely minced, and the difference is real.
What surprised me when I first calculated the macros is how low this comes in. 0.1g net carbs per serving. Most store-bought thousand island dressings run 3 to 5 grams per two tablespoons because of added sugar. Even other homemade keto versions land around 0.6 to 1g because they use a full cup of mayo. I use half a cup with proportionally scaled ingredients, and the flavor doesn’t suffer for it.
I make mine with keto avocado mayo most of the time, but regular mayo works too. The sugar-free ketchup is the other piece people doubt until they try it. Multiple readers have told me they expected it to ruin the dressing, and every one of them came back saying it worked.
Here’s something I figured out by accident: this tastes better the next day. The Swerve takes a while to fully dissolve into the mayo, and the pickle and onion flavors mellow overnight. I try to make it the night before when I remember to. If you’re making it day-of, it’s still good, but the overnight version is noticeably smoother.
This is also basically Big Mac sauce with one less ingredient. Add a small splash of yellow mustard and you’re there. I use it on smash burgers, iceberg wedge salads, and as a dip for raw veggies when I want something with more flavor than ranch.
If you like building a low carb condiment shelf, try it alongside keto horseradish sauce for burgers, keto Chick-Fil-A sauce for chicken, or homemade keto sauerkraut if you’re building a Reuben.
Explore hundreds of keto recipe videos with step-by-step instructions, tips, and tricks to make keto easy.
Ingredients
½ cup mayonnaise (regular or avocado based) -
2 tablespoons sugar free ketchup
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1 tablespoon vinegar (white or apple cider)
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1 tablespoon minced dill pickle
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1 teaspoon Swerve or sweetener of choice)
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1 teaspoon finely diced onion
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pinch of salt and pepper
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Combine the ingredients
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
Mix it well
Mix until fully combined.
Spread it
Spread on your favorite burger or top a salad.
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Is thousand island dressing keto?
Store-bought usually isn't. Most brands have 3 to 5 grams of carbs per two tablespoons because of added sugar. My homemade version comes in at 0.1g net carbs per serving because I use sugar-free ketchup and a small amount of powdered sweetener. I've compared it to every major brand label I could find, and this is the lowest I've seen.
Is this the same as Big Mac sauce?
It's very close. I've made both side by side, and the only real difference is a splash of yellow mustard in Big Mac sauce. Add about half a teaspoon of mustard to this recipe and you're there. I use it interchangeably.
Should I use powdered or granular sweetener?
I recommend powdered. Granular Swerve doesn't fully dissolve in cold mayo right away. I've noticed it can leave a slightly gritty texture if you eat it the same day. Powdered erythritol or a powdered allulose blend dissolves almost immediately. If you only have granular, make it the night before and it'll smooth out by morning.
Does this taste better the next day?
It does. I make mine the night before when I can. The pickle and onion flavors mellow out, and the sweetener fully dissolves into the mayo overnight. It's good right after mixing, but the overnight version is noticeably smoother. A reader's husband actually noticed the difference without being told.
Can I use sweet relish instead of dill pickle?
I'd stick with dill pickle. Most sweet relish has added sugar, and even the sugar-free versions have a softer flavor that doesn't hit the same way. The dill pickle gives it that sharp, briny edge that makes it taste like the real thing. I mince mine from whole Claussen pickles, but any dill pickle works.
How long does this keep in the fridge?
I get about a week out of mine stored in a mason jar. It stays good the whole time since it's mostly mayo and vinegar. I give it a quick stir before using since the pickle and onion bits can settle to the bottom.
Can I use a different type of mayonnaise?
I've made this with regular mayo, avocado mayo, and vegan mayo. They all work. Avocado mayo gives it a slightly lighter flavor that I prefer, but regular Hellmann's is what I grew up using and it's just as good. Just check the label for added sugar.
How can I make this dressing spicier?
I add a small dash of hot sauce when I want some heat. Cholula or Frank's both work without adding carbs. Start with a quarter teaspoon and taste from there. I've also tried a pinch of cayenne, which gives a background warmth without changing the flavor much.
Some of my favorite recipes that pair with this dressing:
The dill pickle is what does it. My mom used to make thousand island from scratch when I was a kid, always with those little minced pickles stirred into the mayo, and I haven't tasted anything close to that since going keto three years ago. Made a batch of this Saturday for burgers and just stood there a second after I tasted it off the spoon. That tangy-sweet balance is exactly right. Four stars only because I bumped the Swerve up to a full teaspoon and a half (my mom's version always ran sweeter), but that's a personal thing, not a recipe thing. Five minutes, ingredients I already keep on hand. Almost unfair how good it is.
1.5 tsp is closer to the original anyway. My version runs more tangy but the recipe handles the extra sweetener just fine.
I've tried a few homemade thousand island recipes over the years and they always end up tasting like ketchup-flavored mayo, so I wasn't expecting much. Made this last night for burgers and the dill pickle and vinegar actually do something together that the bottled versions never quite get right. The 0.1g net carbs made me look twice at the nutrition. I already put it on my lunch salad this morning.
The next-day fridge thing is real. It gets better overnight once everything settles together. Glad it worked on the salad too.
I've tried at least four keto thousand island recipes and every single one tasted like watered-down mayo with a spoonful of relish. The vinegar in this one actually cuts through the fat and gives it that tangy bite the diner version has. Nothing else comes close.
The vinegar was the hardest part to land. Pull it back even a little and you're right back to mayo soup.
I've made at least four or five different keto thousand island recipes over the years and the thing they all had in common was tasting like diet food. This one doesn't. The minced dill pickle is what does it, that texture and brine you actually get at a diner. I use it on burgers now and I stopped looking for anything else.
Yeah the dill pickle is load-bearing in this one. I tried it with sweet relish first and it wasn't even close.
Every keto thousand island I've bought has tasted like someone described the real thing over the phone, but the dill pickle in this actually gets it right.
Ha, 'described the real thing over the phone' is the best description of that I've heard. Most brands go way too light on the pickle and it shows.
Thousand island used to be on everything in my house before I went keto, and giving it up was honestly one of the harder parts. Made this on a whim with some avocado mayo I had in the fridge and the first bite kind of stopped me. It tastes like the real version, not a sad substitute. The pickle and vinegar nail that tangy balance, and I ended up putting it on a salad, a burger, and one very shameless spoonful straight from the bowl. Thank you for this one.
Spoon straight from the bowl is the highest compliment. The pickle and vinegar together are what make this one actually taste right instead of just taste close.
Made this last week with white vinegar and it was a little sharper than I remember thousand island being. Would apple cider vinegar mellow that out, or is tweaking the Swerve the better fix?
Swerve first. Half a teaspoon extra is usually the faster fix. ACV does mellow it but it shifts the whole flavor more than you'd expect.
Used Primal Kitchen avocado mayo instead of regular and it made the texture silkier, which I wasn't expecting from a swap like that. The vinegar and pickle still cut right through it so the tang is all there. One thing I stumbled on: make it 30 minutes ahead and let it chill. First time I made it I used it immediately and it was fine, but after it sits the sweetener dissolves completely and the whole thing comes together more like the bottled dressing I grew up on. Doubled the minced pickle on the second batch too and that's my standard now. This is going on every burger this spring.
The avocado mayo silkiness thing is real. 30 minutes minimum, that's when the sweetener actually dissolves in. Double pickle from batch one.
Let it sit overnight and the pickle brine and onion completely transform the mayo base into something that makes the 5-minute version taste like a rough draft.
Rough draft is accurate. The brine needs time to actually get into the mayo, and the onion softens enough that it's not sharp anymore. I always plan to make it the night before and then forget.
First time making my own dressing. Didn't expect five minutes of stirring to nail it like this. The minced dill pickle is doing more work than I thought. How long does this keep in the fridge?
About a week in a mason jar. The pickle and onion bits settle so just give it a quick stir before using.
First time making homemade thousand island and I went in expecting the sugar-free ketchup to tank it. It does not. The dill pickle is what puts it over (my jar of Claussen pickles has never felt so important). Spread it on a burger on a random Tuesday and was genuinely surprised by how much it tasted like the diner version I grew up on. One question though - does the consistency change much after a day or two in the fridge? Wondering how far ahead I can make this.
Consistency stays pretty much the same, maybe a touch smoother by day two. The sweetener finishes dissolving overnight and the pickle and onion mellow out a bit. I make mine the night before whenever I can.
I didn't think I could pull off a homemade dressing without the real stuff, but the sugar free ketchup and that bit of dill pickle just... work. Made it for burger night and forgot I was on keto for a solid minute.
That's the sugar free ketchup pulling it together. Try it on an iceberg wedge next time.
Made a batch yesterday and it was good right away, but my husband swore it tasted better after a night in the fridge. Is that the pickle and onion flavors melding, or does the Swerve need time to dissolve? Might just make it a day ahead from now on.
Both, honestly. Swerve takes a while to fully dissolve in the mayo, and the pickle and onion mellow out overnight. I make mine the night before when I remember to.
This sauce is AMAZING!! Thank you 🙏🏻
The dill pickle is what makes it taste like the real thing. Most homemade versions skip it.