Post updated April, 11, 2019
This is my take on Newman’s Own Southwest Dressing Recipe. Just like McDonald’s southwest salad dressing you can make at home.
On our way back to Minnesota from Florida, MaryJo and I make some quick stops for lunch. My favorite quick stop is McDonald’s to get a Southwest salad with grilled chicken. McDonald’s are at every other interchange and you know what you are getting when you buy there.
I don’t know if you are familiar with this, but it is a big salad with iceberg lettuce, cilantro, corn, black beans, grated cheddar cheese, topped with spicy tortilla chips with a packet of Newman’s Own Southwest Restaurant Dressing. It is a really delicious, low calorie lunch which really hits the spot. Thing is, Newman’s own Southwest Dressing is not sold in stores. Bummer! The Southwest Dressing Recipe is a total secret and you can’t buy it.
Developing the Southwest Dressing Recipe
While we were at one of the McDonald stops I told MaryJo that I should try to duplicate the recipe for the Southwest Dressing, so I took a picture of the ingredient label. Logical first step.
There were things like corn syrup solids, corn vinegar, cornstarch, whey, and sour cream powder. Curious ingredients. I’m sure that if you are Paul Newman you could call up friends and have this stuff delivered to your front step! No problem.
Well I am Joe and not Paul and have no idea what this stuff is. So I experiment.
One of the ingredients is egg yolks mixed with soybean oil and cider vinegar. The egg yolks make the oil and vinegar mix together to make an emulsion that will not separate, (the old oil and water thing). Well I throw this together and added the spices I thought were in the dressing and made a pretty good likeness to the original, (not really). Then I make another blend. Not quite right.
By then I’m thinking that if I come up with a copycat recipe, it would contain uncooked eggs. Salmonella city!
I went back to the store and bought pasteurized eggs. Turns out they are hard to separate, yolks and whites, but I got the job done. I then tried another spice blend and I was not close again.
MaryJo sensed my frustration and suggested that I use already processed oil, water and eggs…Mayonnaise. I thought. okay, I give up.
So, with a new sense of purpose and determination, I tried at least 5 more spice blends which required MaryJo to go to the store once and for me to go to the store once more,for spices that we would try and to get more sour cream since I used all that we had.
Finally, the blend of spices worked and my Southwest Dressing Recipe is pretty close to Paul’s. He must have spent a lot of time perfecting these recipes! His is exceptional but mine is dang good.
You can’t buy his except at McDonald’s, or you can make your own which is nearly as good. My recipe makes enough for two salads, but if you enjoy this southwest dressing recipe, feel free to double or triple the ingredients. It should store in the refrigerator for two or three weeks.
Try it. You won’t be disappointed.
Hey. Did you make this recipe? Let me know how you liked it in the comments below. Take a photo of your creation and post it on your Instagram…and hashtag #joeshealthymeals so I can take a look.
Southwest Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp sour cream
- 2 tsp light Karo syrup (agave or honey as substitutes)
- 1 tsp water (or more to thin)
- 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp lime juice
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried cilantro
- 1 tsp McCormick hot mexican style chili powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp cumin
Salad
- iceburg lettuce
- cilantro
- red onion
- corn
- black beans
- grape tomatoes
- thin sliced carrot
- grated cheddar cheese
- Mrs. Cubbison's southwest flavor tortilla strips ,
Instructions
- Whisk ingredients in a medium sized bowl
- Refrigerate to store
Notes
This recipe makes 4 1/2 tbsp or approximately 2, 1 1/4 fl. oz. servings
Nutrition
Yayyyy…a great southwest salad dressing that I need to try!!! Love the southwest salad from McDonalds!!! Bookmarking this right this minute. Thank you.
Thanks for the comment Karen…hope you like it!
They use to sell this in bottles. I still have one since I love the dressing. I will certainly try your recipe.
I loved this dressing. I used leftover fajitas ingredients and added it all to a salad, was a delicious fajita salad..Will be making it again. Thanks.
Thanks for the nice comment Cindy…glad you like the recipe.
I tried this after trying two other recipes with no success. This recipe was perfect for a blackened shrimp salad recipe I also copycatted from a restaurant I went to. The dressing went great with my salad. Thank you for the recipe.
Thanks for the comment…I agree it is pretty dang good!
Just made this one. Great recipe!! thank you!
Thanks for the nice comment Mykal.
Made your dressing for my salad today with the exception of honey for corn syrup and it tastes just like the Newman dressing, Now I’m sitin on the beach enjoying my salad an a ( plastic) glass of wine. Life is good, thanks Joe! ?⛱?
Sounds fantastic Kevin…even the wine out of a plastic glass! Beach time is the best. Glad you liked the Newman’s copycat recipe.
Love this recipe. I used agave nectar in place of the corn syrup. And I use it as a Cole slaw dressing as well. Delicious!!!!!!!
Thanks James,
Agave is a perfect substitute for corn syrup. Glad you like my recipe!
So excited to try this recipe! Is Karo the same as maple syrup? Thanks for posting 🙂
Hi Brittany,
You could substitute maple syrup for the Karo syrup,(corn syrup), but it may impart a slightly different flavor. It will probably be unnoticeable since it’s only 2 teaspoons.
Hope you like the dressing!
Actually, I had one of these salads today from Mcdonalds and it was delish. However it has spring mix greens including spinach… no iceberg that I seen at all. I prefer spring mix anyways because it’s better for you.
Joe,
I think you miss spoke when you said the dressing is dang good. I found the dressing to be exceptional and I used it all on one salad.YUMMY 🙂
Thanks Angie. I think a double batch is in order!
Hi Joe! I made this recipe and it’s absolutely delicious and reminds me of the Mcdonald’s Southwest! Being a pregnant woman and living away from all my favorite fast food has been tough lol. Thank you so much for this recipe! I’m making it for my family for the second night in a row:)
Thanks for the nice comment Ray. Enjoy!
Just made this and it is awesome! It’s the closest to the real thing I’ve tasted!
Thank You for sharing your recipe!
Thank you for the nice comment Trish…very glad that you liked it!
Dear Joe and MaryJo,
I made your copycat recipe for the Southwest dressing. All I can say is wow, this is GREAT! While on the road, if my husband and I have to eat fast food in an emergency we usually stop at McDonalds, Wendy’s or Burger King for salads. We absolutely love your recipe. I will be making a quadruple batch today as I’m an everyday salad eater! Thank you so much for posting this!
Thanks for your nice comment. Glad you like it!
Joe,
Just made your recipe tonight!! Tastes delicious and we love it!! Thank you for sharing!! McDonald’s Southwest salads is my favorite when we’re road tripping as well. Finally a great copycat recipe????.
Thanks Tarne! Very happy that you liked it.
Do you think if I use the reduced fat Mayo and sour cream this recipe will still work the same? Thanks! I’ve been dying for a Southwest dressing!!
Hi Tiffany,
I think that would be fine. Most of the flavor is in the spices anyway. The recipe makes a nice, tangy southwest flavor.
Thank you!! I’m going to try it out! I can’t wait!!
Is cider vinegar the same as Apple cider vinegar? Lol
Yes…it’s the same thing.
I will try yours and I like that your recipe is less carbs than Newmans.
I love your recipe! We used the olive oil mayo and added a little more lime juice. Yum
Thanks Kyle. Glad you like it. Hmmm. I’ll have to try the olive oil style mayo and a little more lime. Thanks, Joe
Your version seems 2 have a lot more fat grams than I remember on the pkg of dressing from McDonald’s. What brand of mayo did u use n your version? Also, your nutritional information didn’t include your serving size. Thx 4 recipe…can’t wait 2 try it! Those salads r my goto fav 2!
Hey Lee…Thanks for your comment. I use Hellmann’s mayo and yes, when I ran this through my nutrition calculator it came up about 4 grams more fat than the original. Calories are the same, mine has less sodium. I just made a double recipe and got 9 tablespoons or 4 1/2 fluid ounces, generally enough for 4 salads. Hope you like it! Joe
Joe and Mary Jo,
There was a woman back in the ’80s that did the same thing – figuring out how to make copy-cat recipes of popular fast food restaurant dishes and some popular prepared foods that are sold in big grocery stores. Check out Gloria Pitzer’s Secret Fast Food Recipes Secrets. The copy I have was published in September of 1988. These recipes really come close – especially the one for the White Castle Sliders and the one for the Sara Lee Butter Streusel coffee cake. Of course, she couldn’t use the actual names of the dishes she was offering the copy-cat recipes for because of possible legal problems but it doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to identify them. I don’t know if this book is still available – you might have to go to eBay if it is out of print. (I copied your recipe for Southwest Dressing and will be making it.) Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the insight Donna. Creating copycat recipes is hard since the originals are so good! Newman’s Own Southwest is a favorite of mine. This copy recipe is close. Glad you are going to give it a try.
Yummy!