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An absolute classic in the UK, salad cream has been a UK sauce favourite for many years. However, it’s come to my attention that it’s actually pretty difficult to buy outside of the UK. So I wanted to share my homemade version – perfect to use as part of my creamy potato salad! I’ll share some of my other favourite uses for it below too!
“Fantastic, thank you! As an American who likes to branch out into regional cuisines, this made a great spread for tea sandwiches. I will overlook other commenters input about this not being “authentic” because the flavor is delightful. 😂”
What is salad cream?
Salad cream is a UK condiment with a creamy-yet-tangy taste. The tangyness comes from vinegar. It works particularly well with crunchy salads and meat, cheese or tuna sandwiches.
It was first created by Heinz over 100 years ago (in 1914).
I’ve loved salad cream since I was a kid (corned beef and salad cream butties are the best!!). The original recipe is vegetarian, but I use Worcestershire sauce and anchovy in my version to give a real depth of tangy flavour.
Table of Contents
📋 Ingredients for salad cream
Simple store-cupboard ingredients. We don’t need to make emulsions from eggs, vinegar and oil for this salad dressing – as we’re including mayonnaise in the ingredients (which is an emulsion).
🧑🍳 Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Mash one or two anchovies in a bowl. Add mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar and a good pinch of salt. Stir together and serve!
Pro Tips
- I like to use two anchovies as I like the slightly stronger taste, but if I’m making it ahead, I’ll just use one, as the anchovy taste gets stronger over the course of a day or so.
🍽️ What to serve it with
- Use as part of my easy potato salad
- As a sauce for dipping vegetable crudités into (I love slathering it onto celery)
- To dip that tuna cheese toastie into!
- As a sauce for any number of sandwiches (for example: cheese, corned beef or ham and beetroot).
- Drizzled on a hard boiled egg 😋
📺 Watch how to make it
Easy Salad Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 1-2 anchovy fillets (use the ones in a jar in oil)
- 45 g (3 tbsp) mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp white wine vinegar
- ⅛ tsp salt
Instructions
- Place the anchovies in bowl and mash them up with the back of a fork until they completely break apart.1-2 anchovy fillets
- Add in the rest of the ingredients.45 g (3 tbsp) mayonnaise, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar, 1/8 tsp salt
- Stir together until combined, then serve.
- If making ahead, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Give it a stir before serving.
Video
Notes
Can I make it ahead?
Yes, you can make the salad cream ahead, but it’s worth noting that the taste of the anchovies gets stronger over the course of a couple of days. So if making ahead, I’d recommend only using 1 anchovy fillet. Make the salad cream, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Give it a stir before serving. Nutritional information is per serving (serves 4).Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This homemade salad cream recipe was first posted in April 2021. Updated since with recipe improvements and for housekeeping reasons.
🥫 More fantastic Sauce recipes
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Fantastic, thank you! As an American who likes to branch out into regional cuisines, this made a great spread for tea sandwiches. I will overlook other commenters input about this not being “authentic” because the flavor is delightful. 😂
THAT IS NOT HOW TO MAKE SALAD CREAM….WHERE IS THE HARD BOILED EGG YOLKS AND YOU NEVER USE MAYOEFFINNAISE
Whoah! That’s a lot of caps!
If I run out of salad cream, this is how I make a quick and tasty version of it.
It’s my recipe June. It doesn’t have to be exactly the same as your recipe.
Sorry, this looks more like a Caesar salad dressing minus the garlic & parmesan cheese.
Agreed, it’s not sweet or vinegary enough to be a salad cream.
Salad creme wasn’t invented by Heinz – they did make trhe forst commercial version. Mr Beaton had a reciie for it in Mrs Beatons Book of Household Management published in 1861
Hi there 👋 Can I ask why you use anchovies? They’re never used in the bottle salad creams and I’ve never seen them in any homemade recipes before.
As a side note, your potato salad was amazing! I tried it yesterday but used a different recipe for salad cream as we are vegetarian. Curious to know why you used anchovies rather than traditional ingredients.
Hi Emma,
I did lots of testing and was looking for something that gave the flavour a real boost. The anchovies add an extra salty, tangy and a bit of umami to the sauce. You can leave the anchovies out and add a bit of extra Worcestershire sauce if you prefer – although you’d need to use a vegetarian Worcestershire sauce. Hope that helps 🙂
What is the point of making a salad cream by using mayonnaise
Friendly n easy to understand and make
Love trying homemade versions of popular sauces and this one didn’t disappoint, it had a delicious tang.