This is the recipe you're looking for! The flavor is a spot-on match for the legendary Original Taco House Fiesta Dressing! Sweet, spicy, and tangy, it's perfect for tacos, salads, sizzling meats, party dips - and much, much more!
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The Original Taco House
On December 31, 2017, the Original Taco House, Portland's first "Mexican" restaurant and a fixture on the Eastside for more than fifty years, abruptly closed its doors forever - yet another old-school Portland restaurant lost to the mists of time.
The Original Taco House was one of those places that brought families together. The food was dependably good and priced to sell in our working-class neighborhood, and when I was little, it was one of my family's go-to spots for a night out. My Dad was a middle school teacher, and he often had former students who waited tables there, so there was always a smiling face to greet us. They treated Dad like a celebrity, and we always got great service.
When I got older and started dating Mr B, we made some fond memories of our own at Original Taco House. The original location on 82nd Avenue was just a short walk from our high school, and in 1980-something you could get a beef "El Picador" (what they called nachos before we called them nachos) or a large "meat & cheese salad" - both smothered with that amazing Original Taco House Fiesta Dressing and big enough for two - for four or five bucks. Needless to say, Mr B and I spent many (extended) lunch hours there sharing a meal and gazing adoringly into each others' eyes.
Later, when I went on to have my own family, we often found ourselves eating at the Original Taco House when we visited my parents, to the point where it became one of my kids' favorite eating spots. And the last time we ate there as a family, my grandchildren were sitting around the table with us. After three generations, dinner at the Original Taco House had become a solid family tradition.
After all that history, it probably goes without saying Mr B and I were pretty broken up about the Original Taco House's sudden closing. Sure, the decor was dated and the menu anything but authentically Mexican, but we loved it because of those things, not in spite of them.
Now there will be no more pictures of adorable black-eyed babies in sombreros hanging on the wall watching you eat. No more burros with brightly colored saddle packs. No more (amazing!) corn-flake crusted deep-fried ice cream balls. No more sizzling "El Picadors" heaped with melting cheese and olives and peppers. No more amazing house-made Fiesta Dressing.
Wait! What?!?
How We Created this Spot-on Copycat Recipe
When I figured out that our favorite salad dressing would no longer be available, I started to worry. I checked our bottle in the fridge: only about two or three ounces left. I checked local stores: discontinued, and limited to stock on hand. Amazon: same. (FYI: I also reached out to the Waddle family, who owned the restaurant. >>crickets<<)
UPDATE: Christmas Day 2023, we were thrilled to receive a comment from Matt Waddle, who shared, in part, "It looks like your recipe is pretty on point, and we are so happy that you were able to crack the code and enjoy the Fiesta Dressing." You can read his full remarks in the Comments section below.
So I sprung into action:
Me: "OK, no one touch the taco salad dressing!"
Them: "Why?" (Until that moment, no one was even thinking of it.)
Me: "I have to figure out the recipe before it's all gone. I need it for taste comparison."
Them [reaching into the fridge door for the bottle]: "What if we just use a little?" (Once again, no one had even considered using it that day until I mentioned it.)
Me: "Not. One. Drop." (Translation: Just put the bottle down and walk away slowly, and no one will get hurt.)
Good thing they know when I mean business.
To recreate the recipe, the first thing I did was consult the ingredient label on our treasured "last bottle."
Conveniently, ingredients on product labels are listed in order of predominance, with the ingredients used in the greatest amount first, followed in descending order by those in smaller amounts. This gave me a good road map for figuring out the recipe.
Once we gathered the specific ingredients, it was just a lot of mixing, tasting, adjusting, tasting, mixing, adjusting, tasting... and repeat. (Let's just say that I had enough Fiesta Dressing in my fridge to get a small army through a major nation-wide salad dressing shortage.)
In the end, we hit it pretty darn close. (We even nailed the exact calorie count of the original!) The mixture we created is somewhat creamier in appearance than the original Original Taco House Fiesta Dressing, but the flavor is spot-on and it has the familiar slightly sweet kick and peppery tang that we crave so much.
Taco House Dressing Ingredients
To replicate the exact flavor of the dressing, we were careful to choose brands for premade ingredients (i.e., El Pato Tomato Sauce, Chalula hot sauce) based on the ingredients listed parenthetically on the label list (i.e., the list of collective ingredients in the hot chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, etc.).
- Canola oil: You can use any light-tasting neutral oil.
- Canned tomatoes: Use plain crushed or diced tomatoes.
- El Pato Tomato Sauce (yellow can): This sauce has the exact list of "hot chili sauce" ingredients as are listed on the OTH dressing label, in the same order. Also, its use has been confirmed by a number of former OTH employees.
- Red wine vinegar
- Worcestershire sauce
- Lemon juice: Use fresh, frozen, or bottled.
- Salt: We use kosher salt.
- Garlic powder
- Hot sauce: We use Chalula.
- Xanthan gum: This is a thickener, and can be found the bulk food area of many stores. It's totally optional; however, if it is omitted, the dressing will be a little thinner.
- Cheese: The bottle calls for grated Romano; however, we usually use Cotija (which is essentially Mexican Romano).
- Black pepper: Use freshly cracked black pepper.
How to Make Fiesta Dressing
Once you gather the ingredients, making this dressing really couldn't be easier!
Put everything in a blender jar except the cheese and black pepper, and blend until everything is smooth and creamy.
Add the cheese and pepper and pulse to break up the cheese a bit more. You want the pepper and cheese to be a little grainy to give the dressing some texture.
If you use xanthan gum, it is critical that it be added before blending. If you add it later, it will be clumpy.
Top Tip: Picador Sauce
It definitely takes a village sometimes! I'm thrilled to share this tip with you!
According to Dieggs, who worked as a cook at OTH for four years, "the PIC sauce was a mix of 3 parts Original Taco House Fiesta dressing and 1 part El Pato sauce."
It just doesn't get any easier than that. Thanks again to our wonderful readers!
More Salad Dressing Recipes
Serving Suggestions
Fiesta Dressing adds a sweet little kick to tacos, salads, and nachos, of course, but I've also used it in everything from eggs to soups to casseroles, and as a marinade for grilling, all with amazing results. (Try it on our Vintage Layered Taco Salad)!)
Original Taco House Meat & Cheese Salad
The entire recipe for The Original Taco House "Meat & Cheese Salad" is contained in its name: Meat+Cheese+Salad (i.e., lettuce, tomatoes, dressing). So simple, and yet so good.
Original Taco House Fiesta Dressing
Equipment
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup Canola oil
- 6 tablespoons crushed or diced canned tomatoes drained
- 6 tablespoons El Pato Tomato Sauce, Mexican Hot Style Yellow can (not green)
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce I use Chalula
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum optional
- 1 ounce Romano cheese ⅓ cup finely grated;
- ¾ - 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Put everything in a blender jar except the Romano cheese and black pepper, and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Add the cheese and pepper and pulse to break up the cheese a bit more.You want the pepper and cheese to be a little grainy to give the dressing some texture.
Notes
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
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Sarah Gilmour says
This recipe is spot on!!! Took me back to the OTH. Thanks for sharing!
Renée B. says
I'm so glad to know the recipe brought back some good memories for you! Happy cooking!
Ronnie S Cauble says
Just made a batch and it's great. Can you double the recipe as we go through it so quick?
Renée B. says
Go for it! We often double the recipe, and it comes out fine.
Matthew Russell Waddle says
Mrs. Renée,
We are Matt and Robyn Waddle and I (Matt) am the oldest great grandson of Gene (Eugene) Waddle, the original owner. My entire family grew up working at those restaurants, and even as a young man I realized the memories that we were creating for families just like yours. We always took pride in our food and our service, and helping everyone to have an amazing time at our restaurants.
Robyn and I were just talking about the Fiesta Dressing and Robyn, being the Pinterest junkie that she is, found your blog. It looks like your recipe is pretty on point, and we are so happy that you were able to crack the code and enjoy the Fiesta Dressing. My father (Steve Waddle) is working on bringing back some of the more popular items that were sold at both Waddles Restaurant and OTH. Hopefully, someday soon, you will be able to find some of those favorites in stores in the Portland Vancouver area. Until then, keep up the good work, and thank you for sharing of our prized dressings with the world.
We want to thank you, your family, and everyone else in the Portland area for your patronage and our families restaurants for almost 80 years combined. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Renée B. says
What a wonderful Christmas Surprise! Thank you so much for chiming in; I am absolutely delighted to hear from you! I know many of my readers, and Portlanders at large, will be excited to learn of your plans to bring some of our old favorites back to local shelves.
The legacy your great-grandfather began and passed down to you has touched so many lives: family, employees, and patrons alike. It reminds me of the central theme from It's a Wonderful Life, about how one life touches so many others, and how much of the time, we have no idea how far our reach is.
Gratefully,
Renée, The Good Hearted Woman
Julie Monroe-Falk says
Merry Christmas & thank you! As you can see, there are many of us OTH junkies still out here, hanging on to great memories & hoping & praying that maybe someday there will be a NEW OTH 🙂