You can’t buy the legendary Original Taco House Fiesta Dressing at the restaurant or in the store anymore, but now you can make it at home! Perfect sweet heat for tacos, salads, sizzling meats, party dips – and much, much more!
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.
The Original Taco House on Powell was the second OTH to open. [Image by Victor von Salza, used with permission]
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.
Our last family dinner at the Original Taco House. We don’t usually take pictures at restaurants, but this was a special occasion. (Any time we get five of our girls all together in the same place at the same time, it is a special occasion!)
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?!?
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. 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.”
“The 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.
I chose the brands of necessary premade products (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. as listed on the label) in an effort to keep them as close to the original ingredients used as possible.
After that, it was just a lot of mixing, tasting, adjusting, tasting, mixing, adjusting, tasting… and repeat. (Let’s just say that I have enough Fiesta Dressing in my fridge now to get us all through a major nation-wide salad dressing shortage.)
In the end, I think we hit it pretty darn close. (We even nailed the exact calorie count of the original!) The mixture I 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.
Fiesta Dressing is essentially a Tex-mex spin on Catalina: a sweet, spicy, and tangy, with just a hint of Romano.
Here’s to happy memories! Enjoy!
Original Taco House Fiesta Dressing {Copycat Recipe}
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup Canola oil
- 6 tablespoons crushed or diced canned tomatoes drained
- 6 tablespoons El Pato Tomato Sauce, Mexican Hot Style Yellow can (not green)
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce I use Chalula
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum optional
- 1 ounce Romano cheese fresh, finely grated
- 3/4 - 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
1 serving = 2 tablespoons = 60 calories = 2 Weight Watchers SmartPoints [2018]
Ingredient Notes:
- El Pato Tomato Sauce has the exact list of “hot chili sauce” ingredients as are listed on the OTH dressing label, in the same order. It was the only sauce I could find that did.
- Xanthan gum is a thickener, and can be found the bulk food area of many stores. You don’t have to use it, but if omitted, your dressing will be a little thinner.
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. (I make ours with seasoned ground chicken.)
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.
THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter of The Good Hearted Woman. ❤ Be sure to PIN and Print this recipe!
[ADDENDUM April 20, 2019]
ATTENTION: Following the overwhelming success of this dressing recipe, I’ve received many requests for other recipes from OTH, including the enchilada sauce and mild salsa recipes. Unfortunately, while I’d love to work out and share those recipes too, I lack the ingredient lists and samples to do it properly.
To this end, I’ve made multiple attempts to contact Jeff Waddle, the last OTH owner, but have gotten no response. If anyone reading this has any solid contact info for Jeff that you’d be willing to share, please contact me asap and I will get right on it. 🌮 🏡 🧡 Thank you
I’d never been to the Original Taco House, but this post makes me want to test out this dressing! It’s summer salad season now and I love to have a variety of dressings to mix dinners up.
Loved that dressing! Glad you did a copycat.
Loving your website and all the old-fashioned inspired recipes! You totally have me craving a taco salad now! Such a delicious dressing!
Thanks for stopping by, and I’m glad you like the dressing recipe! (I’m not sure how “old-fashioned” recipes like Pan-Seared Sturgeon with Chanterelles & Baby Yukons are, but I’ll take it!) 😉
Thank you!!! I immediately tried to find the recipe once we cleared out all the grocery stores in our area for the dressing. I emailed Wadle’s as well, but got no reply. I tried recreating it, but soon gave up. Last night we had tacos and were commiserating about no fiesta dressing. So, I looked again for a copy cat recipe and found yours!!! It’s really good!!!
I’m so glad it works for you, Connie!
I love to make homemade dressing! This looks so delicious – it’s a must try!
I never ate at Taco House, but the dressing sounds great, especially hearing about how tempted your family was to eat it!
Oh my, this dressing looks and sounds like it’ll make everything tastier! YUM!
Ohh can’t wait to try this dressing it looks delicious!
This sounds delicious. I’ve never had it before, but now I want it!
Thank you for your persistence in recreating this – I didn’t have all these wonderful memories of Original Taco House, but was shocked too when they closed last year!
I’ll reserve my experiences with the food at the taco house for a private conversation ;), but I LOVE that you recreated a salad dressing from a place that holds so many special memories for you and your family. And what a great capture of all of your girls in one spot!
Now we need the salsa. I miss the salsa
Me too, Dan. Me too. 😢
On The Border salsa was another good one and their chips light and airy….
So much of our childhoods is dying out and it’s sad. If the Waddles didn’t wantto continue they should have at least offered the staff the option of taking over and keeping it going. I never met a Waddle at either location and always returned wanting the el picador or flaming chicken burrito….
Thank you so much! I grew up eating at the Taco House and raising my kids we ate at the Burrito House. Both unfortunately closed last year. I now live at the coast and always had a bottle of this dressing in my fridge to put on salads or homemade nachos. I have been searching Copy Cat sites for months, and was about to give up when I found your recipe. Thank you again!
You are so welcome, Kelly! I couldn’t live without it either! 😉
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I have 1 bottle left and have been doling it out to myself. Any chance you have a copycat of their burrito/enchilada sauce?
My heart was broken when they closed! Just like you, my husband and I spent many of our early dates at the 82nd location, as we both grew up in the neighborhood, I started my bachelorette party there, went there for a few anniversaries, and any time the hubby wanted to surprise me and put a smile on my face, we’d pull into that parking lot and I could instantly taste that dressing, I was so excited to eat! Not at all authentic, salty and fatty but oh so many memories, my kids ordered their first “Shirley Temple” there and absolutely loved their beans! Unfortunately my dressing at home had expired when I got the news, which made me so mad at myself like I’d taken that last bottle for granted! I can’t wait to make this and have those memories live on! Thank you so much!!
My dad has been devastated about the closing of OTH! It’s been apart of our family for decades! His absolute favorite was the El Picador. He’s been on a hunt for a similar chip(with the delish seasoning) and salsa(his absolute favorite–if you make a copycat recipe, we’re so in! We have an empty container that lists the ingredients!). But the fiesta dressing would make his homemade El Picador to a whole new level! We live in Portland and would love to buy some of this dressing if you made a batch of it! 🙂
Thank you for reading this! And for creating this recipe!
OMG!!!! I LOVE YOU!!! I have written to Jeff Waddle & have been trying to figure out HOW to recreate this!!! Like so many others, I grew up eating at the Original Taco House & it held so many great memories. The Fiesta dressing is the ONLY salad dressing my husband will use & of course, I loved it too but am not quite as discerning (that’s a really nice way of saying “picky,” right?) THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH!!!!! I don’t have all these exact ingredients on hand but will use what I have today, since it’s Taco Tuesday & I have been CRAVING an OTH Tostada with Melted Cheese!!! I’ll let you know how it turns out. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart…stomach…
Thank you so much. I too grew up eating there. Was so sad when could no longer buy dressing. You have saved me from all future sadness. Made this dressing today and is is pretty darn close. Thank you for taking the time to share.
This could almost be our story, verbatim! The only difference was that growing up, our location was the one on Powell!
We were devastated when we heard they closed and I instantly got online looking for a recipe, but to no avail! Two days ago, my husband gave it another go and look what popped up….YOUR recipe! We were out the next day gathering all the ingredients, and came right home and made it. HOLLA…you nailed it! We had a dab left to taste compare, and I actually told my husband I might like your version better!
Thank you for recreating this dressing! We have long since moved from Portland, and will definitely miss our trips to the OTH when we come for visits, but at least we will have this dressing to remind us of what was!
Now, about that enchilada sauce…
I’m so glad you like my recipe! I’m just happy that I got it right and can preserve a little of Portland’s history for future generations. 😉
Hi Renee!
Like so many of the previous commenters, I also spent many happy times at both Original Taco houses on 82nd and Powell back in the 70s and 80s during high school and college days, I took all of my girlfriend’s there and we just loved that place! Spent many wonderful afternoons and evenings in those romantic settings! The only things I ordered there were the meat and cheese salad, and the large El Picador with extra cheese and sauce. LOL
Since I moved to California I have not been able to find any satisfactory substitute for the old Pic sauce (as it used to be called), except I have tried using La Victoria’s Mild Taco Sauce in a pinch which is okay, but not exactly like the original……I do have a question for you: have you figured out how to make a DIY El Picador? I have tried many times here at home only to discover there was more to those wonderful dishes than just chips and cheese and Pic sauce!
Blessings,
John
My husband and I were big fans of both the meat & cheese salad and the El Picador. The dry seasoning they used on the Pic was key, and I don’t know what it was, but I’ll work on it.
Hope you can recreate! I loved the El Picador too!
The pic sauce! I’m looking for that too.
This dressing is great! Love your recipe.
Madison 1983!
Thanks for doing the hard work on this. I’ll be making it this week.
Thank you so much!!! I doubled the recipe and used a 14.5oz can of tomatoes and one yellow can of ElPato sauce. Worked perfect and tastes great! Can’t wait to make an El’Picador tomorrow! When I moved away to college they told me how to make the meat. Add one yellow can of ElPato sauce to ground beef for the meat.
Now how about the salt for the chips???
A waitress who at the time was working at the Original taco House on Powell said the Picador sauce was the Fiesta sauce with something added to it but I have no idea what the added ingredient is, and she did not want to tell me. Hopefully the Waddle family will put out a cook book soon. Any one have any guesses on what was added to make it a Pic sauce?
First I’ve heard of anything beyond their “salad dressing”, cheese, and seasoned meat on chips then baked in an oven. I will say their freshly made chips were something special too, I thought.
I’d be curious to hear if you get confirmation of anything modified here, but when I’d talked to servers in the past they’d confirmed my suspicion of just the dressing being the added flavor. I may have to dig through old family connections to check (had family friends that worked there from 2 generations older than mine).
El pato. Source: my aunt was a waitress at the Powell location from the late 70s until her death in ’92.
I should note it’s the regular yellow can not the green jalapeno one. Winco has it, usually near the taco and burrito shells.
Nice on the find! And yeah, it would make sense you’d want a bit more heat and less sweetness on a nacho. My homemade attempts never did quite taste right to me. And it makes sense with the existing inclusion above. Just tweaking the ratios…
Any chance of the enchilada sauce recipe? I know my mother and Renee (sorry, don’t know how to add an accent) would appreciate it 😀
It’s the yellow can of el pato, you can find it at Winco near the taco shells and such.
Source: aunt worked at the Powell location for over 10 years
Thanks so much, Nathaniel! I had the right brand, but I will update the recipe to specify the yellow can. That’s what I used in the recipe reconstruction. I imagine that the green can would make it taste quite different.
Do you know if this can be frozen. I …would love to make a big batch and freeze individual bottles to use at a later date. I don’t think I can can it due to the cheese. However I could just add the cheese as I open a bottle and let it sit over in the fridge overnight.
I hadn’t even thought about freezing it. Cheese can be frozen. If you give it a try, please let us know how it turns out.
I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to figure this out. I was so broken-hearted when my very favorite place of all time closed! I married and moved away from Portland in 1978 and lived in Tennessee for 36 years and my mom used to ship me a dozen bottles every year. After she passed away, I ordered it myself! We moved back to Oregon 4 years ago. When I heard the Taco House closed, I hate to admit, but I (along with my husband’s encouragement!), went to every Winco in town and bought about 13 or 14 bottles! (And yes, I have shared it! ) I kept google-ing the recipe and then all of the sudden, yours appeared!!!! I loved your story about how you went about re-inventing the recipe and threatened your family not to touch the last bit in the bottle! LOL. Thank you so much! Blessings…
You are so welcome! I have to admit that I’m a little overwhelmed by the response to this post – it means a lot. Thank you so much for your kind words of support.
I too wanted to thank you for the effort. I’d been hoping someone would simply continue the grocery sales of their products, the only one I’d searched for and bought was the salad dressing for picadors. Heck I’d been thinking it might not be a terrible business to get into myself if I could license it (selling their recipes in premade form), but no idea what the costs or efforts would be as I’ve never tried anything similar.
Anyway, I hope to try this soon!
I’ve actually been trying to contact Jeff Waddle to discuss just that, Joe. However, I’ve yet to find a contact avenue for him that he responds to. I’ll keep trying though – too many people want that enchilada sauce recipe!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU…and many blessings on your head. I have been having withdrawls since the one on Powell closed. The original tostada was my go to favorite. I accidently found your recipe. I check periodically to see if there is anything close to what I remember loving. THIS IS IT! I love you.
You are so welcome, Terri! Your comment made my day!
Renee…I went out and gathered all the ingredients for the dressing. I have been in a dressing/salad induced state ever since. It’s HEAVEN!
So glad that it makes you happy!
Do you have the OTC salsa recipe?
As I mentioned int he post, I was only able to recreate this recipe by carefully breaking down the ingredient list and then taste-testing against the last ounces of my original and adjusting my recipe until it tasted right. I can’t recreate the salsa because I don’t have any of the OTH salsa to compare with.
I would just like to add to my original comment…YESSS!!!! After trying several disappointing recipes in an attempt to recreate this dressing, I was so happy that RENEE DID IT!. This dressing is a wonderful substitute for the Original OTH Fiesta Dressing & it’s ALWAYS in my refrigerator. Thank you again, Renee!
Thank you so much for your kind words and your enthusiastic thumbs up! 👍🏻
Oh my goodness! I think I love you! I’ve been in the hunt for the dressing for a while. My niece found it st a Winco in Vancouver. I crave this dressing!! My shopping list is being filled out now! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you, Sue – You’ve made my day!
I just wanted to let everyone know that I tried freezing the salad dressing. I worked out great!! I just used an old canning jar and lid and popped in the freezer. I probably left it in there for about 3 weeks. When it was time for our taco salad dinner, I just pulled it out a day or two ahead of time and put in the fridge to thaw. It did separate, but I just shook it up and it was good to go. I am so excited this worked out. Plan on making a larger batch this time so I can freeze a few jars full.
Thanks so much for the feedback, Denise! I’m so glad it’s working for you!
Thank you Denise, that’s SO HELPFUL!!!
Thank you so much for this recipe. Winco used to carry it years ago but not anymore. I tried to find a copycat recipe for some time before I found yours. It is absolutely a perfect match. Now I can enjoy a salad with my “cheese and onion” enchiladas. Again, thank you so much.
You are so welcome, Janet! I’m glad it works for you!!
I’m so happy i found this! Being born and raised in Portland, the closing of the original taco house was devistating! I have been craving this ever since the news hit. I made this today and it is so good! About 99.9% perfect. I’m currently “marinating the flavors”. So I’m sure it’s 100%! Thank you for you’re development research.
It really is even better after a day in the fridge! Time allows all those flavors to meld together.
I have now been eating this for the entire week. I have even had friends offer me “any sum of money” to make a batch. No I haven’t accepted! but am sharing my batches with others. LOOOOOVE IT!
So glad that you like it!!!
I haven’t made this yet. I’m dying to, but broke my kneecap, so in a little while. What I’m dying to find is the OTC’s mild sauce recipe. ????
So sorry about your knee – I hope you heal quickly. As for the mild sauce recipe, you are not alone. I’d love to work that one up, too, but I don’t have a sample or an ingredient list as I did in this one, so I’m working at a severe disadvantage. I’ve been trying to contact OTH past owners, but have gotten no response so far. (If anyone out there has any solid contact info for Jeff Waddle, please contact me asap and I will get right on it.)
Hello,
Excited to try your recipe for the Taco House salad dressing. Was a fan of it myself. What I have heard about the Waddle family is that they own a restaurant in Vancouver, WA called DuckTales. You can find the restaurant information online.
Omg this is spot on and SO good! Thank you for taking the time to share it!!
You’re very welcome! Thank you for the great feedback!
Thank you for doing The Lord’s work! Just kidding, but seriously… we also grew up on this place, and that dressing is like none other. I’m so happy to find this recipe!
Glad to be of service, Kristin! Enjoy!
I worked at the 82ed store in the early 70s and remember making the dressing. We used 4 gallons of the Waddle’s french dressing and the big can of Old El Pato (32 oz)! That was it. Also, the mild salsa was the El Pato right out of the can.
The Taco seasoning, if I remember correctly, was McCormick’s Taco Seasoning. The taco meat was 5 lb of 80% fat ground chuck, 1 cup of the seasoning, and about 4 oz of Campbell’s Consume, fried in a big aluminum pot. It was placed in a basket with holes in the bottom to drain the fat.
The El Pic was a layer of chips (which we cut and fried in the “Annex” next door) with taco meat, cheese (50% mild cheddar and 50% jack), more chips, meat cheese, some of the Enchilada sauce, black olives, more chips and cheese, and micro zapped until the cheese melted.
Ah, the memories!
Thank you! I anyways felt there was some sort of French dressing component. I have been enjoying the copycat recipe but will definitely try this too.
To everyone asking about the OTH enchilada sauce, I tried for years to find a recipe, and finally stumbled on something really darn close – Old El Paso enchilada sauce (canned). I also had looked online and found some albondigas (meatball) soup recipes and combined them – mine is an exact duplicate. OTH dressing is a must for picadors at home, so I’m eager to try this (just got it today). Thank you so much for sharing! I actually have an OTH menu – the heavy folding menu from some years back (taco – $3.95) and I had actually taken one of their take out menu flyers the week before they closed. (It’s now framed and hanging on my wall along with the last rewards card.) I had been going there since they opened (1960), visiting all locations, including Vancouver and the one on Stark that wasn’t called Taco House (same food though). I used to tell my family to cremate me when I die and spread my ashes on their parking lot just in case you can take it with you? 🙂
Oops…just to clarify – I was such a fan and a regular, I got to know the waitresses at various locations and asked for the heavy menu. The waitress graciously gave me one.
Thank you so much for the info on the enchilada sauce, Cheryl!
My family history with OTH mirrors yours. I’m so glad to find this! You’re doing the Lord’s work here.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Nathan!
Regarding the “Hot Pepper Sauce” where you use cholula, I noticed that Tabasco has the exact ingredient list. I am making this dressing today and am going to try it with Tabasco as that matches the dressing ingredient list exactly!
Thank you! Since so little hot sauce is used, I wasn’t as concerned about the brand as I was with that of the tomato sauce. I used Chalula because it delivers approximately the same approximate level of heat.However, I’ll take a look at my Tabasco bottle and update the recipe accordingly. Thank you for passing that info on, Travis. We worked hard to get this as close as possible to the original: this just brings it a step closer!
I made a double batch and it is REALLY spot on. I don’t have an original bottle to compare to, but it tastes like I remember. I had to resist the urge to tweak it and make my own version of perfect. I really wanted to get the original down first. Very well done!!
Thank you for putting in so much effort!
Thanks so much for the great feedback, Travis! (And I get you! I have a terrible time not tweaking a recipe when I make it for the first time, too!)