The Best Homemade Caesar Salad
This really is the best Caesar salad recipe! It’s a classic recipe with crisp romaine lettuce, sharp Parmesan cheese, and easy homemade croutons all tossed in a super simple creamy homemade dressing.
I’ve been obsessed with Caesar salads for years— I’m serving them with dinner several nights a week and I’m ordering them whenever we eat out. I’m always on the lookout for the very best!
And I believe I’ve unlocked the best homemade Caesar salad recipe. It’s fairly authentic (yes, there’s anchovy in the dressing), but still quick, easy, and approachable. Make this salad a part of your regular salad routine at home, I know you’re going to love it!
Serve it alongside soup, pasta, or almost any main dish. To make this classic Caesar salad a light main dish all on its own, add protein like chicken or salmon.
Table of Contents
- What’s in a Caesar Salad?
- How to make Caesar salad dressing
- How to make Caesar salad
- Caesar salad FAQs
- More green salad recipes
- The Best Homemade Caesar Salad Recipe
What’s in a Caesar Salad?
Caesar salads are very simple, but incredible when done right. There are 4 components to a true Caesar salad:
- Romaine lettuce. Romaine is specifically required for a classic Caesar salad. You can tear it or cut it, though uniform pieces make for easier eating.
- Croutons. Store-bought works okay, but homemade is preferred! And not that difficult, I’ll show you how to do it.
- Parmesan cheese. You can use grated, shredded or shaved. Though, buying a whole block or wedge of cheese and grating or shaving it yourself yields the best flavor. And if you want to go all-out, use Parmegiano-Reggiano for the most quality.
- Caesar dressing. Once again, homemade Caesar dressing is so much better than bottled. Make a large batch and have it on hand for salads throughout the week.
How to make Caesar salad dressing
Making a homemade dressing is key to a fabulous Caesar salad at home. And thankfully, it’s EASY! Here’s the ingredients you’ll need to make homemade Caesar salad dressing (full recipe below):
- Mayonnaise. I use mayo in place of emulsifying egg yolks and oil, since that’s essentially what mayo is. It’s a shortcut! This version whisks together effortlessly in just a matter of seconds, plus you don’t have to worry about using raw eggs.
- Anchovy paste. If using anchovies makes you nervous, it shouldn’t! Anchovies give the dressing its distinct flavor, and using paste from a tube eliminates any unpleasantness. Look for it in a well-stocked grocery store along with the artisan pasta sauces and garnishes, or along with the canned meat.
- Fresh lemon juice, not bottled
- Fresh minced garlic, or garlic powder in a pinch
- Dijon or whole grain mustard
- Worcestershire sauce, for more umami flavor
- Salt and pepper
How to make Caesar salad
- Make the croutons. Toss torn or sliced bread cubes with olive oil and salt, then spread into an even layer on a baking sheet pan and toast in a 375°F oven until golden brown, about 7-10 minutes. Don’t let them burn!
- Mix the dressing. While the croutons are toasting, whisk all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl or jar. It’ll keep for several weeks in the fridge, so feel free to make it ahead of time.
- Wash and chop the lettuce. I love to use my salad spinner to keep things easy.
- Combine everything just before serving. This salad won’t keep long, so toss the lettuce, parmesan, and croutons with the dressing and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Caesar salad FAQs
A simple google search will provide you with plenty of recipes that don’t use anchovies, but I’ll argue that they’re not quite the same! Anchovies will provide the signature flavor that can’t be replaced. And one $5 tube of anchovy paste from the grocery store will make dozens of delicious salads. It’s worth it!
However, if you’re looking for an alternative, it is possible to make this salad without anchovies altogether. Simply increase Worcestershire sauce to 1 1/2 teaspoons.
Use any bread you like! Any French, sourdough or artisan loaf from a bakery or the grocery store will be great, but a simple loaf of white sandwich bread will make for delicious croutons too.
All components can be made ahead of time. Store chopped washed lettuce, parmesan cheese, and prepared Caesar dressing the fridge for several days or more. Prepared croutons can be stored at room temperature for a few days, or even frozen for a month or more. Combine all salad ingredients just before serving.
Absolutely! Add chicken, salmon or steak to make this a light main dish.
More green salad recipes
The Best Homemade Caesar Salad Recipe
The Best Homemade Caesar Salad
Ingredients
Croutons:
- 3 cups torn bread cubes , about half of a small loaf
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- Heavy pinch of salt
Dressing:
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 clove of garlic , minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Salad:
- 1 head romaine lettuce , washed and torn or chopped into bite-sized pieces
- Dressing
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese , grated, shaved or shredded
- Croutons
Instructions
Make the croutons:
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Drizzle bread cubes with enough olive oil so they are all very lightly coated. Toss and add salt.
- Spread out onto a sheet pan and bake until edges turn brown, 7-10 minutes. Keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn, stir and toss them as needed.
- Set aside while you prepare the rest of the salad. Can be made several days in advance and stored in an airtight container.
Make the dressing:
- Whisk together all ingredients.
- Store in the fridge until ready to use. Can be made at least 1 week in advance.
Assemble the salad:
- In a large bowl, toss the lettuce with enough dressing to lightly coat the leaves (or to your preference). You may not need all of the dressing.
- Add half of the croutons and Parmesan cheese and toss again.
- Top with remaining croutons and cheese and serve immediately.
Video
This recipe was originally published May 2018.
I’ve become 100% obsessed with Caesar salads recently, too. I’ve always been scared to try making my own dressing, but your recipe makes it seem totally doable! Also, Porcupine Grill here in SLC has an amazing Caesar salad that you can add blackened salmon to……sooooo good.
So I went and had that salad over the weekend- I had to! So good, thanks for the recommendation! 🙂
This dressing is amazing and simply delicious. This will be a spring staple! Anchovy paste and mayo are huge time savers, plus the homemade croutons…awesome.
Thank you for sharing.
Yay! So glad you love the dressing as much as I do. 🙂
Just made the Caesar salad with grilled chicken.
It was delicious ?. Great easy recipe ?
Made this delicious salad exactly as instructed, and served with grilled steak dinners. Five stars from three generations of salad lovers. Two teenaged boys exclaimed how good it was! This recipe’s a keeper!
can you make this ahead?
The dressing and croutons can definitely be made ahead! But I’d assemble the salad right before serving.
Wow wow just wow, delicious recipe, easy to make, thank you.
The best!!!!!!!!! Ive made it twice and will be my new go to ceaser recipie
this helped me with my project thanks
I make this without the Mayo (nor eggs) and it is still delicious.
Great recipe, easy too, as a bachelor! Give it a try.
The BEST Caesar salad dressing! I can eat & enjoy this even with a sensitive stomach. ❤️
This was an excellent recipe. Next time I may double the dressing since my husband had two platefulls!
Loved it. The dressing was so delicious 😋 the next day after the ingredients settled in.
For 10 servings can I double up the recipe for the salad dressing? Am adding more greens than called for. Thank you..
Yes, the dressing can be scaled up as needed! Enjoy!
This is a wonderful recipe, dressing tastes amazing, and really easy. We love it, a staple now. Thanks very much. 💜
Great recipe. I followed the recipe exactly. I used homemade croutons and good quality cheese. It was a Hugh hit.
Nice and simple. Does the trick!
I made this for a new friend a few weeks ago and he asked for it again for our New Years dinner…” please make it just like last time!”
We came across this Caesar salad dressing recipe a couple of weeks ago and we have not stopped eating it since. It is one of the best we have had! Definitely saved this recipes for all my future salads.
100/10 best salad ever
so good I love this it was scrumdiliumpsicous
There is no mayo in Caesar dresing, mayo is too thick. You forgot to add capers, egg yolk, quality vingar.
I’ll give you a pass on the worcestershire sauce.
Did you read the post or even try this recipe? I explain why I use mayo in place of emulsifying egg yolks, oil and vinegar. It’s much easier! And more accessible for the average home cook. If you bothered to try this recipe, I’m willing to bet you’d find it delicious!
The dressing is wonderful! I always double it so extra can be added.
I agree this is the only Caeser Salad recipe you will ever need.
So perfect. Wouldn’t change a thing. We have eaten this for days and every single time we make it, it tastes just as perfect as the first time. If you love Caesar, THIS is the recipe.
SUCH a great recipe! We have eaten this for days and are obsessed. It is literally the most delicious thing we have ever tasted. Followed it to the letter. So thankful for this recipe.
I try your Cesar salad recipe for me I always made it the traditional way but your recipe was very good the only thing I changed instead of paste anchovies I used 4 from a small jar like your recipes thank you 😊 e
I have never been lucky with recipes. Nothing I find is good. This is the first time I have ever made something so delicious. I am also not an anchovy type of person but the paste doesn’t give it a fishy taste and it is absolutely delicious and very easy to make. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the fnaf games recipe. I always eat salad to lose weight
I added more lemon and yellow Dijon because I like the after flavors and my family loved it too!! So far this is my favorite recipe!!! Yummy!!!
This is an excellent recipe. First time I used mayo instead of oil and soft boiled egg. Also, first time I made my own croutons, which is healthier. My husband loved it!