I grew up in a vinaigrette Caesar salad family. Creamy was frowned upon and jokingly beneath us. However, turns out I quite love creamy Caesar, and married a man who does as well!
Salad dressings are really one of those items I don't want to buy ready-made. Many of them contain questionable ingredients, but also they are SO expensive. We eat a ton of salad when the kitchen garden is loaded with lettuce, so I can't be buying tiny bottles for a large family. (I realize that large bottles exist, but making salad dressings is a priority for us!)
Why You Need This Recipe
- Dirty just two jars and a blender! Super quick and easy.
- You'll learn to make homemade mayo!
- No excuses not to eat more veggies when you have a delicious dressing such as this.
Key Ingredients
Egg - Farm fresh. Know where your egg is from as we are eating it raw here.
Lemon juice - We don't usually have great citrus this far north, so I always have a bottle in the fridge.
Anchovy paste - Yup, you need fish here. It's where the classic flavor of Caesar comes from. Don't skip this!! But check out my hack for more affordable easy swap for anchovy paste.
Parmesan cheese - while you don't have to make your own, you DO have to grate your own. The green can never belongs in this recipe.
Oil - I love olive oil for most applications, but not in my mayo. I find it too heavy. Stick with lighter oils like sunflower or avocado. You can definitely use olive for up to half of the required oil, which will make your mayo thicker. Just don't use only olive oil.
How to Make Caesar Salad
Step 1: In your jar/blender, add eggs, lemon juice, mustard, and salt. Blend til combined.
Step 2: With the immersion blender on low, slowly pour in your oil so that it takes about 15-20 seconds to pour it all in. Slowly lift the blender as it emulsifies and you've got mayo!
Step 3: I have a pint and a half jar with measurements on it, so I use it for the oil, and then I use it for the next step- add the garlic, anchovy, lemon, balsamic, Worcestershire, and mustard. Blend with an immersion blender until well combined.
Step 4: Add into the mayo and gently blend.
Step 5: Add Parmesan, salt and pepper, give a shake or a gentle blend, and taste.
Step 6: Tear clean lettuce into a very large bowl with room for tossing.
Step 7: Add dressing and toss to coat, adding more as necessary. Add more cheese and croutons if desired.
Tips and Tricks
- Use a jar with measurement markings so you can just pour everything in without dirtying little measuring cups.
- Got leftovers? Making it in a jar means you have an easy lid handy.
- Yes, you can use store-bought mayo here!
Substitutions
It looks like a lot of overwhelming ingredients but I find most of them are standard. You might need to buy one or two, but they last forever in the fridge which means you’re not far from having a great homemade dressing at any time.
For me, anchovy paste is hard to find and expensive. However, fish sauce is a great alternative and drastically cheaper, so I use that, but you can use either. Maybe my palate is not refined enough, but I don't notice a difference between using one or the other.
FAQs
I’m not opposed to buying mayo, but since this uses a good bit of it, I’ve found it's worth the extra couple minutes to make my own mayo. Since you use a lot of overlap ingredients and dishes, it's not too much extra effort.
I use a jar with measuring marks or measuring cup to measure the oil for the mayo, and then turn around and use that same one to blend the ingredients for the Caesar dressing.
But yes - I do buy mayo to keep on hand for quick sandwiches, etc. so no shame in using it here!
I am an olive oil loving person but 100% olive oil does not make the best mayo in our opinion. You can use up to half, and for the other half use a lighter oil like avocado oil or sunflower oil. This gives you a thicker end product.
Once you start making it as the base of your Ceasar dressing, you'll find yourself wanting to make mayo more often. We enjoy it as a salad dressing, coleslaw dressing, vegetable dip, sauce for wraps or dipping pizza crusts!
More Dressings and Dips to Enjoy
Hey friends, don't forget to follow me over on Instagram, cause if you like me here, I post there a LOT! I'm also on YouTube with tutorials and Facebook for all sorts of things.
If you like this recipe, I’d love if you reviewed it so others can find it easier. Sharing this recipe on Facebook or Pinterest is another way you can help us out at no cost to you. Thanks, xo Kate
Caesar Salad
Ingredients
Mayonnaise
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon mustard
- Pinch salt
- ¾ cup “light” oil such as sunflower, avocado or canola
Dressing
- 1 cup mayo from a jar or the entire homemade recipe above
- 2-4 cloves garlic preferably fresh
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste OR 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar optional
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Salad
- Romaine lettuce
- Parmesan cheese
- Croutons
Instructions
Make the Mayo
- In your jar/blender, add eggs, lemon juice, mustard, and salt.
- Blend til combined.
- If using immersion blender, keep blender down in the egg mix, I kind of use the immersion blender with the jar to hold the jar against me with it still on the counter to hold it steady.
- With the immersion blender on low, slowly pour in your oil so that it takes about 15-20 seconds to pour it all in.
- Slowly lift the blender up the jar as the liquid level rises. You'll notice it changing from liquid to emulsified mayo!! Woohoo!
- Give it a few pumps up and down after you’ve added all the oil and voila, you’ve got mayo!
- If using a blender jar, let it run as you slowly drizzle in the oil.
Make the Dressing
- In a quart jar, add the garlic, anchovy, lemon, balsamic, Worcestershire, and mustard.
- Blend with an immersion blender until well combined.
- Add in mayo and gently blend.
- Add Parmesan, salt and pepper, give a shake or a gentle blend, and taste.
Make the Salad
- Wash and dry the lettuce and tear into bite-sized bits into 1-2 very large bowls.
- Add dressing and toss to coat, adding more as necessary.
- Top with more freshly shredded Parmesan cheese.
- Add croutons if desired and serve.
Notes
- Always, always, shred your own cheese!
- Light tasting oil is best here. You can use olive oil for up to half of the amount called for in the mayo, but I never like the taste and texture using only olive.
- This makes about a pint jar of dressing, so you can cover a LOT of lettuce. It's perfect for making for a crowd.
Maria Österbacka
Have to try this. Cesar dressing is something we try to always have in our fridge. We use it a lot!
About the recipe: what does 1/2 c stand for (I’m used to deciliters etc so I have to use my brains a lot here. And maybe buy myself a set of measuring cups to match your recipes)
kateschat
1/2 cup which is 125ml. 1 cup= 250ml
whimsicalsquidlet
This recipe made me find ways to eat Caesar dressing on everything. Easy and delicious.
Miranda Wagoner
We make this with or without the parmesan, it's good every time! We also have integrated the mayo recipe into our daily life.
Helen Pleavin
Just like most of Kate's recipes, this one is a hit! Not quite real ceasar salad dressing but very close (and that may have been my fault) and the easy recipe more than makes up for it.
Deniz
I tried this recipe a year ago for the first time and my entire extended family makes it now. Except that our milk is store bought ?
Kate P
This has become our go to dip and we love it!
Lori Miller
We now have a new Ceasar Salad dressing recipe thanks to Kate's recipe. It's so easy to whip up and tastes amazing ! No more store bought for us .
Christine
Loved this dressing!! I have made it a few times now 🙂 Will have to try the addition of balsamic dressing.
Kacey
Great twist on a Caesar dressing, a hit in my house and is now on repeat.
Kim
This is literally THE BEST Caesar dressing, hands down. We LOVE it. And don’t skip the balsamic. It should Not be listed as optional on the ingredient list. So. So. Good!
Sarah
Excellent dressing!! We use it often.
Kate
Had this for Thanksgiving and it was lovely. Ty!
Adell Aubert
So dang good! I've used both fish sauce and anchovy paste, delicious either way!
Missy
Tried it and love this dressing! Worth it to get the anchovy paste.
Rachel C.
I have never had ceaser salad dressing before and I have always wanted to try it. So I decided to try this one and it’s a family hit!!! I even like to just dip my veggies in it as a dip.
Alicia Stelling
I made this recipe recently and and we loved it. I guess you might call me a Ranch dressing snob but I liked this better!!!
Cassie Byrd
Tried this the other night, definitely will be making again...so good!!
Alison Westermann
This is a seriously solid recipe. Several youtuber/bloggers have raved about it and I finally tried it for thanksgiving and it was a super hit! The entire salad was gone and my son was begging for more!
Nikki
We loveeeee this recipe!!!
Andrea Barber
This is SOOOO good! I will be making this regually! Thank you, Kate!
Andrea Barber
*Regularly
Hilary
I can't explain how fantastic this dressing is. Once you make this you'll never ever buy store bought again.
mogrma
Added items to my grocery list!
Littlefarmhouseonfelton
This recipe is the absolute BEST! I make it whenever we host another family and it is always a favorite!
Mandy
I was skeptical of this. My husband is not a fan of my homemade dressings! But when I asked him how his salad was the response was “delicious!”. This recipe is a hit at my house!
Casey S
Absolutely my favorute dressing recipe I have EVER made! Even used the anchovy paste after much arguing with myself and no regrets, I think it made it better! Highly recommend to everyone!
rachel
My favorite recipe! So delicious and easy to make, goes with everything!
Emily
One of our favourite family staples!!
Amber
This recipe is great! I've made it twice now, and it's going into our regular rotation.
Anna Temporale
Literally, best dressing ever.
Leesif
Kate. Oh my word, Kate! I’ve been meaning to make this for a year or two and now I’m kicking myself for not doing it sooner. My 2&3 year old boys were fighting over my salad. I couldn’t wait for dinner, so I was dipping peppers in it and my little guy who hates peppers was begging for them with your dressing. This was excellent. 5 stars!
Toi
I was impressed how easy it was to whip up. It was delicious tossed with Romaine Lettuce and grilled chicken breast.
kateschat
that is my favourite way to use it!
wendy
I just made it despite the fact that I don't have anchovies in the house. I find it hard to believe it would be even better with them. They aren't something I usually buy so I'll have to look for them.