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This easy creamy Caesar salad dressing recipe comes together fast, and you don’t need any fancy ingredients to make it. It’s better than store-bought or at a restaurant!
Making Caesar salad? You definitely need to add in my Easy Homemade Croutons.
Why you’ll love it
This quick and easy Caesar dressing is the one you’ve been searching for. It’s so good. It’s incredibly simple to whip up on busy weeknights, and it doesn’t make a mess like other more involved versions do. You don’t have to deal with a blender, no food processor, nada.
You will never go back to the stuff in a bottle after trying this homemade Caesar dressing with pantry ingredients since you can feel good knowing exactly what’s going into it. I’m pretty picky when it comes to Caesar dressing, and this is by far my favorite!
What you’ll need
- Mayonnaise – mayo makes a wonderful creamy base so that there are no raw eggs, and it eliminates all the guesswork. I use Hellmann’s mayo. You can also make your own mayo, but honestly the pre-made stuff is great for salad dressings.
- Sour cream – adds more creaminess and a tangy zip
- Worcestershire sauce – Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies, so we’re not using whole anchovies like other recipes do. This gives it just enough of that signature anchovy umami flavor in a great Caesar dressing without it being overwhelming!
- Fresh lemon juice – for a pop of acidity and bright freshness
- Dijon mustard – it’s a trick of mine to give dressings and sauces even more savory depth of flavor
- Garlic – we’ve got a good amount of fresh garlic here
- Parmesan – freshly grated parmesan cheese is an absolute must in any Caesar dressing for that nutty, cheesy quality
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Use this garlic press to make it that much easier to mince the garlic cloves. No need to peel first! For the parmesan, use a Microplane zester to finely grate it from a block.
- These scissor salad tongs are awesome to serve up any salad, and here’s my favorite salad spinner for the lettuce.
- I love storing salad dressings in these covered yogurt jars.
Pro tip
The S&L kitchen feels this Caesar dressing is perfect as written, but not everyone’s tastebuds are the same, and that’s totally okay! Feel free to adjust to your own preferences. Need more lemon juice? Add it. More salt or pepper? More garlic? Don’t be shy!
How to make Caesar dressing
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Grate the parmesan. Add all the ingredients to a small bowl or a measuring cup. Stir or whisk until smooth. Chill if desired in the fridge, and then drizzle it over romaine lettuce, my Easy Homemade Croutons (Garlic & Parmesan), and top with parm!
Substitutions and variations
- You could leave the parmesan cheese out, but I recommend including it. It really tastes much better with it in here. You could also sub for asiago cheese in a pinch.
- If your heart is set on using anchovies or anchovy paste, you could, but I prefer Worcestershire sauce. Be careful not to overdo it if you do go that route!
- Need to make it vegetarian? Sub in some minced capers instead of the Worcestershire sauce for that briny, savory flavor. Start with 1 tbsp and adjust from there.
What to serve with Caesar salad
- Caesar salad goes with basically any main course, but I love it with this Creamy Garlic Chicken, Baked Pork Chops, or these Garlic Butter Steak Bites.
- Want to make something other than a classic Caesar salad with this dressing? Try my Chicken Caesar Crostini or this Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad.
Leftovers and storage
- This Caesar dressing recipe yields about a cup of dressing, so it’ll make two decently sized salads or one large one, so you probably won’t have leftovers!
- But if you do have leftovers or doubled the recipe, this dressing will keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the fridge.
Is this your new favorite Caesar salad dressing recipe? You’re only about 10 minutes away from finding out. Leave a star rating and review below if you made it!
Easy Caesar Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 3/4 cup mayo
- 2 tablespoons sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 large clove garlic minced
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Grate your parmesan cheese.
- Add all ingredients to a medium bowl. Give everything a good stir (or whisk it) until the dressing is smooth. Taste and adjust as needed.
- Serve immediately or chill first. Dressing will keep in the fridge, covered, for a few days.
Notes
- I encourage you to play with the ingredient quantities if the taste isn’t exactly what you’re looking for. E.g. add more Dijon or Worcestershire sauce.
- For nutrition info: the serving size in this salad dressing is one tablespoon (it makes about a cup in total).
- This recipe is also on page 202 of the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials hardcover cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Delicious! So easy, won’t be buying in a store anymore!
That’s great!! So pleased you enjoyed it!
This turned out delicious. Thanks for sharing. No more need to buy store Caesar dressing.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you.
My husband loved it! Never going back to store bought dressing.
That’s amazing!! Thanks for commenting, Anna!
I made this last night and it was delish! So easy and I had all of the ingredients on hand! And it made lots so we can have that yumminess again tonight!
So glad to hear it!! 🙂
Yum! I have a thing with Mayo – is there something else I could use instead? More Greek yogurt? Or olive oil?
Honestly it won’t be the same and I can’t really comment without testing. The mayo gives it a nice silky texture. I understand if you don’t like mayo by itself, but I promise it doesn’t taste like mayo in the dressing. Mayo is the basis of many creamy dressings/aiolis, so if you like those, you shouldn’t have a problem with this one. ☺️ I just buy the tiny containers of mayo from the store for things like this since I don’t eat it too often.
Seriously amazing recipe. My kids love Caesar salads and I’m through buying the bottled dressings. Made my own mayo and all… delicious! Thanks
Added more mustard and a good amount of fresh pepper.
That makes me so happy!!
This is such an easy and delicious recipe! I’m with everyone else who made this before me – never buying bottled Caesar dressing again! I added a touch of olive oil, and since I didn’t have lemon juice, I used just a smidge of rice vinegar. YUM!
Aww I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Jess! 🙂
Was out of Cesar dressing and looking for a simple recipe. This was perfect, so quick and easy, I already had everything on hand! Tastes really good, not sure I will buy store bought again.
Yay I’m so happy to hear that!! XO
Oh boy – not only was this recipe easy and delicious as written, I did it again without the sour cream – so it would be thicker – and it made a perfect dipping sauce for artichokes; thanks! 👍
Artichokes – good idea!!
Yum! Thank you so much!
You’re very welcome, Tina!!