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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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I always assumed homemade Caesar would be complicated and super involved, so I am thrilled to know I was wrong! This dressing is so delicious and simple to throw together quickly, ,and included ingredients I already had on hand. I am officially done with store-bought dressings!
Yay!! That makes so happy. I’m glad you tried it, Becky! Thanks for your review. 😀
Love this Caesar Salad dressing!! Quick, easy, and delicious! My new go to for sure!! Everyone loves it! My grandson says I should make that all the time! 👌🏻
Fantastic!! I’m so happy to hear that!
This is my new go-to recipe for Caesar … I absolutely love the taste, how simple it is and that everyone loves it.
I’m thrilled to hear that, Ali! Thank you!
Will this dressing last a week covered in fridge?
I think that should probably be fine.
The Caesar salad dressing is delicious but I find it very thick, how would I thin it out? Any suggestions?
You could add more lemon juice and/or Worcestershire sauce depending on your tastes.
Thanks Natasha, I’ll try that
You’re welcome!
Actually adding a tablespoon or two of water does the trick and it doesn’t change the taste of the dressing like another ingredient would.
My husband says this is the best Caesar dressing. We no longer buy pre made dressing from the store.
Thrilled to hear that!! 🙂
Thank you for this recipe – it’s AMAZING!
You’re welcome! 😀
Outstanding!
Our 13 year-old boy had (3) servings of salad because he loved this dressing, it’s so garlicky and good. Only subs were full fat plain yogurt instead of sour cream & 2 splashes Red Boat fish sauce instead of anchovy paste. I will use this recipe forever.
That makes me so happy!! 🙂
Fantastically easy recipe, and it’s soooo good, everyone loves eating salad now! We add a little more garlic and a teaspoon of anchovy paste – honestly, I could eat this by the spoonful!
So happy to hear that!!
Great recipe but to add a touch of surprise I add 5 drops of Tabasco or other hot sauce , more garlic for garlic lovers and what is Caesar dressing without anchovies ? YUM YUM UMAMI
Yup, you could definitely add some hot sauce to it. I always add more garlic as well. The Worcestershire sauce has anchovies, so that’s covered! 😉