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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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Sounds great! When you say Parmesan cheese..do you mean parmagana regiono or green jar? I also have Romano?
Hi! I buy a block of parmesan cheese and grate it myself. By green jar do you mean the powered stuff? I wouldn’t touch that haha. Parmigiano-Reggiano will be labeled as such only if it was made in Italy, I believe. In North American grocery stores, blocks of cheese labeled “parmesan” may not be authentic but there are good varieties and it’ll work better than anything pre-grated. I haven’t tested this with Romano but I think it could work. Let me know!
Delicious!!!!!! Thank you. Another keeper!!!
You’re very welcome!!
Looks delicious
This is over the top! My husband loved it! He used it as a dip with broccoli and actually drank what was left! lol I didn’t have sour cream so I used some heavy cream I had in the fridge instead. It came out thick and creamy. Just perfect. Thanks for the recipe.
Hahaha I love that. I’m so glad it’s a new fave!
To do it with blender you use eggs and olive oil and vinegar and rest of stuff. Using mayo is the substitute for eggs, if you have a recipe calls for eggs and you don’t have any you can use mayonnaise.
Yes. This is an easier version. 🙂
I love this receipe so much, thank you!
You’re very welcome!
Love this dressing! It’s so easy and tastes just as good as a much more complicated dressing. I make it regularly as I love caesar salad; but to be honest I also use it on other salads. Thanks for a great dressing!
I’m so happy you love it!! 😀 Thanks for your review!
I love this recipe. Creamy with a tang. I reduced the garlic as it could over power. Not good for lunch guests going back to work. I’ve made it with fresh dill too. Another level of flavour. Definitely a go to.
Glad you liked it, Deborah!! Thanks for your review. 🙂
This recipe is OUTSTANDING!!! It’s a keeper!! Thank You!!! I’m eating it as we speak! Three days in a row. Love it.
That’s wonderful to hear, Diane!! Thank you so much! 🙂
Wowwie wow wow!! I just now made this dressing and the taste test was awesome!! I might have to do another taste test before I put in the fridge for dinner later . I followed the recipe exactly, it’s delicious !! Thank you 😊
You’re very welcome, Tricia! 😀 I’m so glad you like it!!