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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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Still my family’s favorite dressing! Make it every week!! Thank you so much!
I’m thrilled to hear that, Hillary! 😀
I’ve made this numerous times and it never disappoints. We love it on grilled romain lettuce.
Love the grilled lettuce idea! So happy it’s your go-to Caesar dressing, Maranda.
This was fantastic
Thank you!! 😀
I will say I am not a cook, but I tell you I made this salad dressing for a group of 30 people…so I doubled to receipt. Everyone loved it and many asked for the receipt.
That’s so nice to hear, Jane!! 😀 I appreciate you sharing the recipe with them, and your 5-star review means a lot to me!
Great dressing. I added more garlic. I preferred the dressing a day later. It had more flavour.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Natasha, This was absolutely delicious. I made it with the last of the mayo I had in the jar which was only a quarter of a cup. I had to do a lot of math but I got it to work out just fine. As a veteran cook and Italian I thought this was so good I’ve never made it from scratch before usually. I would buy organic at Aldi’s. I do prefer to make my own dressings even if it’s just a wailing. Thank you so much it truly deserves 5 🌟.
I’m thrilled to hear you liked it!! I really appreciate your review. 😀
I have found your recipes to be great no matter what it is I have chosen to make and this is no exception. It is so good to find a Caesar dressing that does not contain anchovies and capers. You have proved that it needs neither. It tastes authentic and delicious, It is simple and quick. What more could I want?
Thank you.
Jan
Thank you so much, Jan!! 😀 I’m thrilled you enjoyed it so much.
I will never buy store-bought Ceaser dressing again, this was absolutely incredible.
Aww I’m thrilled to hear that! I just finished eating it for lunch myself haha. Thanks for taking the time to write me a review! 😀
Caesar salad is my grandson’s favorite. He has it whenever he can and they were buying those salad kits at the store. When visiting I told him we would make our own and your recipe is perfect! He can make it on his own, too. And he thought making the croutons was great! Thanks for a simple straightforward delicious recipes!
I’m thrilled to hear you two enjoyed it!! Thanks so much for your review!
Really good and I don’t miss the anchovies at all. I added more fresh garlic and more lemon juice and used a garlic aioli instead of mayo. Yummy!
I’m so glad you liked it! Yup, the Worcestershire is lighter on the anchovies than anchovy paste for sure. 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Everyone loves it and we can’t stop eating in!!! Very yummy and easy too!
That’s so great to hear, Mari! Thank you!!