Popular as an appetizer or side dish, Caesar salad dressing is known for its distinctive garlicky, creamy, and slightly salty dressing. Making a delicious salad dressing at home is no mystery – I’m providing all the steps necessary to create a perfect Caesar dressing whenever you want it!

Caesar salad dressing in a glass beaker in front of a plate of lettuce.

🌟Why you’ll love this recipe

  • Super-quick – This dressing comes together in just 10 minutes! Use it in these Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps.
  • No cooking required – This dressing doesn’t require any cooking equipment or heat.
  • Simple ingredients – Caesar dressing may seem fancy, but it has a lot of familiar elements you probably already have at home! The anchovy filets are a more specialized item, but easy to find in your local grocery store.
  • Way better than store-bought dressing – This dressing tastes AMAZING. It’s perfectly fresh, garlicky, and savory. It tastes so much better than store-bought versions.

🧾 Ingredients in Caesar Dressing

Ingredients laid out and labeled to make caesar salad dressing like anchovies, parmesan, oil, and lemon.
  • Parmesan – Classic in Caesar dressing, parmesan is a hard Italian cheese with a distinct nutty, savory flavor.
  • Anchovy filets – These provide a salty element to the dressing. Some people leave these out of Caesar dressing and you can too, but they do add crucial flavor.
  • Olive oil and flavorless oil – I use sunflower seed, avocado, or canola oil for my flavorless oil, you can use any you prefer.
  • Dijon mustard – Tangy mustard adds another layer of flavor. Do not substitute with anything else.
  • Egg yolks – The egg yolks help emulsify the other ingredients together.
  • Garlic – The essential flavor! You need one whole garlic clove. Fresh works best in this recipe.
  • Lemon juice – The acidic element that balances out the garlic.
  • Pepper – To taste.
  • Salt – The coarseness of the grains of salt help turn the anchovies and garlic into a paste.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

🌟 Pro Tip

Don’t skip the anchovies in Caesar dressing! Many people say they don’t like anchovies, but the truth is that if you don’t know it’s there, you definitely will like the special salty flavor it brings.

👩‍🍳How to Make This Recipe

Mincing anchovies and garlic on a black cutting board with a knife and hands with green nail polish.
  • Mince together the garlic, anchovies, and salt.
  • Mixing in a bowl: use the side of your knife blade to mash it into a paste.
  • Using a food processor: add the minced mixture to a food processor bowl.
Chopped anchovy, musard, and egg yolks in a food processor bowl.
  • Mixing in a bowl: In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard.
  • Using a food processor: Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and olive oil to the food processor bowl and pulse a couple of times.
Caesar salad dressing in a food processor bowl.
  • Mixing in a bowl: very slowly whisk in the olive oil, then the flavorless oil.
  • Using a food processor: add the lid to the food processor bowl. While running, slowly pour in the flavorless oil.
Mixing some parmesan into salad dressing in a food processor bowl.
  • Fold in the parmesan and pepper.
  • Taste the dressing at this point to see if you need more salt, pepper, or lemon juice. Trust your tastebuds!
Top view of caesar salad dressing in a glass beaker next to a plate of lettuce.

🍞 How to Make Homemade Croutons

Cut your day-old bread into 1-inch cubes, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper (or herbes de Provence), and bake for 15 minutes at 300F.

🥗 Make it a Chicken Caesar Salad

Drizzle some boneless skinless chicken breasts with olive oil or any flavorless oil and season with salt and pepper or lemon pepper. Roast at 425°F for 30-40 minutes until cooked through. The internal temperature should read 165°F.

Add chopped romaine, the roasted chicken, your homemade croutons, and some extra shaved parmesan to a bowl. Pour in your dressing and toss to coat.

Take it one step further and make these incredible chicken Caesar salad wraps.

Sliced chicken breast on a bed of lettuce next to gold serving utensils.

For more tasty salad recipes, try these colorful favorites.

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Caesar salad on a plate with croutons and large pieces of shaved parmesan.
Caesar salad dressing in a glass beaker in front of a plate of lettuce.
Author: Candice Walker

10-Minute Caesar Salad Dressing

5 from 6 votes
Print Recipe Save
Popular as an appetizer or side dish, Caesar salad is known for its distinctive garlicky, creamy, and slightly salty dressing. Making your own delicious salad dressing at home is no mystery – I'm providing all the steps necessary to create a perfect Caesar salad dressing whenever you want it!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time0 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American, Italian
Diet: Kosher, Vegetarian
Servings: 6
Calories: 238kcal

Ingredients

  • 6 ​anchovy filets
  • 1 small garlic clove
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • ¾ tsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ cup flavorless oil like sunflower seed, canola, or avocado
  • 3 tbsp finely grated parmesan
  • Pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Mince together the garlic, anchovies, and salt.
    Mixing in a bowl: use the side of your knife blade to mash it into a paste.
    Using a food processor: add the minced mixture to a food processor bowl.
  • Mixing in a bowl: In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard.
    Using a food processor: Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and olive oil to the food processor bowl and pulse a couple of times.
  • Mixing in a bowl: very slowly whisk in the olive oil, then the flavorless oil.
    Using a food processor: add the lid to the food processor bowl. While running, slowly pour in the flavorless oil.
  • Fold in the parmesan and pepper. Taste the dressing at this point to see if you need more salt, pepper, or lemon juice. Trust your tastebuds!

Notes

Make croutons: Cut your day-old bread into 1-inch cubes, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper (or herbes de Provence), and bake for 15 minutes at 300F.
Make it a chicken Caesar chicken: Drizzle some boneless skinless chicken breasts with olive oil or any flavorless oil and season with salt and pepper or lemon pepper. Roast at 425°F for 30-40 minutes until cooked through. The internal temperature should read 165°F.
Take it one step further and make these incredible chicken Caesar salad wraps.

Nutrition

Calories: 238kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 54mg | Potassium: 32mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 109IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you try this recipe?I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a Review to let us know how it came out, if you have a successful substitution or variation, or anything else.
5 from 6 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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