This Easy Caesar Salad Recipe is quick to make and complete with crunchy homemade croutons. Serve as a side salad, light lunch, or with added protein to make it a complete meal.
The homemade Caesar dressing covers each piece of crisp romaine lettuce and tastes amazing with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Feel free to add grilled chicken or shrimp, or try any one of the recipe variation ideas for this classic salad that we have given you below.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Classic flavor: Crisp romaine, salty parmesan, and a bold, creamy dressing
- Better than a restaurant: fresh ingredients make a huge difference.
- Versatile: make it with grilled chicken, steak, salmon, or keep it simple and classic.
- Meal prep friendly: Tips to keep lettuce crisp and croutons crunchy.
Easy Caesar Salad Recipe
If you are looking for a classic, straightforward Caesar salad recipe, you’ve come to the right place. This one even includes homemade Caesar salad dressing and fresh croutons.
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Both the dressing and the croutons can be made in advance, making this salad the perfect quick lunch. You can also easily turn Caesar salad into a main course by adding grilled or oven baked chicken, salmon, or steak bites. If anchovies and raw eggs freak you out, don’t click away! We have suggested substitutions below.
Key Ingredients
- Romaine Lettuce – these should be washed and cut into approximately 1” bite sized pieces.
- Parmesan Cheese – use either freshly shredded or grated Parmesan.
- Olive Oil – any kind of extra virgin olive oil will work great. You will slowly drizzle this into the blender at the end.
- Garlic – fresh minced garlic has the best flavor.
- Lemon Juice – make sure to use fresh lemon juice.
- Dijon Mustard – any kind of dijon mustard will work great.
- Worcestershire Sauce – this has loads of umami and builds some of the characteristic flavor of Caesar dressing.
- Egg Yolks – yolks are what will help to emulsify the dressing and make it ultra creamy. If you don’t want to use raw egg yolks, you can substitute about ¼ cup of mayo but it won’t be quite as creamy.
- Anchovy Paste – this is optional but will really enhance the flavor. If you don’t have anchovy paste, you can substitute a bit more Worcestershire sauce or a dash of fish sauce.
Ingredients to Make Homemade Croutons
- Bread – while you can technically use any type of bread to make croutons, I like to use a crusty loaf like French bread or sourdough. It’s actually helpful if the bread is slightly stale, but fresh bread will work just fine. You’ll want to cut into ¾” – 1” pieces.
- Butter – melted butter adds flavor to the croutons, but you could skip and use all olive oil if you wanted to make these vegan.
- Olive Oil – olive oil helps the croutons crisp up in the oven.
- Garlic Powder and Onion Powder – these will add a more mild garlic and onion flavor as well as no little chunks that can burn in the oven.
- Parsley – you can use fresh or dried parsley for a little extra flavor. Italian seasoning would also taste great.
How to Make Caesar Salad
- Prep the croutons. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and parsley. Whisk until combined. Cut the French bread into pieces that are 1″ or smaller and place in a large bowl. Drizzle the olive oil mixture over the bread cubes and stir until all the cubes are lightly coated. Spread the bread cubes onto a large baking sheet in a single even layer.
- Bake the croutons. Bake in the preheated 375 degree oven for about 12-15 minutes, stirring every 3-4 minutes, or until the cubes are golden brown on all sides. Once baked, remove from the oven and allow the croutons to cool.
- Make the caesar dressing. In a blender, add the garlic, lemon juice, dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, egg yolks, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, and anchovy paste (if using). Blend until smooth, then slowly drizzle olive oil into the blender while blending until emulsified.
- Assemble the salad. Drizzle the caesar dressing onto your chopped romaine lettuce. Add half of the parmesan cheese and as many croutons as desired. Toss until combined.
- Serve. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese on top along with your homemade croutons. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Helpful Tips for the Best Caesar Salad
- Dry the lettuce well: Use a salad spinner or pat the romaine dry. Dressing sticks better and the salad stays crisp longer.
- Use romaine hearts: They’re crunchier and less watery than full heads
- Shave the parmesan: Thin shavings give better texture than find grated cheese.
- Dress right before serving: Toss only when you’re ready to eat- for best crunch.
- Balance the dressing: Taste and adjust lemon, salt, and pepper before tossing.
Frequently Asked Questions
While anchovies are a classic ingredient in Caesar dressing, you don’t absolutely have to add them. If you either don’t have or don’t want to use anchovy paste for your Caesar dressing, you can substitute a bit more Worcestershire sauce or a little fish sauce.
While you can make croutons from any type of bread (even sandwich bread!), I like to use a crusty loaf of bread like French bread or sourdough. Even cornbread makes great croutons, so feel free to get creative. Croutons are also a great way to use up bread that is a few days old and beginning to get a bit stale. Less fresh bread is also much easier to cut, so it’s a win-win.
Minus the croutons, our Caesar Salad recipe is gluten-free as long as you use gluten-free Worcestershire Sauce (FYI, the United States version of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce is gluten-free). You could also make croutons with gluten-free bread.
Recipe Variations
- Chicken Caesar Salad: Add grilled chicken or rotisserie chicken.
- Salmon Ceaser Salad: Add some air fryed salmon or baked salmon.
- Kale Caesar: Use chopped kale and massage with a little dressing for 1-2 minutes to soften.
- No-anchovy Caesar: Skip anchovies and add a bit more Worcestershire for depth.
Easy Caesar Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Homemade Croutons
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon parsley, fresh, chopped
- 1/2 loaf French bread
Caesar Salad Dressing Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
For the Caesar Salad
- 2 small Romaine lettuce hearts
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or shaved
Instructions
How to Make Homemade Croutons
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and parsley. Whisk until combined.
- Cut the French bread into pieces that are 1" or smaller and place in a large bowl. Drizzle the olive oil mixture over the bread cubes and stir until all the cubes are lightly coated. Spread the bread cubes onto a large baking sheet in a single even layer.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes, stirring every 3-4 minutes, or until the cubes are golden brown on all sides.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and allow the croutons to cool.
How to Make Homemade Caeser Dressing
- In a blender, add the garlic, lemon juice, dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, egg yolks, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, and anchovy paste.
- Blend until smooth, then slowly drizzle olive oil into the blender while blending until emulsified.
Assembling the Salad
- Prepare your romaine lettuce by cutting the stem off, washing, and cutting into 1" pieces.
- Drizzle the caesar dressing onto your chopped romaine lettuce. Add half of the Parmesan cheese and as many croutons as desired. Toss until combined.
- Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on top along with your homemade croutons. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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This is the best Caesar Salad recipe, filled with all of your favorite Caesar salad ingredients. We’ll show you how to make homemade dressing and homemade crunchy croutons.
