Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing
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My family loves this rich and creamy Caesar salad dressing. It’s not overly garlicky or fishy — it’s just right.
Though most people buy Caesar salad dressing in a bottle, homemade is incredibly easy to make and tastes so much better than store-bought. There are many variations, but this rich and creamy version is the one my whole family loves. It’s not too garlicky and not too fishy – it’s just right. Unlike authentic Caesar dressings which are made with olive oil and thickened with raw eggs, this one has a mayonnaise base, which means you don’t have to worry if you’re squeamish about raw eggs. My kids love this dressing so much that they’ve learned to make it themselves. They don’t even wait for me to make a salad; while I cook dinner, they sit at the kitchen table with a big heart of romaine and dip the leaves in.
This recipe is part of my classic salad dressing collection, which includes go-to recipes for oil and vinegar based dressings, like vinaigrette and balsamic vinaigrette, as well as creamy dressings, such as buttermilk ranch dressing and blue cheese dressing, which are typically made with mayonnaise and dairy products.
What You’ll Need To Make Caesar Salad Dressing
Instead of whole anchovies, I use anchovy paste — makes it easy, especially if you’re squeamish about anchovies (just hold your nose and add it in; the dressing needs every last bit to taste like the real deal!)
For the cheese, it’s important to use imported Parmigiano-Reggiano from Italy; domestic Parmesan pales in comparison. You can always tell if it’s authentic by looking at the rind, which is embossed with the name over and over. If the cheese is already grated, it should be labeled “Parmigiano-Reggiano,” not “Parmesan.”
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by whisking together the garlic, anchovy paste, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.
Next, whisk in the mayonnaise, Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt, and pepper.
The dressing will keep well in the fridge for about a week. For a main course Caesar, try pairing this with my best grilled chicken. Enjoy!
Caesar Salad Dressing Video Tutorial
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Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing
My family loves this rich and creamy Caesar salad dressing. It’s not overly garlicky or fishy — it’s just right.
Ingredients
- 2 small garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste (see note)
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, from one lemon
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (I like the brand Maille)
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's Real
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the garlic, anchovy paste, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Add the mayonnaise, Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt and pepper and whisk until well combined. Taste and adjust to your liking. The dressing will keep well in the fridge for about a week.
- Note: Anchovy paste can be found near the canned tuna in the supermarket.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (10 servings)
- Serving size: About 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 184
- Fat: 19g
- Saturated fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 1g
- Sugar: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 2g
- Sodium: 296mg
- Cholesterol: 13mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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So I’ve made this twice now. The first time it was amazing, the second time it was as great, but different. The only thing I changed was a different brand of anchovies(I couldn’t find the paste so I use fillets). I am going to keep trying different anchovy brands until I find the perfect one. Either way, the dressing is amazing and the whole family loves it. It’s a bit expensive to buy the ingredients(especially the real cheese) but most of that can be used for multiple batches.
We love this recipe and it makes a difference on how it tastes with fresh garlic compared to jarred garlic. Fresh garlic is way better ♥️
Excellent recipe‼️ Tastes just like a Caesar dressing you’d get in a restaurant. I think I’m going to leave off the 1/4 teaspoon salt next time I make it though, as I felt it would be tasty enough without it.
Made this today and was very happy with how it turned out. Your recipes never disappoint!!
Perfect! Jenn, you nailed it! It’s so good I want to eat caesar salad every day. I can’t wait to try your other recipes. this is a keeper!
Love this recipe and thank you for sharing or we would’ve found it. It’s our favourite ♥️ and oh so delicious.
Best!
Best Caesar I’ve ever had! Made this several times and just cant get enough. Shared this recipe several times. Husband and kids request this all the time.
Delicious and so easy. My family loves this. I keep all ingredients on hand. I use a can of anchovies, smashed, as I do not know how long the leftover paste stays good. I use the juice of a whole lemon and double the mustard and garlic. Love it. Thanks.
So easy and so delicious- thank you!
This is the best dressing ever!! Made it for my family and we ate a whole pack of romaine hearts. Hubby had two servings of salad and that says a lot. thank you for the great recipe.
I don’t have anchovie paste – Can i do something with anchovies?
Havent tried this yet
Sure, you can mash them into a paste and then incorporate into the recipe. Enjoy!
Super tasty! Made my own anchovy paste with canned anchovies and salt, it turned out great.
This is so easy, and delicious! I didn’t have anchovies, fresh lemon or Dijon mustard on hand so used regular mustard and bottled lemon juice – it was still much better than store bought. I can’t wait to try it with the proper ingredients!!
I will never buy another Caesar dressing again. Unbelievable and SO easy!
Very easy and delicious
We tried this recipe as we do have alot of caesar salads!! and wanted to stop buying processed dressings. Well what a difference, lots of flavor!! I make my mayonnaise & continue on to make this dressing. We have it every week now. Thanks for such a nice recipe!!
Hands down the best Cesar dressing recipe: when taking into account the ease of prep, the few dishes and processes involved there are no significant gains made from doing it any other way. I added some lemon zest, a little extra garlic, extra lemon juice and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. Insane.
Beautiful! I was very sceptical about the anchovy paste but it genuinely made it amazing! The recipe made far too much so I’d halve it next time
Absolutely, the best Caesar Salad Dressing recipe. Thanks for sharing this. I made it today and everyone loved it. It was super easy to make it.
Excellent Caesar salad dressing from scratch! Those with discerning palettes will immediately recognize the fresh ingredients and cuisine characteristics of this dressing. This is my third time making this recipe within one month because it’s quick and not fussy. Since the anchovy, cheese, and mayo each tend to be naturally salty, I omitted the salt.
Sooooo good and sooooo easy!!! Everyone loved it!!! This will be go to recipe from now on! Thank you 🙂 also Chris below has a great tip on freezing anchovy paste should you need to store it!!
this glop is nothing like a real Caesar salad dressing. Caesar salad is made with zero mayonnaise. It is made with olive oil, egg yolk, lemons anchovies garlic and croutons. Look it up.
It’s funny, because mayonnaise is made of egg yolk, oil, lemon. Maybe just leave your sad thoughts to yourself.
-NOT BERT…Yes totally agree with you
Aaaaamazing!!! I am SO SO HAPPY I have found this recipe. Thank you!
With or without anchovies, this 5-minute dressing tastes just like the stuff you buy in every container labeled “Caesar Dressing,” ever. I love that you can make it fresh every time instead of stretching the same jar of ceasar dressing in the fridge for months. So delicious and really breaks up the monotony of the usual salad seasonings. Thank you.
Dude! You know what mayonnaise is made from right???? And tomatoes, salt, sugar, and vinegar go on French fries, not ketchup!
This recipe is a keeper! I used 3 anchovies as we have them in the fridge.
Perfect.
can you use anchovies instead of paste?
Sure – enjoy!
This recipe has become a staple in my house! Do you think it would freeze well? I have been making it every week, and would love to make a giant batch all at once.
Unfortunately, I don’t think it will freeze well (but so glad you like it)!
Amazing. So simple and tastes great. I’ll never buy ceasar dressing again. Thank you so much.
Everyone raves about this recipe! Honestly it works even if you don’t use the anchovie paste! It become a tradition to make it for all family gatherings.
Perfect!!!!!
Tastes great! Much better than store bought
I’ve made this dressing for several family and friend get togethers and I always get asked for this recipe. I am a self-proclaimed salad connoisseur, I order them out about half the time. And this caesar dressing is one of the best, if not THE best. I’m also Italian. The only thing I do is use yellow mustard instead of dijon because I don’t love it, but I’ve made it both ways and it’s delicious. And I heavily pepper. Thank you for sharing!
Delicious, easy to make, and I already had all the ingredients in my pantry and refrigerator. I’m never buying store bought Caesar dressing again.
Make this all the time and my family and friends love it ! My granddaughter is 13 and enjoys making this dressing !
Delicious! Added about 2 T of 1/2 & 1/2 to thin it a bit. So good!
Delicious! To reduce calories and fat, I used 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise with the reminder Fage 2% yogurt. Rich and creamy. Also serves as a great dip for crudités.
It was delicious. I added a little more garlic because I love garlic. this will be my go to recipe from now on.
I made the mistake of trusting the ratings blindly and starting the recipe before I saw how much mayo is in this. 1 cup?! I kept going and feel dumb/wasteful for following through. It tastes like mayo, because of course it does.
If that’s your jam, then go for it. Apparently the internet really enjoys slathering mildly seasoned mayo on its salads and calling it a Ceasar.
Hi Jason, I also wasn’t a fan of the mayo taste, which is what I found by following the recipe exactly. But recipes are really just a guide (or starting point if you will) and I found with a few adjustments for my taste preference, it really made a fantastic and easy caesar dressing.
I only had whole anchovies, so I used two and used a pestle to break it up with the garlic. I added extra lemon juice because I like it tangy. I added about an extra tsp of Dijon, and a dash more worcestershire, plus more salt and pepper. Give it a good mix and you cant even tell a store bought mayo was used.
Fantastic recipe! Never again buying store Caesar dressing!
Fantastic!
Love it! Used already so many times. Thank you
You do realize mayo is oil and raw eggs?
My kids and husband love caesar salad so I was looking for a recipe to make home. I don’t like buying pre-made ones from the store. What makes it harder is that my husband doesn’t like anything and he has crazy pallet, he can tell every ingredient no matter how much is in. He loves this dressing! He said it’s the best dressing he has ever tasted. Thank you for the recipe!
YAY! I will never make (or buy) a different Ceaser dressing again. This is a big hit with the whole family too. I discovered your soup croutons (done in the oven with butter) and they are amazing but a bit too crunchy for this (though perfect for soup). Do you have a recipe or modification to get perfect croutons for Ceaser salad?
Hi Sandy, Glad you liked the dressing! You could stick with the croutons you’re using, but just remove them from the oven a bit earlier so they don’t get quite as crunchy.
Delicious! I used the anchovy paste which I usually dislike, but absolutely appreciate what it does for the dressing. Even my 8 year old son who was upset that I “Made him” eat salad, told me he loved it and asked for 2nd helpings. Thanks for a great recipe!!
This recipe has ruined all other Caesar dressings fo us. It is, by far, the best dressing & super simple to make. We make this exactly as the recipe reads except for adding a bit more anchovy paste. Highly recommend!
Absolutely delicious!! So easy too. Thank you. Your recipes always turn out great!
This is life changing! I make this all the time and come across as a master of Caesar salad! I’ve shared this recipe more times than I can count! I like to leave out the Parmesan and make Parmesan crisps to keep the carbs down and make it super fancy.
This salad dressing is absolutely delicious. The only change I made was to omit the additional salt. I thought, for my taste, the anchovy paste would provide enough. Thanks for sharing!
Perfect, easy caesar salad recipe.
This dressing is incredible! I’d been searching for years but always thought it would be too complicated to make. I also didn’t like the soybean and canola oils used in commercial brands. I make it with avocado oil mayo and will try others’ suggestions for thinning it out a bit. Love it!
I made this using scratch mayo, and it was very thick. Thinned it with more lemon juice and white wine vinegar, so it isn’t a true version of recipe, but still very good. I wish I had read the reviews first and cut the mayo with Greek yogurt. Other than that, very good and easy. And I made it in a Magic Bullet. I will definitely make it again.
This is my go to dressing. Does not compare to bottled dressings. I add a touch of buttermilk so it thins it out a bit, as it too thick without a liquid. Thanks for this amazing recipe!
I made it and found it to be super thick! I diluted it to the consistency we like with a little water. Then I increased the dijon and the anchovy paste. Next time I will cut the mayo in half and add the full amount of the rest of the ingredients.
I think is has a great flavor and will definitely make it again. Thank you for sharing it.
Great recipe, that all the family love!!
After making this fabulous dressing I had a dinner sized salad three days in a row. It totally screwed up my calorie count. It is taking all my willpower not to make another batch. Loved it, loved it, loved it! Definitely as good of not better than any restaurant ceasar dressing I have ever had.
I found this recipe recently and agree with all the 5* reviews. The best caesar dressing and so simple to make. It’s always in my fridge now. Mmmmm.