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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Really easy and delicious Cesar recipe!
YUM!!!! Will never buy store bought dressing again. Used vegan mayo and two anchovies instead of paste and didn’t need to add additional salt. Happy Dance!
The best I’ve ever had!
My go-to most loved homemade dressing. So simple and delicious.
Fantastic! I usually make the oil/egg yolk version but it’s a headache compared to this. What I love about Jenn’s recipes is they are consistently wonderful, and usually very simple and easy. I may still make the classic for entertaining, but this is now my go-to Caesar dressing. Bravo!
As always, great and easy recipe! Delish. Thank you
Easy and delicious two important terms around here,we like a bit thinner dressing so just added a touch of water to get desired consistency.Gonna get started on croutons now using some old rye bread.Thanks Jenn.
This dressing comes out perfect every single time. I make it so often I don’t need to look at the recipe anymore. Haha
Easy to adjust the ingredients to taste ie: we like more anchovy and garlic. Thank you for a great dressing!
Would this dressing work with greens other than romaine, e.g. butter lettuce?
Sure, Mary Beth, that will work. 🙂
I made this for a group of.6. Everyone raved how good it was. I also used your chicken marinade…SO good!
I just made this Jenn and it is simply delicious! Fast & easy to whip together so we will now be enjoying a lot more Caesar salads! Thanks for another winner!
This is my go-to Caesar recipe that everybody loves! I double the recipe every time I make it. I use a little less Mayo and substitute olive oil which makes the dressing a little thinner without changing the delicious flavor. Highly recommend!!
I’ve made this dressing several times. It is fantastic. I use light mayonnaise and you can’t tell any difference in taste
Prepared many times and shared many times. Having an organic garden with tons of romaine, definitely a staple. Thank you so much!!!!!!
So good! I had no idea how easy this would be. It’s sure to become a staple in our home.
Incredible recipe! Don’t change a thing!! each time I’ve made this I get people asking for the recipe. It’s 💯
Thank u it’s delicious…I added another teaspoon of mustard & about a half teaspoon of smoked paprika for variety, try it, it’s a nice twist on the classic!
The perfect Caesar dressing. I would keep aside a little of the Parmigiano to sprinkle on the salad after mixing with the lettuce.
Thanks for this quick and tasty shortcut recipe for caesar dressing! I’m picky about my salad dressings and always make my own. Didn’t feel like doing the whole thing tonight so thought I’d give this a try. Used whole anchovies mashed up bc I don’t have paste and added a bit of lemon zest with the juice, but otherwise followed recipe exactly. It’s absolutely 💯 delicious thank you!
Love this recipe! How long would you say a batch keeps in the fridge?
Glad you like it! It keeps nicely in the fridge for about 5 days.
Why is the shelf life so short when the ingredients in recipe expire months down the road??? … great recipe but i do question your 5 day max in fridge
Hi Bill, It does have fresh garlic and anchovy paste. You could probably stretch it past 5 days, but I always err on the side of caution.
Excellent! My hubby LOVES Caesar Salad..! Added a bit more anchovies paste.. it was perfecto! T hanks Jenn for this great recipe!
This recipe is really good and simple and I’ve made it a few times. My question is that it is very thick. Is there a way to make it just a tad thinner?
Thank you
Deborah
PS – I love several of your recipes and each one has been wonderful!
Hi Deborah, You can thin it with a bit of water – just add it very slowly so you don’t make it too thin. It will also be much thinner at room temperature; it thickens up in the fridge.
Absolutely delicious! I have passed this recipe on to friends as they loved it so much!!!
I love this recipe so much that I make it when I run huge church dinners that serve Caesar Salad. This weekend I am making enough to serve 300 people. Everyone asks for the recipe. It is a big hit.
Thank you!
Hello,I am not really familiar with Worcestershire sauce and dont really know how it tastes so I was wondering if soy sauce is similar?(I’m sorry if I sound ridiculous because they taste nothing alike)If not,what would you recommend replacing the sauce with?
Hi Layla, Worcestershire and soy sauce do have similar flavors and you can definitely swap in the soy sauce. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for replying I appreciate it so much!
I really appreciate you replying so quickly as well!I just didnt see it ❤
I really appreciate you replying so quickly as well!I just didnt see it sooner ❤
This was the best Caesar dressing I have ever had. Everyone raved about it. The secret is using imported Parmesan/Reggiano- not just the cheap store bought stuff. Amazing!
O. M. G. Truly amazing. I usually use Cardinis dressing but never again. So easy and quick to make and the flavor is amazing. Made fresh croutons too. Followed the recipe exactly!
i LOVE this recipe; have passed it on to a number of friends. You’ll never by Caesar dressing in the store again!
That said, I personally prefer a bit less fishy anchovy essence than what this recipe recommends; I’ve found a half tsp of anchovy paste just perfect.
Additionally I’ve stored this in my fridge for easily 2-3 weeks (or more) with no discernable change in taste or freshness.
Made this tonight – it was SO. DAMN. GOOD. I will never use store-bought caesar dressing again.
For people who can’t find anchovy paste: 1 anchovy fillet = 1/2 tsp. 🙂
Ty!!
exactly what I was looking for, thank you!
Thank you for this conversion. I have lots of anchovy fillets and no paste so I was wondering how to substitute.
I don’t know if anybody’s going to read this or not but I’ve made probably 25 to 30 Caesar dressings in my life this is by far the best I have ever made and I followed the recipe to the t. Whoever come up with this wonderful job.
Best ever!
This the only Caesar dressing I’ll use, delicious.
Used the recipe pretty much as stated. Used our homemade Dijon and capers instead of the anchovy’s.
I made this recipe exactly as Called out and it’s the best Caesar I’ve ever had. I had a luncheon party and everyone flipped out and said it tasted like a 5 star restaurant salad. I have none left because guests wanted to take home the extras. 🙂 thank You so much for the recipe. I cooked a roasted chicken to compliment it. Perfect combination.
Homemade using processed mayo. Ya ok.
Why be a jerk about it? Go make your own then.
really? it is soooooooooooooooooooo good
Love the dressing, but do you think you could mash capers in place of anchovy paste? If so, what amount of capers should I use?
Hi Anne, I haven’t tried this with capers, but a number of readers have so I think it’s worth a try. Either puree or smoosh them with a spoon and start by using the same amount of anchovy paste that’s called for (1 tsp). Please LMK what you think!
This worked really well. I’ve made the traditional version with eggs, but this is a nice shortcut and it keeps well in the fridge, as you mentioned.
This last time I ran out of mayo, but subbed in cottage cheese. I use a blender/Nutribullet anyway, so it was still smooth as silk, no lumps.
A high quality cheese makes this recipe. My family prefers Locatelli Pecorino Romano.
We too love Locatelli Pecorano Romano over Parm Reggiano!!
Thank you for this easy and delicious recipe! This Caesar dressing is the best I’ve used and I come back to it again and again!
This is fabulous! Didn’t change anything except chopped up a few anchovy filets to equal a tsp. Buzzed everything together in Ninja. Just perfect!
What a fantastic base recipe. I prefer less mayo and more lemon juice so I add those items to taste. Best Caesar dressing I’ve made.
I do half a cup Mayo and have a cup of greek yogurt with only half a fresh squeezed lemon and it’s perfect! This is a fantastic recipe I’ve been making at least once a week now. I do either a chicken or shrimp kale Caesar salad bc this dressing is simple and perfect!
Thank you!!! I was hoping to find a comment relating to Greek yoghert!
Wow, this is an awesome recipe find! Couldn’t find achovy paste, so just chopped up some anchovy filets to equal the amount specified. Dumped everything into Ninja blender and poured into Mason jar. So delicious!
My family’s very favourite dressing,,,never make another!
I usually dislike Caesar Dressing but love this one, added a little more garlic and grilled chicken, omg!
Absolutely perfect! Great recipe.
Flavorful and delicious dressing! Made the recipe exactly as posted and it was perfect! I did add a small (very small) amount of water to slightly thin the dressing and it did not impact the taste at all. Husband raved about how good it was. Another successful Jenn Segal recipe!
Happy New Year! I just made this and the consistency is gorgeous. I used Meyer lemon because that’s the tree I have and I’m worried it’s not quite acidic enough. Would you recommend a small splash of vinegar? Thoughts on Meyer instead of standard lemon?
Hi Sandra, happy new year to you! Yes, Meyer, lemons are slightly less acidic than regular lemons. I think a small splash of vinegar is a great idea and will likely get you to the flavor you want. Hope that helps!
This is a fantastic recipe! I followed many of the reviewers suggestion to use half the Mayo and it was spot on.
I have made this recipe several times and it always turns out great!
We enjoy a grilled Caesar salad at one of our favorite restaurants. But your Caesar dressing tops every recipe I have ever had! Thank you!
The absolute best Caesar dressing I’ve made so far! Excellent and easy.
This has been my go-to recipe for caesar dressing most of 2022, so simple to whip up. I love the lemon and anchovies and use a generous portion of each. I use an olive oil mayo (no canola for me), It actually has me more excited to eat greens because its so zippy!
I used half the amount of Mayo but wish that I also cut the amount of Parmesan. Way too salty!
Super simple and so good!
I made this dressing to take to a dinner party. All of our friends raved about it being the best Cesar salad they’ve ever had, and considering we were in the company of some excellent cooks, I was very happy.
I used anchovy filets in olive oil instead of paste. That’s the only thing that I did differently.
It was perfect! Didn’t have anchovy paste but I’ll try that next time. Loved how thick it was too. Thank you 😊