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This Easy Caesar Salad recipe is a classic. It pairs with just about any meal, is savory and craveable, and is done just perfectly. This salad features my go-to homemade Caesar dressing, crunchy yet chewy croutons, and little gem lettuce (the BEST lettuce for this salad).
Something I learned during my time as an Assistant Food Editor at Cuisine at Home Magazine is that home cooks are always looking for new side dishes. As a result, I’ve developed hundreds of side dish recipes for any season and any occasion.
And this salad certainly isn’t brand new, but it is a classic. And in my opinion, everyone needs a go-to Caesar in their arsenal. This is mine.
After testing the dressing a variety of different ways, I found that both anchovies and Worcestershire sauce are key. The combo creates the perfect balance of savoriness.
And simplicity is the name of the game here. Keep the rest of the salad simple. Little gem lettuce, croutons, and black pepper. At the most, large peels of Parmesan can be added, but I wouldn’t add much else.
History of Caesar Salad
Caesar Cardini was an American-Italian restauranteur, chef and hotel owner and is largely known for creating this salad. He opened and ran many restaurants in and around the San Diego area, including Hotel Caesar in Tijuana Mexico (where he could avoid prohibition laws) where the original Caesar Salad was born.
Surprisingly, the original salad did not contain anchovies. It instead got all of it’s umami flavor from Worcestershire sauce.
Ingredients for a Simple Caesar Salad Recipe
Caesar Dressing
This recipe uses my homemade Caesar Salad Dressing. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Egg yolk: adds richness and emulsifies the dressing.
- Anchovy or anchovy paste: key to this dressing!
- Dijon mustard: adds a spicy kick and helps to emulsify the dressing.
- Garlic: an essentail ingredient in Caesar dressing.
- Fresh lemon juice: Adds bright flavor and balances the savoriness.
- Parmesan cheese: The cheesy component, always have some extra to serve on the side.
- Worcestershire sauce: Adds umami and a bit of savory flavor to balance everything out.
- Olive oil: use a fairly mild extra-virgin olive oil so it doesn’t over-power the dressing.
Salad
- Whole-grain bakery bread: for the homemade croutons. You can also use any day-old bread.
- Extra virgin olive oil: used for toasting the croutons!
- Little Gem lettuce or hearts of romaine: Little gem lettuce is the perfect green here. It’s a tender lettuce with little nooks and crannies tat hold onto the dressing wonderfully. Though hearts of romaine are also absolutely perfect!
How to Make this Easy Caesar Salad
Make the Caesar Dressing:
- Mince anchovies, then using the side of a chefs knife, mash into a paste.
- Whisk together pasted anchovies, yolks, Dijon, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, lemon zest and garlic.
- Whisking constantly, slowly stream in oil, starting drop by drop at first, then eventually by a very thin stream until all of the oil is emulsified. If the mixture ever starts to break, stop adding oil and whisk vigorously to bring back together before adding more oil.
- Add lemon juice and Parmesan.
Assemble the Salad:
- Toss bread with oil, salt and pepper.
- Toast until deeply golden brown, crispy on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside, 15–20 minutes, tossing occasionally.
- In a large bowl, toss the salad greens with a heavy drizzle of Caesar dressing.
- Sprinkle croutons over top and season with cracked pepper; serve immediately with more dressing on the side.
Tips For Making The Salad
- If you don’t want to mash whole anchovies into a paste, buy a tube of anchovy paste and keep it stashed in the fridge.
- Use a blender instead of whisking by hand. Blend everything except the oil together in a blender. With the bender running, slowly stream in the oil until emulsified.
- If you prefer not to use raw egg in the dressing, use 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise. This will give the same creamy, rich texture. The other option is to use our easy mayo-based Caesar dressing recipe.
- If your Caesar dressing breaks while you’re whisking, add a tablespoon or two of hot water and whisk again until combined.
What to Serve with Homemade Caesar Salad
Storage Information
Store this salad in the fridge for up to a day. If you want to store longer, then keep the components separate and toss them all together right before serving.
Any leftover dressing can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe FAQs
Use gluten-free bread or swap for chunks of English cucumber or thinly sliced celery.
Use a big head of romaine or a couple hearts of romaine.
A couple of anchovies or some anchovy paste in the dressing really makes Caesar dressing what it is. The dressing doesn’t taste fishy at all—just rich with flavor. If you must skip the anchovies, increase the amount of Worcestershire to 2 teaspoons.
Yes, as long as it’s pasteurized, if you prefer not, just add a tablespoon or two of mayonnaise for creaminess.
It’s extremely uncommon to get salmonella from raw eggs nowadays, but for added caution, when cracking the egg and separating the yolk from the white, try to avoid the exterior of the egg touching the interior.
More Easy Salad Recipes
Easy Caesar Salad Recipe
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Ingredients
Caesar Dressing
- 3 oil-packed anchovies, or 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 medium garlic clove, grated
- ½ cup mild extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan
Croutons and Salad
- ½ pound (8 ounces) whole-grain bakery bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 (5-ounce) containers Little Gem lettuce, leaves separated, (about 8 cups) or 2 head hearts of romaine
Instructions
Caesar Dressing
- Mince 3 anchovies, then using the side of a chefs knife, mash into a paste.
- Set a medium bowl on a damp kitchen rag or towel to hold it steady. Add pasted anchovies, 2 yolks, 1½ teaspoons Dijon, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire, ½ teaspoon each kosher salt and black pepper, and ½ teaspoon lemon zest. Grate in 1 clove garlic and whisk together until smooth.
- While whisking constantly and slowly stream in ½ cup oil, starting drop by drop at first, then eventually by a very thin stream until all of the oil is emulsified. If the mixture ever starts to break, stop adding oil and whisk vigorously to bring back together before adding more oil.
- Add 3 tablespoons lemon juice, a tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition. Whisk in ¼ cup Parmesan and season with additional pepper to taste.
Croutons and Salad
- Heat oven 350ºF (177ºC). Toss ½ pound bread cubes and 2 tablespoons oil to coat on a large baking sheet; season with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Spread bread cubes into an even layer.
- Toast croutons until deeply golden brown, crispy on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside, 15–20 minutes, tossing occasionally. Let cool completely.
- In a large bowl, toss 10 ounces lettuce with a heavy drizzle of Caesar dressing; season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle croutons over top and season with cracked pepper; serve immediately with more dressing on the side.
