Anchovies? -Just a little bit. Mayo? Not a chance. This classic Caesar Dressing recipe tastes like it’s from a Gourmet restaurant. Use it in salads, pastas, marinades, and more!
Be sure to use this in my One Pot Chicken Caesar Pasta and my Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad recipes!
Homemade Caesar Dressing
My favorite part about this Homemade Caesar Dressing recipe is that it has no mayo.
I’m always leery about ordering Caesar salads at a restaurant if I haven’t tried the dressing before. Sometimes I swear they give me a ramekin of straight mayo. Which is why I love making this recipe from scratch.
There are tons of ways to use Caesar Salad dressing too. Read on!
Ingredients
- High-quality Olive Oil- see below for my recommendations
- Romano Cheese- shredded from a block at home
- White Vinegar
- Egg Yolk
- Lemon Juice
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Garlic- Fresh garlic, not the jarred stuff.
- 1 Anchovy Filet
Don’t be afraid of the anchovy filet. You can’t even tell it’s in there, except that really adds a nice depth of flavor.
What Do You Eat Caesar Dressing With?
Aside from putting Caesar Dressing on Salad, it also tastes great in:
- Chicken Caesar Pasta (a delicious one pot meal.)
- Cold Pasta Salads
- It makes a great chicken marinade
- Put it on a warm burger or on chicken wings before baking
- Use it as a binder for tuna or chicken salad instead of mayo
Check out a complete list of options from TheKitchn.
Best Olive Oil for Salad Dressing
-Make sure you use high quality extra virgin olive oil when making this recipe. You’ll have a high-quality salad dressing that will remain in liquid form when refrigerated. (Cheap olive oil can actually solidify in the fridge.)
–Lucini olive oil is a high-quality brand that I like to use.
-For more information about picking the highest quality olive oil that you can, check these guys out.
Raw Egg Yolks in Salad Dressing
The USDA considers it safe to consume raw egg yolks from pasteurized eggs as there is a low risk of an egg being contaminated. Of course, the decision is always up to you.
This article contains more information about raw egg yolk consumption.
Storage
- Homemade Caesar Dressing should be stored in an airtight container for up to one week.
- These mason jars make perfect storage containers. (This is the jar featured in these recipe images.)
Serve with Homemade Croutons
- Try my homemade crouton recipe with this delicious dressing for a real gourmet flair!
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- Food Processor: If you don’t have a mini food processor, I really love this one.
- Box Cheese Grater: This box cheese grater is super sharp and has every size of grate that you need. Buying blocks of cheese and grating it at home will always yield a better result.
- Garlic Peeler: This garlic peeler will remove the super thin skin from a garlic clove in a second.
Try These Next
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Homemade Caesar Dressing
Ingredients
- ½ cup high-quality olive oil, see notes
- 1/3 cup Romano Cheese, finely shredded
- 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 dash salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 small cloves garlic
- 1 whole anchovy filet,, or 1/2 tsp anchovy paste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients except for the garlic cloves and anchovy filet. Whisk for a good 60 seconds, until well combined.
- Add the combined mixture to a food processor along with the garlic cloves and anchovy filet. Blend until completely smooth.
- Refrigerate for a minimum of one hour prior to serving, it will thicken upon standing.
- Store the dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week
Notes
If the salad dressing is thicker than you’d prefer, add one teaspoon of water and stir well to combine. Repeat until you’ve attained your desired consistency. (Just tread lightly and add small amounts at a time.) These mason jars make perfect storage containers for homemade dressing.
Nutritional information is per tablespoon, this recipe makes about 14 tablespoons.
How long would this recipe last in the refrigerator?
This Dressing should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week 🙂
What a great and easy recipe to whip up!! I added about a tablespoon of anchovy paste and a dash of Worcestershire sauce and it came out perfect! A keeper for sure!
So happy that you enjoyed it Denise, I love the idea of adding Worcestershire sauce, just a hint would give it nice umami, thanks for the tip! -Stephanie
Oh wow!! This is an amazing dressing! Easy to make. I love the egg yolk in it, makes it nice and creamy! I used infused garlic olive oil (love garlic!) and it turned out so good. I’ve found my favourite Caesar dressing, and won’t use another one again. Thanks for sharing!! 🙂
Hey Darrell! I am so happy to hear that, and I’m definitely going to use infused garlic olive oil next time I make it, what a great idea, thank you for sharing and thanks for the review!! 🙂 -Stephanie
The Caesar Dressing was kick ass!!! My whole family loved it… a new favorite❤️
Thank you 🌸
Thanks so much Sandra!😀 I really like this one too since I’m definitely not a fan of mayo!
Hello. What about if you don’t want to use an egg yolk? Can you just omit it or can you substitute with something else?
Hi Jaimie, you could try using 1 Tablespoon of mayo, greek yogurt, or sour cream.
Oh, will definitely try one of those. Thanks, Stephanie!!!
You got it Jaimie!! Enjoy!!
So excited to try this! Could I substitute the anchovy filet for anchovy paste?
Absolutely Barbara! You’d use 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste! I can’t wait for you to try it! -Stephanie
How many carbs in the dressing?
Hi Joshua, there is 1 gram of carbs per serving. The whole thing makes 10 servings.
This is a really good recipe! I recommend using a bit less garlic and splitting the extra virgin olive oil with some light olive oil. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hi Greg! I’m really happy that you enjoyed it!! Thank you for sharing your recommendations as well, always appreciated! Have a great day! -Stephanie 🙂
Oh this is fantastic even though I used parmesan, thanks, you were right. This will be a staple in our house! We loved it! I made your copycat Red Lobster Biscuits and they were perfect with this. I can’t wait to try it with Romano…
YAYYY!!!! I was SO hoping that you would like how the dressing came out, I loved it too but I just feel like Caesar salad dressing is such a tricky thing to nail!! Definitely glad to have your opinion on it! 🙂
Such a great recipe that’s doesn’t have sugar. The taste is amazing!!
I’m so glad you like it Meeska! I love having control over exactly what’s in it, and I’m a big fan of the fact that it’s not primarily made of mayo either!! 🙂