Salad/ Sauces

Caesar Salad Dressing

2 June 2022 | Last Updated: 12 June 2022 By Aleksandra

Homemade Caesar salad dressing is so easy to make and tastes so much better than store-bought! Use it to make Caesar salad but not only! Creamy and tangy – it’s great with everything, even as a dipping sauce.

Caesar Salad Dressing in a small jar and it's flowing off a spoon.

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make perfect Caesar salad dressing:

Labeled ingredients for Caesar salad dressing.
  • Mayo – make the sauce creamy, thick, and adds flavor. Some recipes call for adding oil and raw egg yolks (which are actually used in the original recipe), but I think it’s just easier to add mayo which is made from oil and egg yolks! With this no-egg recipe, you don’t have to worry about serving raw eggs to your kids. Please use a good quality mayonnaise, such as Hellmann’s.
  • Sour cream – adding some sour cream in place of mayo reduces the calories a bit and adds a pleasant tang to the sauce. You could also use Greek yogurt instead.
  • Anchovies – a controversial ingredient but I think the sauce won’t taste like a classic Caesar dressing without them. The sauce won’t taste fishy – anchovies add lots of umami flavor (‘meaty’, complex and rich flavor). Choose anchovies in oil that are sold in a jar. If you really don’t want to add anchovies, you can omit them but the sauce will taste more flat.
  • I prefer anchovies in oil vs. anchovy paste because they have a better flavor and keep longer in the fridge – about a month while the paste is good for about a week (after being open).
  • If you’re wondering what to do with leftover anchovies – try this pasta puttanesca or make Nicoise salad dressing! You can also freeze them and use them some other time.
  • Lemon juice – adds tang to the sauce. If you’d like your sauce less tangy, reduce the amount.
  • Worcestershire sauce – adds great flavor to the sauce.
  • Dijon mustard
  • Fresh garlic – you could also use maybe a 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder.
  • Parmesan – there’s no omitting it, it adds great flavor and thickens the sauce. Please use real Parmigiano-Reggiano from Italy.
  • Milk – is optional. I’m adding just half a tablespoon to thin out the sauce a bit. If you prefer it thicker you don’t need to add it. Add more if you want it thinner.

How to make it step by step

A collage of 2 photos showing how to prepare Caesar salad dressing.

Making homemade Caesar dressing couldn’t be simpler – add all the ingredients into a food processor container and blitz until smooth! You could also use a hand blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

If you don’t have either of these appliances, simply finely chop the garlic and anchovies, grate the Parmesan (preferably on a Microplane), then stir thoroughly with the remaining ingredients.

Storage

Caesar dressing keeps very well. You can keep it in the fridge even for a week.

Serving suggestions

  • the best and obvious choice is of course Caesar salad with homemade croutons
  • it will also be good with any other salad, this recipe is pretty universal
  • it will also be great as a dipping sauce!
Caesar Salad Dressing in a small jar and it's flowing off a spoon.

Caesar Salad Dressing

Homemade Caesar salad dressing is so easy to make and tastes so much better than store-bought! Use it to make Caesar salad but not only! Creamy and tangy – it’s great with everything, even as a dipping sauce.
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Caesar salad dressing in a small jar.
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5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1 cup (almost)
Calories 894kcal
Author Aleksandra

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup sour cream 55g
  • 1/2 cup mayo 110g
  • 3 anchovy fillets in oil
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan 22g
  • 1/2 tablespoon milk optional
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Add all the ingredients into food processor and pulse until smooth. Season the dressing with salt and pepper.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

  • You can also use a hand blender. If you don’t have either of these appliances, simply finely chop the garlic and anchovies, grate the Parmesan (preferably on a Microplane), then stir thoroughly with the remaining ingredients.
  • Calories = whole recipe (almost a cup). This is only an estimate!
Course salad dressing, sauce
Cuisine American, Mexican
Diet Vegetarian
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