Caesar salad is all about the dressing and we have a simple homemade dressing that can’t be beat! Drizzle it over that crunchy Romain lettuce tossed with croutons and Parmesan cheese and you have the perfect Caesar salad that everyone knows and loves. Serve it up as a main dish or side.

If you love this classic salad, you’ll also want to check out our Simple Greek Salad.

Why Our Recipe

  • A from-scratch dressing that uses mayo instead of egg whites.
  • The classic salad, with options to add chicken.
  • We’ve even thrown in a recipe for homemade croutons.
A bowl of Caesar Salad on a table.

Caesar salad is just Caesar salad, or is it? When you take the extra few minutes to make a homemade dressing you really do add a wow factor that can’t be beat by a bottled dressing you grab from the store. There’s something about that rich and creamy dressing with crispy croutons and parmesan cheese – yum! You’re going to love it! And if you really want to take things over the top, you take an extra 20 minutes to make your own homemade croutons.

Ingredient Notes

The ingredients for a classic caesar salad.
  • Mayonnaise: Gives the smooth texture that we know and love in this salad.
  • Extra virgin olive oil: Carries all of the yummy flavors throughout the salad for delicious flavor in every bite.
  • Capers: Their amazing brine brings the salty factor that balances this creamy dressing. You can find them in the grocery store near the bottled salad dressings and olives.
  • Lemon Juice: Brings the brightness and little hint of acidity.
  • Worcestershire Sauce: A bold, depth of flavor that you will love.
  • Ground Mustard: You could use a stone-ground mustard as a substitute.
  • Black Pepper: Use coarse black pepper for texture that brings more pop into every bite.
  • Garlic: Measure with your heart.
  • Kosher Salt: A bigger texture, but you can use regular salt as well.
  • Anchovies: A classic ingredient in Caesar Salad and the source of its distinct flavor. Go ahead and substitute 2 tablespoons of anchovy paste if you don’t want to deal with those teeny filets.
  • Parmesan Cheese: Freshly shred or grate some parmesan cheese or you can buy the pre-shredded or pre-grated parmesan. Avoid powdered or shelf-stable parmesan cheeses as they are low quality with several additives. 
  • Romaine Hearts: Use the romaine hearts to get the most crunch for your tasty salad.

Adding Chicken

Absolutely! We love a good chicken Caesar salad, and you have so many options for what chicken to use! You can buy pre-cooked chicken that is ready to throw into a salad, cook up a chicken breast, use leftover chicken, or even shred a rotisserie chicken!

Egg Whites

We know a lot of people are squeamish over raw eggs, so we developed this recipe without them to give you all one less thing to worry about. Instead, we used mayonnaise which is already made from egg whites mixed with oil so you are already one step ahead.

A bowl of classic Caesar Salad with two wooden spoons.

Make Ahead Instructions

You really want to make this dressing the day of serving. It is best fresh, though it can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

Storage Instructions

Refrigerate for approximately 3 days. How long your salad stays fresh will largely depend on how fresh your romaine and dressing ingredients were. The croutons will start to soften the longer it is in the fridge.

More delicious salads…