Classic Caesar Salad
Classic Caesar Salad has a rich and creamy dressing and super simple homemade croutons. The flavor can’t be beat! Get excited about salad again!
Caesar salad has always been a favorite. Despite that fact, we just never loved green salad. We know, it’s super healthy and probably a good idea to eat more of it, but so many salads are just bland and not overly exciting. Luckily, Caesar salad is one we could always get excited about when eating out! There’s something about that rich and creamy dressing with crispy croutons and parmesan cheese – yum! You’re going to love it!
Can I add chicken to caesar salad?
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!
Parmesan Cheese:
You can either freshly shred or grate some parmesan cheese or buy the pre-shredded or pre-grated parmesan from the refrigerator section in your local grocery store. You want to avoid the powdered or shelf-stable parmesan cheeses as they are low quality with several additives.
Can I use store-bought caesar salad dressing?
You can always use store bought in a pinch, but nothing tastes quite like freshly made caesar salad dressing. If you plan to use store-bought dressing, this recipe will need 2 cups of it.
Where are the eggs?
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.
Anchovies:
Anchovies are a classic ingredient in caesar salad dressing, and are completely necessary. If you don’t want to deal with those teeny filets, go ahead and substitute with 2 tablespoons of anchovy paste.
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. The croutons, however, could be made 2-3 days ahead of time. Just keep them stored in a zip-top bag until ready to use.
Storage Instructions:
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator 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.
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious salad recipes:
Classic Caesar Salad
Dressing
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/8 cup capers
- 1/4 cup lemon juice , freshly squeezed
- 1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon coarse black pepper
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
- 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 ounces anchovies (about 5 filets)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Croutons
- 2 cups cubed stale bread
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Salad
- 4 medium romaine hearts ripped into smaller pieces
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (or shredded)
Dressing
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Add mayonnaise, olive oil, capers, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, salt, pepper, garlic and anchovies all into a food processor and blend until smooth.
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Stir in 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Croutons
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In a large resealable bag, put in cubed bread, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Shake until all pieces are coated.
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Spread out evenly on a parchment lined cooking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until the pieces start to brown. Flip if needed.
Salad
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Rip or cut the lettuce into a large bowl. Drizzle with 1/2 of the dressing and toss. Add in croutons and toss with additional dressing. Top with 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese and enjoy!