Easy Caesar Dressing (5-minute recipe!)
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Make your salad dreams come true with my rich, creamy, easy Caesar salad dressing. This full-flavor dressing is quick to make and tastes better than store-bought.
There are times when only a creamy dressing will do. This is my go-to easy Caesar dressing for those nights when we want all the classic Caesar salad flavor without the fuss.
Caesar dressing is typically made by emulsifying oil into an egg yolk, exactly as mayonnaise is. As making it from scratch feels too fussy and time-consuming for weekday cooking, I take a shortcut and use mayonnaise instead.
Then I add the usual Caesar salad dressing ingredients, including Parmesan, lemon juice, anchovy paste, Dijon mustard, garlic, and salt and pepper. Simply stir it all together and serve.
Toss it with romaine lettuce or kale in a large bowl with homemade garlic-parmesan croutons, and your dinner salad is ready!
Key ingredients
This creamy caesar salad dressing requires just a few kitchen staples. While the list of ingredients is small, the flavors are big.
- Mayonnaise: Choose one that has a neutral flavor such as Hellmann’s or Duke’s.
- Parmesan cheese: For the best flavor, grate this fresh using the small holes on your box grater.
- Lemon juice: Fresh is always best with lemon juice.
- Anchovy paste: Gives the dressing its classic caesar taste – a must in my opinion!
- Garlic: While I love garlic, it’s easy to overdo it in this dressing. Save the big cloves for cooking and reach for a small to medium-sized clove instead.
Do I need to use anchovy paste?
Do you like Caesar salad dressing? Since you’re here, I’m guessing your answer is: Yes. In that case, add the anchovy paste, even if you don’t like anchovies; It’s what gives Caesar dressing its classic flavor, without making it taste fishy.
Adding anchovies to Caesar dressing is like adding fish sauce to a Thai curry. You don’t taste it specifically, but it elevates the recipe to a whole new level.
If you don’t think you’ll use it often, don’t worry. An opened tube of anchovy paste lasts for at least a year in your fridge, which is enough time for you to make this easy Caesar dressing a few times!
Serving ideas
Caesar salad with homemade dressing goes with everything. It pairs naturally well with Italian-inspired mains like easy baked lasagna, Italian sausage pasta, or pasta with marinara sauce. And do’t forget some garlic bread on the side!
But this easy Caesar dressing can be used on more than just salad. It makes a delicious veggie dip or pizza crust dip. It also tastes great spread on a sandwich or burger. And sometimes if I’m making a simple baked chicken breast, I’ll serve this on the side for dipping.
Easy Caesar Dressing (5-minute recipe!)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup neutral-flavored mayonnaise
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 5 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh is best!)
- 1 tablespoon anchovy paste (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic (finely minced)
- 1 teapoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Add the ingredients in a small bowl.¾ cup neutral-flavored mayonnaise, ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese, 5 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon anchovy paste, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1 clove garlic, 1 teapoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Mix well then either use right away or (ideally) let the dressing rest in the fridge for 20 minutes for the flavors to blend.
- Store the dressing in your fridge in a sealed jar for up to 10 days.
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
More salad dressing recipes to try
For more inspiration, check out all of my salad dressing recipes!
Great flavor and very easy
It’s perfect… with the addition of some Worcestershire sauce. I did mine in the blender and it turned out perfect!
Thanks for the recipe… it looks fabulous… do you have a metric conversion on your recipes? Have I missed it? Helps if I want to reduce a recipe for two people. It is much easier to reduce a recipe for me in grams (UK) using measuring scales. Thank you. Stay safe….
We don’t currently have metric on our site but it is something that we are looking at implementing. Thank you for the feedback!