Easy Caesar Dressing

‍

Caesar salad is such a classic and traditional salad that can be found nearly everywhere. What makes it be so popular perhaps is not the actual components of the salad but the dressing itself.

‍

Caesar dressing is one of our favorite dressings of all time! It's creamy, complex and oh so delicious. While you might think making your own dressing at home is difficult, it actually is so easy and you can always make it ahead of time.

‍

‍

What is Caesar Dressing?

‍

You’ve probably heard of the origin of Caesar dressing by now but here is a refresher. While most people think Caesar dressing is named after the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, it actually was created in Tijuana, Mexico by an Italian-American restaurateur named Caesar Cardini. The salad was created in the same way that some of my best meals have taken shape, Caesar went into his pantry, saw what he had on hand, and created a dish based on those ingredients. The salad was said to have consisted of romaine lettuce, garlic, croutons, eggs, olive oil, Worcestershire and, of course, parmesan cheese. Anchovies were a later addition made by Cardini’s brother.

‍

‍

Ingredients for the Best Caesar Dressing

‍

This Caesar salad dressing requires just a few pantry ingredients. Make the dressing while you bake some croutons made from homemade focaccia bread and you’re ready to enjoy an easy and delicious restaurant-quality Caesar salad at home. Our favorite? A Kale Caesar!

• Egg Yolks: The egg yolks are the foundation of the sauce and serve as the binder that holds everything together. It also helps to give the dressing it’s nice rich and creamy consistency.
• Parmigiano-Reggiano: For this recipe, and honestly in general, you really want to use freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (The OG!). If you use pre grated cheese or the stuff you find in shakers (which isn’t Parmigiano-Reggiano), the texture and flavor of the dressing just won’t be the same.
• Lemon: Lemon provides both acidity and a zing to the dressing that helps keep it light and cuts through a lot of the richness.
• Tabasco: I like to add Tabsaco to a lot of my sauces, especially the ones that have a good amount of cream or fat, to provide some spice and acid. This helps give the sauce life and cuts through the richness of the egg and oil.
• Worcestershire: Nothing quite brings a subtle-salty funk to sauces like worcestershire. It is a necessity in this recipe and helps provide an additional complexity of flavor.
• Garlic: You can also use garlic confit here (use about 6-8 cloves), but if you are using fresh garlic  just make sure you are truly using fresh garlic (not that chopped stuff in a jar!).
• Anchovy: Anchovies are arguably the most important ingredient here. While you can make the recipe without, it just wouldn’t have the same zing! The anchovies provide that nice funky pop of flavor that Caesar dressing is none for.
• Oil: While some people like to use olive oil for this recipe, I prefer to use a neutral flavored oil such as canola so that you can easily pick up on all the other flavors present in the dressing. When you use olive oil, especially a strongly-flavored extra virgin olive oil, some of the flavors become overwhelmed by the olive flavor present.
• Dijon Mustard: The mustard gives the dressing a nice tang and also provides some sharpness. It also helps to serve as an additional binding agent for holding together the egg and oil.

‍

‍

Tips for Making Homemade Caesar Dressing

‍

1. We really like our Caesar dressing to have a bold flavor but if after making it you find that the flavor is a little too strong, go ahead and mix in another 1-2 ounces of oil. This will help neutralize some of the aggressive flavors and make the dressing more mild.
2. Homemade Caesar dressing will last you one week in an airtight container. Just make sure you store it in the fridge!

‍

More Salad Dressings to Try

‍

• Tzatziki Vinaigrette
• Pomegranate Balsamic Vinaigrette

‍

This such a classic recipe to learn how to make and any homemade dressing will absolutely beat store bought.

‍

Cheers and eat well!