The Best Caesar Salad {It’s all about the dressing}

The best Caesar salad really comes down to the dressing and today I’m sharing with you my favorite easy homemade version. No weird ingredients and it comes together in just a few minutes. Super simple and super yummy.

Hello, my friends!

Today I’m talking about another best. The Best Caesar Salad.

Before you roll your eyes at me and ask me how I know it’s the best. You obviously must realize that I can’t have possibly tasted every Caesar salad out there.

Well, this is true. But hopefully you realize that the best Caesar salad really comes down to the best dressing.

It’s all about the dressing, my friends.

A traditional Caesar salad is just romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese, and croutons. How hard is that?

But again. It’s the dressing, my friends. It’s all about the dressing.

And today I’m sharing with you the best. Well to be clear, the best I’ve ever had.

Yes. I am here to declare that I am no longer looking for the best dressing that belongs on every Caesar salad I eat for the rest of my life.

Nope, I’ve found it. This is it.

And oh is it good.

A secret to the perfect Caesar salad dressing

Perfectly creamy and perfectly cheesy. Yes there is freshly grated Parmigiano-reggiano cheese in there. That’s one of my secrets to the ultimate best Caesar Salad dressing, right there. Cheese in the salad AND cheese in the dressing. Yes please.

I learned that secret from a local restaurant that we like to go to. I LOVE their caesar salad dressing with Parmegian in the dressing. At least I think that’s what it is–I’ve never actually asked. But it doesn’t really matter because mine is better than theirs anyway.

At the restaurant they probably make fresh from scratch every single day. And you can tell. It is good. And this dressing is also better the first day. Having said that, I must tell you that you I habitually eat this salad dressing for about three days after I make it and there’s no complaining going on around here. Believe me, you won’t want to waste a drop, my friends. This stuff is dreamy.

They probably include fancy (a.k.a. weird) ingredients like anchovies in the restaurant dressing And I’m sorry but I don’t do anchovies. Maybe I’ll get there someday, but for now I’m sticking with my anchovie-less Caesar salad dressing. And no part of me misses those dreaded anchovies. Thank goodness.

When I eat out at the restaurant, I always order a house salad with Caesar dressing on the side. Never just the caesar salad ’cause it’s so boring. If you tend to agree with me, then you have my full permission to dress yours up a little with other toppings like I do. We love sliced cucumbers, sliced cherry tomatoes, and slices of purple pearl onions. Sliced avocados are also delicious on there. But really your options are limitless. Make it unique and make it colorful. Above all just make it.

And remember, it really is all about the dressing. So give this one a try. Can’t wait to hear how you like it!

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Caesar Salad

The best Caesar salad really comes down to the best Caesar salad dressing and today I'm sharing with you my favorite easy homemade version. No weird ingredients and it comes together in just a few minutes. Super simple and super yummy.

Course Salad, Salad Dressing

Cuisine American

Keyword Salad

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Servings 4 Servings

Author Heather @ thecookstreat.com

Ingredients

For Dressing:

• ½ cup mayonnaise see note
• ¾ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-reggiano cheese see note
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black peper
• ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 clove garlic freshly minced
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

For Salad:

• 1 head Romaine Lettuce chopped
• ¼ cup freshly grated or shaved Parmesan cheese see note
• croutons
• Other salad toppings optional, see note

Instructions

For Dressing:

1. In a pint sized mason jar or small bowl, combine all ingredients and stir until well mixed. Dressing is best if served the same day, but will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

For Salad:

1. Toss the romaine lettuce and Parmesan cheese with the dressing. Top with the croutons and any other salad toppings of your choice. Serve immediately with dressing on the side.
   

Recipe Notes

1. I like to use this delicious homemade mayonnaise for this salad dressing, but you can use any type of mayonnaise that you like.

2. I usually buy the large blocks of Parmigiano-reggiano cheese for this recipe at Costco. For the dressing, I cut a hunk off and whirl it around for a few minutes in my food processor until it is chopped very finely. For the salad, I like to shave off slices from the large block using my vegetable peeler (this is the peeler I have and LOVE). 

3. If you’re happy with a plain Caesar salad, that’s fine with me but I like add a bit more interest to mine. I love to add thinly sliced purple pearl onions, sliced grape tomatoes, sliced cucumbers or sliced avocados, among other things. The sky’s the limit, friends.

4. This salad is gluten free as long as you use gluten-free croutons or substitute them for seeds, nuts or something else that’s crunchy.

Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat

All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat

Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.