Do you love Caesar salad as much as I do? I don’t even need the croutons in my salad to be happy, I think it’s all that fresh parmesan. Although lately I make homemade croutons out of bread ends that no one eats, and they're so good, see below for how I do that!
–>See below for how to make a grilled Caesar salad, our son said it's the best Caesar he's ever had!
All of the Caesar salad dressings at the store are made with soybean oil though, so with today's recipe, now you can easily make your own homemade Caesar salad dressing. Also in this post: info on making your own homemade Worcestershire sauce without all the junk that's in most store-bought…
A while back a reader named Valerie commented on the homemade Ranch dressing post, and had this to say:
Kelly, I am in LOVE with your homemade mayo recipe!! I also had several bad batches of mayo, but I’ve done yours twice (and even once by hand with a whisk) and it came out beautifully. And the ranch dressing as well. I don’t know if you have a place to share recipes but I just used the homemade mayo to make the best Caesar salad dressing!
So below is Valerie's homemade Caesar Salad Dressing recipe with a few tweaks I've made over the years 🙂
Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 batch of my homemade mayo, using Dijon mustard instead of regular, and instead of using all lemon juice, replace about half of it with white wine vinegar--nothing has to be exact. (A friend just gave me the idea to use part bacon grease for some of the oil in the recipe, oh my I'm going to try that!)
- About 2 inches or more of anchovy paste from a squeeze tube (I know that doesn't sound very exact, but it's about a Tablespoon or more to your taste)--you could also use a 2 oz. can of regular anchovies, see the 2nd dressing option below for more info on that.
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire (buy the kind I like here or see below for an easy homemade recipe!)
- 4 garlic cloves or 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 Tablespoons or more shredded parmesan (save more to shave for the top)
Instructions
- Make the mayo first, again, using Dijon mustard instead of regular, and instead of using all lemon juice, replace about half of it with white wine vinegar--nothing has to be exact.
- Add the other ingredients and blend it all together.
I asked her about the high fructose corn syrup and MSG in most store-bought Worcestershire sauces, and here’s what she said:
I’ve got some original Lea and Perrins worcestershire from the UK and it doesn’t contain HFCS, and claims no MSG. I know that in the UK they still make it the same way as the original over 100 yrs ago, it’s aged in wood barrels which would give that wonderful flavor that people try to imitate with MSG. But the Lea and Perrins website even admits that there are slight variations in the recipe made in the USA factory vs. the UK.
Ugh, that makes me crazy!
So if you can't find one you're comfortable using, I asked my friend Jeanne, who makes her own Worcestershire sauce, and she said she just guesses at the amounts of these ingredients: vinegar, molasses, anchovy paste, onion powder, salt, garlic, chili pepper, and water to thin down if needed. So I played with it and used what I had on hand–it turned out pretty good!
Homemade Worcestershire Sauce
Ingredients
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 Tablespoon fermented soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon palm sugar
- 1/2 Tablespoon molasses
- 3 shakes onion powder
- 3 shakes garlic powder
- Dash cayenne
- Sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Just mix it all together 🙂
Now one more, a 2nd Caesar Salad Dressing Option:
My friend Kay turned me on to this recipe with actual anchovies (not the paste), which don't even have a taste except to make it more rich and flavorful! (Note that you should skip the veg/seed oils recommended there as well as the pasteurized eggs, gross!)
Homemade croutons are so easy!
Our kids can't seem to eat the ends of our bread (we get an organic fermented multi-grain loaf from a local baker or lately I make my SIMPLE sourdough bread), so I save them in the freezer until I have a lot, then make croutons! Here's how I do it…
Cut bread up into cubes then toss with melted butter. Amounts depend on how much bread you have. Start with less and add more as needed, just make sure each piece has butter on it, you can't really have too much butter! Spread onto a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with sea salt, and garlic powder too if desired. Bake at 350* until pieces are crunchy, but watch them and don't let them burn. Uusally you'll have to pull some out that are getting brown and crispy, and pop the rest back in to keep baking until they're all done. Once cool you can store in the freezer in a baggie for several months.
Pulling it all together for a tasty Caesar salad:
Along with the dressing options above and the croutons, just have plenty of fresh parmesan (I like it shaved) and crunchy greens and you're good to go. Finish with some fresh-cracked pepper on top and maybe some crumbled bacon too!!!
Try a grilled Caesar salad!
You will LOVE this tasty twist!
Here's my EASY sourdough method.
Grill just until you see some golden grill marks on each side, it'll go fast, so stay right there! 
Cut romaine lettuce heads in half and brush a little Caesar salad dressing on the cut side–see the dressing recipe above. Grill these, dressing side down, and only for a VERY short time also–just enough to get a little grilled flavor on them.
Drizzle on more dressing, serve with the grilled bread and plenty of freshly shredded Parmesan. You will love this!
More homemade salad dressing recipes:
- Homemade Ranch Dressing (or veggie dip)
- More yummy salad recipes
Emily Keffler says
Homemade Caesar reminds me everytime of the countless 5gal batches I used to make at work with an immersion blender big enough to lift the bucket off the floor.
Jacquelyn Lindsey Hoag says
mine is as close to west coast restaurants altho i skip anchovies and raw egg…Its a big family favorite and through winter we go through lots romaine…lemon juice, parmesan reggiano (the healthiest pasture raised …its from italy) fresh garlic and olive oil. adding worstashire sauce sounds like something added back east. the cheese, garlic and lemon are so deliciously complimentary it doesn’t need that flavored sauce.
Mindy McDonald says
I’ve never put worcestershire in my caesar dressing, but anchovies are a must.
ThoughtfulCooking says
I’m a new convert to the real food world, and it was very important in my family to find some good salad dressing recipes, quickly! My normal Caesar salad dressing is a little different, but I’m looking forward to trying yours, with the addition of Worchestershire!
Jennifer Cote says
We’ve been making our own “Worchestershire” for years at The New Deli. No HFCS, and it’s way cheaper! Don’t have the exact proportions on me, but we usually do half soy sauce, half vinegar (a pint or so of each for a smaller batch?), then add maybe a 1/4 c. sugar and 1/4 c. (or less) molasses. Plus garlic granules. Shake it up and it’s done.
The recipe on Saveur looks deluxe (https://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Worcestershire-Sauce). But I bet you could simplify it, skipping the heating and all, by just “steeping” the extra spices (tamarind, mustard seeds, cloves, curry, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger) in white vinegar for a month or so, then strain and add the other ingredients.
Love your site, Kelly. So many fun ideas 🙂
Lora K. says
This afternoon I found your blog while searching for alternatives to Worcestershire sauce that has HFCS. Tonight I went to the store to try to find Worcestershire sauce with no HFCS, soy, or artificial additives and was surprised to find Lea & Perrin’s that is made with sugar and molasses. I live in Houston. I just thought it might help someone reading here. Thanks for the great ideas. I look forward to reading more in the future.
Pogonia says
Oooh, can’t wait to try ALL of these! And very excited about the (finally) easy Worcestershire sauce.
Rachel says
Yes! I LOVE homemade caesar – I always use either anchovy fillets or paste, they really add something to it.
We also sometimes make it a caesar vinagrette, without any egg yolks or mayo – just anchovy, garlic, parsley, oil, vinegar /lemon, worcestershire and salt and pepper to taste. I love it this way as well as the creamier version.
I’ve taken the vinagrette style and added sour cream to use on top of chicken and fish before too! Endless variations of deliciousness!
dani says
Ummm, I need to make this dressing stat
Ashley says
Thanks for the recipes! I’ve never tried my own Worcestershire sauce but now I think I might!
Martha says
Thanks for including the worcestershire info. The recipes I’ve seen have been long and complicated and I’m not ready to tackle them. This looks easy.
This is the caesar dressing I make. I copied it out of someone’s Martha Stewart Living years ago. 2 cloves garlic, 4 anchcovy fillets, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 Tbl fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1 tsp Worcestershire, 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 large egg yolk, 1/2 Cup EVOO. She says to make it by mashing the first three ingredients into a paste in a large wooden salad bowl, whisk in everything else but the oil with a fork and then whisk in the oil with the fork. We just press the garlic, chop up the fillets or use paste and mix it all well in a jar. It would be better with a blender.
Jeanne says
Okay, Kelly, here is a little more details on the worcestershire sauce . . .
I use a whole tube of anchovy paste, about 1/3 cup of molasses, 1 1/2 cup
vinegar, a few shakes onion powder and garlic (maybe 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp)
about 1/4 tsp of chili pepper and a dash of sea salt.
I just place the paste and molasses in a bowl and mix to gather: add the
seasonings, then the vinegar plus maybe 1/4 cup water. Taste it. Adjust any seasonings. Then pour it into a glass jar. I use the 15 oz. brown bottle of a name brand sauce. Store in the refrigerater. Shake well before using.
I usually make it every couple of months.
Pavil the Uber Noob says
I wonder if substituting whey for the vinegar and then fermenting for a few days would make this a probiotic.
Ciao,
Pavil
KitchenKop says
Yes, it would, great idea!