As salad lovers know, a great Caesar salad lives or dies by its dressing, but the traditional version, with raw egg yolk and anchovy fillets, can be a little intimidating for what should be a simple weeknight meal. My Easy Caesar Dressing skips both of those ingredients without missing out on any of the flavor. A good mayo takes care of the creamy texture, anchovy paste stands in for the fillets, and a hit of lemon and Parmigiano Reggiano rounds it all out in this umami-boosted dressing. And it comes together in one bowl in just a few minutes.
Recipe Highlights
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Cook time: About 5 minutes
- Servings: 1 cup of dressing.
- Why I think you’ll love my take: A Caesar salad is a simple lettuce-based recipe that has just a few components, and the ingredient that does most of the heavy flavor lifting is the dressing, so it has to be special. I prefer a bright, lemon-heavy dressing, using both the zest and juice of a fresh lemon, while the umami of the anchovy paste and Worcestershire sauce, mixed with a high-quality mayonnaise, adds a nuanced richness. It takes a humble salad and amplifies it to crave-worthy levels!
Key Ingredients
Here are the main ingredients that make this dressing special. The full list with quantities appears in the recipe card below.
Mayonnaise — For my tastes, mayo is a perfectly acceptable shortcut for making Caesar dressing because it’s already made of egg yolks and oil! Use your favorite brand or, if you don’t already have a preference, you can’t go wrong with a high-quality mayo such as Duke’s or Hellmann’s (sold as Best Foods out west).
Lemon — I love the bright, acidic flourish of fresh lemon, and one lemon does double-duty here, using both its zest and juice.
Umami — Okay, umami is not an ingredient but rather a sense of taste; however, its presence in this dressing is so important that it’s practically an entity all its own. Together, the Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, anchovy paste, garlic, and finely shredded Parmigiano Reggiano contribute sooo much umami flavor goodness to this dressing. Fun fact: Dijon mustard is used in traditional raw-yolk versions of the dressing because of its excellent emulsifying properties (e.g., it fuses oil and egg into a smooth concoction). I include mustard in my version because I just love mustard’s punchy kick.
How to Make Easy Caesar Dressing
Ready to make the recipe? Skip to the recipe card now to see the full ingredient list, quantities, prep/cooking times, and printable, detailed instructions. Or, keep scrolling for a visual walk-through and summary of making the dressing.
Make the dressing
Add all of the ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk until combined and creamy. Depending on how finely you shredded your parm, there might be small bits visible in the dressing — you can use an immersion blender to smooth it all out. It’s good either way!
Recipe FAQs
Once you’ve made your own Caesar dressing at home, you might not want to go back to the bottled stuff. It takes the humble Caesar salad and lifts it into crave-worthy heights. If you give this recipe a try, let me know in the comments how it turned out!
Easy Caesar Dressing
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- Zest from one large lemon
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 garlic clove , peeled and minced (or 1 teaspoon garlic paste)
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano Regianno cheese
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add all of the dressing ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk well, or use an immersion blender for extra creaminess. If too thick, add small amounts of water or lemon juice between mixing until it’s your desired consistency. The dressing probably won’t need salt with the anchovies and cheese, but you should always taste the final product and add salt and more pepper to your liking.