Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing

This salad dressing is surprisingly easy to make and tastes so much better than store-bought. Perfect for caesar salad, chicken caesar wraps and more!

There are many popular salads, but one of the most popular has to be the Caesar salad. Go to most restaurants and you will find a Caesar salad on the menu. The typical Caesar salad is quite simple, including torn romaine lettuce leaves, bacon, croutons and grated parmigiano reggiano. Some variations include mushrooms, sliced chicken breast, capers and more. Homemade Caesar salad dressing is easy to make and tastes so good!

A bowl of fresh Caesar salad.

The most distinctive element of the Caesar salad is the dressing. Flavours of garlic, anchovy, dijon and parmesan cheese all blend to make a wonderful dressing that beautifully coats the romaine lettuce leaves.

Old recipes for Caesar salad dressing were emulsified with raw egg yolks. With the fears of salmonella, it is just as easy to mix in some mayonnaise to get the emulsifying started. This recipe allows you to make Caesar salad dressing that is beyond amazing and way better than anything you will buy in the grocery store!

A jar of dressing in front of a bowl full of salad.

Ingredients You will Need

  • olive oil
  • mayonnaise
  • dijon mustard
  • garlic
  • parmigiano reggiano
  • anchovy paste
  • lemon juice
  • Worcestershire sauce

You Can Make This Dressing Two Different Ways

I have made this dressing using two different techniques. You can use a wire whisk to manually mix the salad dressing. Another method is using a food processor to let the machine do all the work. Both options work well and the dressing tastes amazing using either method.

A fresh salad with bacon and croutons.

How to Make this with a Whisk

The first is with a large glass bowl and a wire whisk. This is hard work, especially for your arm as you are whisking the oil into the dressing. This dressing is emulsified in the same way as making mayonnaise from scratch or aioli.

For the dressing, whisk everything except oil together first. Then slowly, while whisking, drizzle the oil in. The whisking emulsifies the oil with the rest of the ingredients to create a smooth and creamy dressing.

Overhead picture of Caesar salad and a jar of salad dressing.

How to Make Salad Dressing with a Food Processor

The other way that I have made this dressing, and my preference by far, is by using a food processor. I use my 7 cup food processor and I find that a food processor that is any larger (10 or 12 cup models) would be too big and not allow the dressing to mix well.

First, add all the ingredients, except the oil to the food processor. Then, turn on the food processor and slowly drizzle in the oil. The processor does all the emulsifying for you and saves your arm from a lot of hard work!

Fresh salad with croutons next to a whole lemon.

Other Salad Dressing Recipes

If you like this homemade Caesar salad dressing and want to make some more, then check out this recipes!

Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing

A whole lemon next to Caesar salad dressing.
4.81 out of 5
51 reviews
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This caesar salad dressing recipe is simple and easy to make. Tips to emulsify the dressing so it is creamy. 
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 3 garlic cloves , minced
  • 1/4 cup fresh grated parmigiano reggiano (parmesean cheese)
  • 1 tsp anchovy paste (more or less depending on taste preference)
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

  • In a glass bowl whisk together all the ingredients except the olive oil, until smooth and creamy.
  • Slowly drizzle the olive oil, while whisking. Do not pour the oil too quickly, but instead make sure that it has emulsified into the rest of the ingredients before pouring in more. Continue to drizzle and whisk until all the oil has been added.
  • Store the Caesar salad dressing in the fridge for up to a week.

Notes

Food processor method: Add all the ingredients, except the olive oil, to a food processor. Turn on and pulse until smooth and creamy. While the food processor is on, slowly drizzle the oil through the top chute. Do not pour the oil in too quickly as that can break the emulsification process. Just drizzle it slowly until all the oil has been added.

Nutrition

Per serving:

Calories: 108kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 1gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 94mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 0.2g

Nutrition Disclaimer

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Did you try this recipe?

Leave a comment and let me know how it turned out. Or, take a picture to share on Instagram and tag me @theblackpeppercorn.

4.81 from 51 votes (14 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




67 comments

  • 5 stars
    Awesome dressing next time i wont put as mush lemon juicee in though. overall great dressing

    • Reply
  • This is a very simple and great recipe and I appreciate that.

    • Reply
  • Loved this recipe; I have used a similar one and have always used Dijon.. I doubled it, used a whole tin of flat anchovies and French’s spicy brown mustard because I did not have Dijon and it was delicious. Thank you.

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  • 5 stars
    Fantastic recipe. Used wholegrain mustard instead of Dijon mustard, worked a treat!

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  • 5 stars
    Just love this recipe, cant get enough of it. The whole family love it even our 2 1/2 yr grand daughter
    I agree that it taste like the restaurants make…
    However I was trying to make it go a little further and I had organic egg whites in the fridge & used 1/2 cup
    and it taste great (oh i did cut bake on the worcestershire too..

    Happy I finally found a great dressing

    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    I love how easy this recipe is and the fact that most of the ingredients are already in my kitchen! I’m putting together a post on salads you actually want to eat for my lifestyle blog, Kelsey Says, and I’d like to include this recipe. I really like your photographs as well so I may use one. I will credit you, and link back, of course, for both the recipe and the photo. Let me know if you have any problem with this.

    Enjoy your day!

    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    I just made this dressing but I added a bit of apple cider vinegar and reduced the Worchestershire . So good! Thanks.

    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    Made this today… DELCIOUS!!! Thank you for this VERY tasty recipe.

    • Reply
  • Yummy

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  • I have been making my own Caesar salad dressing for over 30 years. Thought that I’d give this one a try because it has no raw egg & would keep. Much to my disappointment, I found the Worchestershire sauce to be way over powering. That’s all I could taste. If I were to make this again, I would cut back on the amount of Worchestershire sauce used.

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    • 5 stars
      Excellent recipe! The anchovy paste, Wors sauce, Dijon amounts were perfect!

      • Reply
  • 5 stars
    SO YUMMY!!!! I didn’t have anchovy paste so I used a couple olives and it was great!!! Even my 19 month old ate the salad! Will defiantly save this recipe!!

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  • 5 stars
    It is really good. Maybe even better than the one I hsve been using for the last 20 years.

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  • 5 stars
    Love it, tastes like in the restaurant.

    • Reply
  • This recipe is simple to make and so delicious! Has quickly become a firm favorite.

    • Reply
    • I followed the recipe exactly, only I didn’t have fresh lemon juice, so I used bottled (not as good, but shouldn’t ruin an entire recipe). It was so horrible. WAY too much anchovy paste. Is it supposed to be tsp instead of tbsp? Just seemed like a lot of the proportions were off. I poured it down the drain.

      • Reply
  • I love this ceasar salad dressing reciped so deicous

    • Reply
  • Ilove this ceasar salad sauce reciped

    • Reply
  • Hello, i think that i saw you visited my site thus i came to go back the favor?

    .I’m trying to in finding things to improve my web site!I assume its good enough to use some of your ideas!!

    • Reply
  • I just try today and the taste is superlicious. I am a fun lover of Caesar salad

    • Reply
    • 5 stars
      I was wary of the amount of anchovy paste so I used a bit less but this dressing was delicious! Will be my go-to from now on!

      • Reply
  • I’m going to try this one for hubs. He’s a huge caesar lover.

    • Reply
  • I LOVE Caesar dressing and this one looks super

    • Reply
    • 5 stars
      Very good Caesar dressing. I added a little pepper but that was it. Also, you can take a little lattitude with garlic, anchovie paste, etc, to your own taste. I didnt follow the exact measurements but it was still excellent.

      • Reply
    • 5 stars
      This is a lovely recipe and extremely flexible! I had no anchovy paste, so I mashed a bit more than half of a 2-oz. tin of anchovies first with a fork on a plate, then with the back of a large spoon in the bowl, along with 4 cloves pressed garlic (less bitter than minced) & the other ingredients. The mixture was creamy & it was not hard work at all. I probably added 1/2 C of grated parm & used half EVOO/half grapeseed oil, as the olive oil I had was very strong in flavor. The result was DELICIOUS!
      I’ve been looking for a no-egg recipe to serve to guests without stress. This is definitely it! Thank you, Steve Cylka!!

      • Reply
      • 5 stars
        Best homemade recipe I have tried using an olive oil base. I added a little more Parmesean cheese. Make sure you use a good quality olive oil.

        • Reply

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