Perfect Caesar Salad

June 30, 2020

The very best Caesar salad recipe! This stunner has the perfect balance of creamy homemade dressing, crunchy croutons, and crisp lettuce.

Some foods are classic for a reason. Like frosty vanilla bean ice cream or hot crispy French fries, this classic salad is basic but truly irresistible. Meet the perfect Caesar salad! Yes, you can buy a packaged storebought version with sub-par dressing and soggy croutons. But make all the components at home and it’s a knock out stunner. We’ve perfected all the elements so that you can make them at home. The savory, creamy dressing will instantly become a household favorite. And the crunchy garlicky croutons…well, you’ll be eating them off the baking sheet.

How to make the best Caesar salad

This homemade Caesar salad is absolutely magnificent. From the first bite, you’ll be singing its praises. (Promise.) Here are the ingredients to make an absolutely perfect version of this classic:

Homemade croutons: Don’t even think about purchasing a box! Tear the bread into uneven pieces to make fluffy, crunchy orbs.
Best Caesar dressing: Our recipe is so good, you won’t want to buy it again.
Romaine hearts: We like the romaine hearts, the sweet and crunchy portion of a head of romaine. These are sold usually in packs of 3 in the grocery. You can also use a large head of romaine lettuce.
Parmesan cheese shavings: You need grated for the dressing, so grab yourself a block of the stuff.

Tips for Caesar salad croutons

You’ll start with the croutons for this Caesar salad. All they need is 15 minutes in a hot oven! You can prep the rest of the salad while they bake. Here are our tips for the best homemade croutons:

Use great bread: The better the bread, the better the crouton! Use artisan bread, French bread or sourdough bread from the store, or leftover homemade bread.
Tear the bread into pieces: Tearing the bread into small pieces makes for crispier croutons with crevices that catch the dressing!
Add garlic powder. Our croutons recipe is for garlic croutons, which have the perfect savory flavor.
Bake until crispy (about 15 minutes). You’ll use a low temperature, 300 degrees, and bake until just crispy. The croutons crisp up after baking .

The secrets to homemade Caesar dressing

This Caesar dressing recipe is our favorite that we’ve been making for years! It’s a healthy spin on the standard but it tastes just as good. It’s also easily made vegetarian. Here are a few notes on this Caesar dressing:

Greek yogurt gives it a healthy spin. Instead of going all mayo and oil, we’ve added a little Greek yogurt too. This keeps it creamy but cuts a few of the calories. We use this philosophy in our Ranch Dressing recipe too.
Use anchovy paste, or don’t: it’s optional! Traditional Caesar dressing gets its savory flavor from anchovies, so we’ve used it here. It adds a huge amount of flavor! But this dressing tastes just as good without it. Feel free to make a vegetarian Caesar dressing and it’s just as good.
There’s no raw egg. Standard Caesar dressing uses raw egg yolks (like a homemade mayo). But this recipe is so full of flavor, it doesn’t need it.

Make ahead instructions for Caesar salad

Once you’ve got your creamy dressing and crunchy croutons, all you need is romaine hearts and Parmesan cheese shavings to bring together that perfect Caesar salad. Want a few time savers for putting it together? Here’s how to make it ahead:

Make the dressing up to 1 week in advance. Make it and refrigerate up to 1 week: the flavor tastes just as good!
Make the croutons 2 days in advance. Make the croutons and let them cool completely. Then store in a sealed container for up to 2 days. The flavor gets gradually staler over time, so the closer to fresh they are, the better.

Variations: make it a main dish!

If you take all this time to make Caesar salad…why not turn it into a main dish meal? If you serve it topped with protein, it makes about 4 servings. Here are a few ideas:

Chicken Caesar Salad: Top with grilled or cooked chicken for the classic restaurant main dish.
Shrimp Caesar Salad: Add Sauteed Shrimp, Grilled Shrimp or Shrimp Skewers.
Chickpea Caesar Salad: For a vegetarian option, top with Seasoned Chickpeas or Crispy Chickpeas.

More variations: grilled, kale, and more

Here are a few more variations on Caesar salad that put a fun spin on this classic salad:

Make it grilled: This Grilled Caesar Salad features grilled romaine lettuce and grilled avocado to bring big flavor.
Make it with kale: Our Kale Caesar Salad features leafy green kale with the lettuce, and croutons made from our best homemade cornbread. To die for!

This Caesar salad recipe is…

Vegetarian without anchovy paste. For gluten free, use gluten-free bread for the croutons.