Classic Caesar Salad

Whenever I’m in the mood for a light side dish, I know I can rely on this simple Caesar salad. It’s incredibly easy to make, full of flavor, and there are lots of different textures that make each bite purely satisfying. You have the crisp lettuce, the crunchy croutons, the melt-in-your-mouth Parmesan, and of course, the velvety dressing to tie it all together.

A lot of my favorite salads require seasonal ingredients and can’t really be made year-round, but that’s not the case for this one. Thank goodness, too! I don’t know what I would do if I had to go without the tangy goodness of a Caesar salad for more than a month. This is the kind of dish that never leaves our weekly menu alongside other favorite salad recipes, like tomato panzanella salad and Fattoush salad.

About This Super Easy Caesar Salad with Homemade Dressing

• Made from scratch. I’ll show you how to make Caesar salad with 100% from-scratch ingredients, including crunchy garlic croutons and the creamiest homemade Caesar dressing. Of course, if you’re pressed for time, simply swap these with your favorite store-bought versions.
• Easy to mix it up. Once you’ve made this classic Caesar salad, customize it to make chicken Caesar salad or a Caesar pasta salad. Use the same ingredients, with small tweaks that make it suited to any occasion!
• Serve it with anything. Pair this easy homemade Caesar salad with everything from Italian spicy shrimp pasta to crispy air fryer chicken thighs and oven fries with aioli for a gastro pub-style dinner. See more of my Serving Suggestions below.

Caesar Salad Ingredients

Let’s go over the ingredients that make up a classic Caesar salad. You’ll find the full amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Garlic Croutons

• Sourdough Bread – Cut into small cubes. Homemade croutons are a great way to use up leftover, stale, or day-old bread. Other good options include crusty French bread or Italian ciabatta and focaccia.
• Olive Oil – My first choice of oil in terms of flavor. Avocado oil is a good second.
• Garlic – Freshly minced. If you don’t have fresh garlic, substitute 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder per clove.
• Chopped Fresh Parsley – Plus salt and pepper to season the croutons. Dried parsley will also work.

Caesar Dressing

• Garlic – Again, fresh is best, but jarred garlic works in a pinch. Use 1 tablespoon of pre-minced garlic in place of each fresh clove.
• White Vinegar – This can be distilled white vinegar or white wine vinegar.
• Olive Oil – Or whichever oil you like.
• Dijon Mustard – Use your favorite brand. Stone-ground mustard is a good substitute.
• Tabasco – You can use your preferred hot sauce and add more or less according to your desired level of heat.
• Lemon Juice – Freshly squeezed from half a lemon.
• Grated Parmesan Cheese – Freshly grated will give you far better flavor than the pre-grated shaker cheese.
• Honey – For just a hint of sweetness in the dressing. Raw, unfiltered honey is the way to go. You can skip it or substitute white sugar if needed.
• Mayonnaise – Some traditional Caesar salad dressings use an egg yolk, but to keep this version approachable, I use mayo. It helps emulsify the dressing and gives it a rich, creamy consistency.

For the Salad

• Chopped Romaine Lettuce – Or your choice of crisp salad greens, like iceberg, Bibb lettuce, or even arugula. Try a kale Caesar salad if you’d like.
• Extra Parmesan Cheese – Freshly shaved and also grated from the block. Using both shaved and grated cheese makes for even more amazing texture.

How to Make Caesar Salad From Scratch

Once you make this salad yourself, you’ll never order it at a restaurant again. It couldn’t possibly get any tastier! The best part is that all of the components (croutons, dressing, and the salad) come together mostly simultaneously. Just toss everything together at the end, and serve.

Make the Croutons

1. Toss the ingredients. Add the cubed sourdough bread, olive oil, and minced garlic cloves to a large bowl. Toss until everything is combined.
2. Bake. Spread out the prepared cubes of bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake the croutons at 375°F for 10 minutes, tossing halfway through to flip them.
3. Season and cool. Remove your croutons from the oven and season them with salt, pepper, and fresh parsley. Set the croutons aside to cool while you make the dressing.

Make the Homemade Caesar Dressing

1. Blend everything but the oil and Parm. Add the garlic, vinegar, mustard, Tabasco, lemon juice, honey, and mayo to a food processor or blender. Blend until the garlic is minced.
2. Add the olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese. Blend until everything is combined, then set the dressing aside.

Assemble the Salad

• Combine lettuce, cheese, and croutons. Add the chopped romaine lettuce, shaved Parmesan, grated Parmesan, and homemade croutons to a large bowl.
• Add dressing and serve. Drizzle the prepared dressing over your salad or serve it on the side. Enjoy!

Can I Make This Salad in Advance?

Not the whole salad, but if you’d like, you can prepare the Caesar salad dressing and croutons ahead of time so they’re ready to use whenever you’re ready. Refrigerate the dressing in an airtight jar or container. Store the (cooled) croutons in an airtight container or storage bag at room temperature. Both of them will last for up to 1 week, but the croutons may start to lose their crunch after a couple of days.

Tips for the Best Caesar Salad

• The best bread for croutons. You can make your croutons with any kind of bread you like, though I recommend using an artisan-style sourdough, French, or Italian loaf. Whatever you decide to use, just be sure to let the bread get nice and stale first. Trust me, stale bread turns into perfectly crunchy croutons!
• Freshness counts. The fresher your ingredients, the better your classic Caesar salad will taste. Definitely stick with freshly minced garlic and freshly squeezed lemon juice for the best results.
• Season to taste. Don’t be afraid to taste your dressing before you pour it over the salad to make sure it’s flawless. You may want to adjust the flavor a bit, and that’s okay! How you season each element of your salad is ultimately up to you.

Variations

Caesar salad is such a classic, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go about it a little differently! See how you like these tasty variations.

• Top it with a protein. Turn this salad into a light lunch or dinner by tossing in your favorite protein. Grilled chicken, steak, salmon, or a shrimp Caesar salad are all fail-proof options.
• Add anchovy if you’d like. For the anchovy fans, reduce the added salt in the dressing and blend in 1-2 anchovies to taste.
• Mix up the greens: Want some variation in your greens? Feel free to swap out 4 cups of the lettuce with 4 cups of chopped kale.
• Add more veggies: This salad keeps it classic, but if you feel it’s missing something, just throw it on in! Roasted garbanzo beans (chickpeas), toasted pine nuts, and thinly sliced radishes make wonderful additions to a Caesar salad.

What to Serve With Caesar Salad

This salad is pretty much guaranteed to go well with any main course you serve alongside it. Here are some standout examples:

• Italian dinners: Pair a fresh, creamy Caesar salad with grilled pizza, spicy pappardelle pasta with Italian sausage, or baked chicken Parmesan (try chicken Parmesan zucchini boats for a low-carb option).
• Seafood: Serve your salad with this one-pan creamy Tuscan salmon or caramelized maple Dijon glazed salmon.
• Pasta dishes: I could eat this garlic lemon pasta with a Caesar salad every day, or this bright, herby shrimp pesto pasta.

How to Store Caesar Salad

• Store the ingredients separately. If you think you may have leftover salad, serve the dressing on the side instead of drizzling it on top. Once you’re full, separate the croutons from the salad and store the dressing, croutons, and salad in separate airtight containers.
• Refrigerate. Refrigerate the dressing and salad, but leave the croutons on the counter. While the salad should be eaten within 2 days, the dressing and croutons will stay good for up to a week.

More Easy Salad Recipes

• Chicken Cobb Salad
• Classic Wedge Salad
• Mediterranean Salad
• Italian Grinder Salad
• Creamy Potato Salad with Bacon
• Green Goddess Salad