This homemade Caesar dressing recipe beats any store-bought salad dressing I've tried. With a mayo base, it's creamy, tangy, and easy to make.
A great Caesar dressing is the secret to a great Caesar salad! This Caesar dressing recipe is my favorite.
I love it because it’s easy and delicious. Unlike a traditional Caesar dressing, which is made with an emulsion of raw egg yolk and oil, this one has a mayo base. It’s super simple to stir together (and it doesn’t contain raw eggs!).
Still, it’s rich, creamy, and packed with tangy, savory, umami flavor. Try it on your next Caesar salad, and you’ll never get a store-bought Caesar dressing again! Trust me, this homemade version is so much better.
Caesar Salad Dressing Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this homemade Caesar dressing recipe:
- Mayonnaise – It gives this dressing a delicious creamy texture.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – It adds rich, fruity flavor to the dressing and loosens the mayo.
- Fresh lemon juice and Dijon mustard – They make the dressing tangy and bright.
- Garlic – For sharp, savory bite.
- Worcestershire sauce and Parmesan cheese – They add salty, umami flavor.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
A note for vegetarians: Worcestershire sauce traditionally contains anchovies. Seek out an anchovy-free brand to make this recipe vegetarian (I like Annie’s and 365). You should also look for Parmesan that’s specifically labeled as vegetarian, as most is made with animal rennet. I like BelGioioso’s vegetarian Parm!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Caesar Dressing
This Caesar dressing recipe is super simple to stir together—no food processor or blender required!
Just whisk together the mayo, olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Then, stir in the Parmesan cheese and season to taste.
- Tip: Use finely grated Parmesan so that it melds into the creamy dressing.
If the dressing is too thick, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, to thin it to your desired consistency. That’s it!
How to Store Caesar Dressing
This recipe makes a fairly large quantity—about 1 1/2 cups. That’s enough for about 2 large salads. Find more serving suggestions in the callout below!
Store leftover dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It keeps well for up to 5 days.
How to Use
- Toss it with romaine lettuce, croutons, and shaved Parmesan cheese to make a classic Caesar salad. I love it on this kale Caesar salad too!
- Try it on a wrap or sandwich like these healthy lunch wraps.
- Enjoy it as a dip for chips or veggies.
- Drizzle it over roasted veggies like roasted broccoli or roasted Brussels sprouts.
How do you like to use this dressing? Let me know in the comments!
More Favorite Salad Dressings
If you love this recipe, try one of these easy salad dressings next:
Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- Pinch sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese*
Instructions
- In a large liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and several grinds of pepper until smooth. Stir in the cheese and season to taste. If the dressing is too thick, stir in water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Use on a Caesar salad, or try another of the serving suggestions in the blog post above. The dressing keeps well for about 5 days in an airtight container or jar in the fridge.
Notes
This dressing is the perfect non anchovy paste based homemade everyday fridge and pantry staple ingredient based recipe I’ve come across. It’s easy to throw together (and you can obviously sub in lemon juice from a bottle for the fresh if you’re in a pinch) I’ve even used garlic power when I was out of fresh garlic – the unvaried recipe is 5 stars but even with not as fresh ingredients it comes together fast and it very tasty in wraps, on sandwiches and of course on a salad.
Holy Cow, this is excellent.
I’ve made my own Caesar dressing for 25+ years or so. Sometimes making my own mayo to start (In this case I used Hellman’s/Best Plant-Based Mayo, my non-soy go-to).
Never making a different recipe again. Going to keep extra around to use on other salads, too (which I did tonight with the leftover from Monday).
I’m so glad you loved the recipe, Bryan!
Delicious! We added a dash of anchovies paste to spice it up a bit. Wonderful!
This is now my go to recipe for dressing. I no longer buy the pre-made one from the store. Making it today for a birthday party and it makes enough to accommodate any size salad I want. Thank you for this and other great recipes,
Very good. A little on the tangy side, but its going in my recipe box. 🙂