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
I love this dressing and I do use a little anchovie (canned or in the tube). This is a GREAT recipe.
So glad you love it!
Caesar dressing without anchovies is sacrilegious
This is a nice simple recipe, I like adding in some anchovy paste instead of the salt!
This recipe is SO GOOD! It’s so much better than any store or resturant Ceasar dressing I’ve ever had. Thank you for sharing this, now I can’t go back lol
I’m so glad you loved it!
I just found your website. Although I am not a vegetarian, I do try to eat
several meatless meals a week.
I💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕your website. Have been searching for one like this
for years. Keep the recipes coming.
Hi Mary – welcome!
Excellent
Many Caesar dressing recipes call for an egg yolk. Why doesn’t yours?
Hi Carri, we like the simplicity of using mayo in this homemade dressing.
So delicious, thanks for sharing!
I’ve given up all store bought salad dressings in favor of homemade. Caesar is the salad my daughter asked for to accompany her birthday dinner. It’s also the only dressing I haven’t made from scratch so your recipe was a lifesaver. My family agreed that it was better than anything from a bottle. Thanks for sharing.
Absolutely delicious. I will make this all the time.
This was awesome and works well for my daughters ‘ veggie husband so I jus Put anchovies on the side for those who wants them. It also takes the guess work out of a raw or coddle egg. Dressing is delicious!
Thanks so much..
So glad you enjoyed it, Bob!
I made this today and it is fantastic. Thank you for the recipe.
Are there no anchovies in this recipe or was it an accidental omission?
Hi Linda, anchovies would be classic, but we omitted them because this is a vegetarian website.
Then you should omit the Worcestershire sauce as it’s made from anchovies
Hi Jen, we list a few brands in the post that are vegetarian.
Did you update these dressing with mayonnaise? I swear it use to be with Greek yogurt instead. Has anything else changed?
You’re correct…it used to be with Greek Yogurt!!!! I feel like a few things changed-the Greek yogurt recipe didn’t have Worcestershire!
Hi Raegan, you can find the Greek yogurt recipe here: https://dailycove.info/healthy-caesar-dressing/%3C/a%3E Sorry for the confusion!
Thank you. I was wondering the same thing! 🙂
Hi Meghan, you can find the Greek yogurt recipe here: https://dailycove.info/healthy-caesar-dressing/%3C/a%3E Sorry for the confusion!
Thank you!
Just Delicious. First couple bites my wife said, “This isn’t Ceasar dressing.” But by the third and fourth bites we were both hooked. I use it on the Kale Ceasar Love and Lemons recipe. I have to say I’m not a fan of Kale (though I know I should be), but just a nice Romaine, shaves of Parmesan and Croutons is all that’s necessary with this dressing. Lots of Flavor!
This is my go to dressing I make at least once a week it’s so good! I sub in worceshire sauce in place of capers as I don’t normally have on hand, but such a yummy, easy versatile recipe
Hi Emily, I’m so glad you love the dressing!
I just made a double batch since I juiced one lemon and it came out with two tablespoons of lemon juice. This dressing is so delicious; love that it’s so healthy and tasty.
YUM. Tastes just like Caesar you’d get at a restaurant and soo easy. I used 0% fage because that is what I had on hand. I added about 0.5 Tbs of grated Parmesan for a little more richness otherwise followed the recipe exactly.
So glad you loved the dressing, Anna!
This was way better than I anticipated. I took a chance and served it on Caesar salad I was serving with lasagna when I had guests. Both of my guests raved about the dressing! I made it just as it states and it was so robust!! Much easier recipe than traditional caesar dressing and we liked it better! Thanks for the super recipe…
excellent site and recipes-thank you.