This caesar dressing is creamy, a little tangy, fast to put together and perfect for a quick lunch or dinner.
Searching for Recipes
My husbands all time favorite food is salad. Of all the salads he eats, Caesar is his number one. He says he likes it because he just really likes lettuce and Caesar doesn’t have much else to interrupt the lettuce vibe.
When I was searching for a dressing recipe years ago, I had a couple requirements. In general, Caesar dressing has anchovy paste. I don’t ever buy anchovy paste nor do I have any other recipes that use it so I didn’t want a recipe with that on the ingredient list.
People say that it isn’t authentic caesar dressing if it has no anchovy paste and I get that, but I don’t really need authenticity, I need deliciousness and ease, and this recipe provides both.
Additionally, I wanted the rest of the ingredients to be items I keep on hand and to come together quickly. Homemade dressings can be awesome, if they don’t add gobs of time to dinner prep.
Finding a Good One
After trying several different recipes, this one finally satisfied all the above requirements and it tastes awesome!
The flavor of the mayonnaise does slightly come through in the final product so use a mayonnaise that you like. I use this homemade recipe and it works well.
Do You Need it to Be Dairy Free
Making this recipe dairy free is easy, just leave out the cheese and add a little extra salt and pepper. It is still just as creamy and delicious. Alternatively, you can use cashew parmesan cheese in place of the parmesan cheese.
Caesar salad is a simple, quick delicious side dish. It comes together quickly once you have this dressing made. Chop up lettuce, grate some cheese, toss on some croutons (I make mine with leftover bits of sourdough bread) and voila you are done. Adding some grilled chicken can turn it into a quick and simple main dish too.
Simple Caesar Dressing (No anchovy)
3 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
1/2 – 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese
1/4 cup light olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Add all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.
TWEAK IT NOTES
- VEGETARIAN – If you need the final product to be vegetarian, check your worcestershire sauce.
- DAIRY FREE – You can simply leave out the parmesan cheese, adding a little more salt and pepper.
- EGG FREE – Choose a mayo that is egg free or make this recipe and use the egg free swap recommended in the recipe notes.
