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:Â 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:Â 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 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.
This was lovely – thank you
So glad you enjoyed it, Daryl!
Excellent!!!
Hi Nikki, so glad you loved the dressing!
I will surely try this Thanks
Hi Claudia, hope you enjoy!
Just made this to meet my pregnant craving for creamy Ceasar and this is perfect!!
Hi Tova, so glad you loved it!
Could you share how many calories, fat and carbs in a serving? Thank you.
I’ve made it my mission to find a new go-to Caesar dressing recipe. In the past 7 days I’ve tried 7 different recipes, all being a fail.. until this one on day 8!
I made it exactly as the recipe reads and it was fabulous. This will now be my new go to dressing! I predict a lot of Caesar salads in my meal planning 🙂
Thank you!
Hi Cori, I’m so glad you loved this one!
This is the best Cesar dressing recipe!
I don’t care for Mayo, and was happy to substitute it with Greek yogurt. Also, I was pleasantly surprised with the capers, and thought they tasted better than adding traditional anchovy paste.
Thank you! It’s become my go to salad dressing!
Hi Brooke, I’m so glad you loved it! One of my favorites 🙂
That was a delicious dressing for my salad. My only advice is to squeeze out all the vinegar from the capers first because mine ended up too vinegary and I had to start again. Second time, I squeezed out all the vinegar in a garlic press then once the juice was out, I squeezed the capers into the bowl. Thanks for sharing. Definitely my go to for future Caesar salads.
Just made the honey mustard dressing! My family loved it.
Love it! I put in a bit of honey and parmesan, of course not vegan, but maybe an idea for vegetarian 🙂
Hey, Jeanine! I haven’t tried this yet, but I’m excited to. Even though I’m not vegetarian, anchovies and raw egg make me squirm, so a caesar dressing without them sounds wonderful.
One of my family members hates capers, though. Does this dressing have a caper-y flavor to it? If so, is there something else I can use so she’ll want to eat it?
Hi Madeleine, they add the briny flavor that’s otherwise in anchovies. I wouldn’t say it has a strong caper flavor, they just give it that caesar-like flavor. I might just make the dressing in a small food processor so that the pieces aren’t as noticeable. Or you can skip it and add extra salt, to taste, but it’ll be more of a lemony yogurt sauce and less of a caesar-like dressing. Hope that helps!
Hi. Can I use sour cream instead of yogurt? I accidentally bought vanilla yogurt.
Hi Suzanne, I haven’t tried but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work.
Just made a Caesar salad for dinner with this dressing, Lacinato Kale, tomatoes, and roasted chickpeas. My partner will not stop talking about how good it was.
A BIG improvement over the vegan Caesar dressing recipe we were using previously (embarassingly for years) that ended up basically being ground up almonds. (I know this L&L recipe isn’t vegan but neither are we!)
I’m so glad you both loved it!
Are these recipes free?
yep, all the recipes on the blog are free.
Great recipe! Can you share where the cute dressing pitcher is from? Many thanks
Hi Justine, I think it’s from Crate & Barrel!
Hi Jeanine,
Been a big fan of your page for a while now. Do you have any suggestions for a vegan substitute of the yogurt? I’m thinking either vegan mayo or vegan yogurt (or both?)
Thanks!
Julia
Hi Julia! I’d try vegan mayo or a mix of vegan mayo and kite hill’s almond yogurt. If you have the new cookbook, there’s a cashew based recipe with the grilled romaine wedge salad.
Can 0% milkfat Greek Yogurt be substituted for the whole milk yogurt for the dressing?
Hi Erin, you can if you’d like, although I prefer it with full fat yogurt for richness.
How long will it keep in an air-tight container in the fridge?
Hi Elianne, about 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
Taste wonderful. What would you recommend to thin it a bit?
Thanks!
Hi Mary, you can stir in a little olive oil or water until it’s a drizzle-able consistency.