Last week we learned how to make super easy croutons. Today, we learn how to make an eggless, anchovy-less Caesar dressing in under 5 minutes!
Back in my college days, one of my favorite meals was a chicken caesar grilled cheese. It was nothing fancy. In fact, nearly all of the ingredients were pre-made: Tyson grilled chicken breast strips, pre-sliced mozzarella cheese, and a good smear of Marzetti’s Caesar dressing. But something about the combination of these things made it feel truly special (or maybe it’s just because it wasn’t cereal or ramen again…we may never know).
Who would have thought that pre-made girl would one day be sharing a recipe for homemade Caesar dressing on a food blog? Life sure has its surprises.
But here’s the thing. Deep down, I’m still that same college girl. I still appreciate the convenience of being able to pull a bottle of dressing out of the fridge and go. That’s why this recipe is the easiest thing ever. It takes maaaaybe 5 minutes to make and is way easier than running to the store for a last minute purchase.
This dressing is free from raw eggs and anchovies, which means it’s not a traditional Caesar. However, it also means this recipe is great for those who can’t eat raw eggs or those who don’t keep a stash of anchovies around at all times (<<<<isn’t this everyone??).
The recipe goes something like this: toss ingredients in measuring cup. Whisk. Done. The base of the recipe starts with mayonnaise, so if you need a completely egg free dressing, make sure you use an egg free mayonnaise, such as Spectrum canola based mayo. If you’re only concerned about the raw eggs, feel free to use whatever mayonnaise you like. From there, you’ll just whisk in a little lemon juice, grated garlic, fresh ground pepper, and plenty of Parmesan cheese (of course).
See? Totally easy. After you’ve got the dressing down, this is just your standard Caesar salad. Torn romaine (I learned from Christina at Dessert for Two that tearing lettuce instead of chopping it helps keep the lettuce fresher and greener), a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese (you can never have too much cheese), homemade croutons, and lots of fresh ground pepper on top.
This makes for a great light lunch or dinner side. It’s fancy enough to serve at a dinner party, but easy enough to make on a busy weeknight. Oh, and if you feel the need to smear this on a grilled cheese the next day, I totally get it.
Easy Caesar Salad with Homemade Dressing
Ingredients
For the Caesar dressing:
For the salad:
Instructions
Recipe adapted from Food Fanatic
Caesar Salad is my all time favorite salad EVER! I’ve never made the dressing at home but I can’t wait to try this!
You can never go wrong with a Caesar salad!
Caesar salad is probably one of our favorite salads. This looks so appetizing. I wish I had it for lunch today.
Bless you for making this salad. I’ve been craving Caesar salads throughout my whole pregnancy but the dang raw egg thing keeps me from having them as often as I want.
This is a great stand in! Same kind of flavors without the salmonella. 🙂
I love a good caesar and this sure looks like one. p.s. while I don’t often have anchovies at home if I recipe calls for one anchovy paste is your friend. Lasts forever!
Thanks Susan! I’m going to have to remember that.
So snappy! Whenever I see recipes like this, I’m forced to confront that I need to change my ways and make my dressing from scratch.
FYI mayonnaise has eggs. You posted this was eggless. I personally am highly allergic to all things with egg. I have to have an epi pen at all times so just be careful not to post inaccurate postings that can seriously harm people.
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback. It’s never my intention to mislead someone. I have tried to be as clear as possible by specifying in both the text of the blog and in the recipe itself that for it to be completely egg free, you would need to pick out an eggless mayo–such as Spectrum canola mayo. Is there something else I should be doing to clarify?
No, your instructions were quite clear and your recipes are easy to follow and your blog is wonderfully well written and direct. It’s unfortunate some people react hastily without reading all of the literature that is presented in front of them. I love your passion for food, keep up the good work!
Thanks Lulu. That means a lot. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the blog!
try reading the recipe before you get all crazy