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    Home » Recipes » Dressings and Sauces

    Traditional Caesar Dressing

    Published: Mar 16, 2023 · Modified: Oct 19, 2024 by Vinny · This post may contain affiliate links · 43 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    A Traditional Caesar Dressing that will upgrade your salad with a homemade flavorful addition! Top it off with some parmesan flakes and croutons for a Caesar salad better than any restaurant will ever serve you in under 15 minutes!

    Homemade Dressings

    A traditional caesar dressing made by your own hands is a great addition to any salad. Well, not ANY salad. It's great for a caesar salad. I feel like once you put the caesar dressing on the salad, it becomes a caesar salad. But maybe I'm wrong. Either way, this dressing is so fresh and creamy with a classic caesar salad.

    I stopped buying dressings pretty much altogether in college. I was so broke that it made no sense to spend an extra $4 on ranch or Italian dressing just for a salad. It was so much more cost-effective to use olive oil and vinegar. Now, I just really don't like eating salad dressings because 9 times out of 10 they have like a bunch of added sugars and nonsense.

    Don't get me wrong, I still love some Hidden Valley and some Kraft French dressing, but I just don't need that to make the salad. My preferences have just changed and there's something about a homemade lemon basil vinaigrette, Cilantro Lime Ranch, or in this case, a caesar dressing that just works on the daily for me and the family.

    Ingredients

    • 2 egg yolks
    • ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 4 anchovies, chopped
    • ½ tbsp dijon mustard
    • 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
    • 2 cloves garlic minced
    • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
    • ¾ cup freshly grated parmesan
    • ¼ tsp salt
    • ½ tsp black pepper

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    Whipping Together a Traditional Caesar Dressing

    Romaine salad with traditional caesar dressing and parmesan

    Step 1: Add 2 egg yolks to a bowl and whisk until creamy, about 2 minutes. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and whisk until well combined and emulsified.

    Step 2: Stir in the anchovies, Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, and lemon juice until completely combined. Then add the salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Serve with romaine lettuce, Homemade Italian Parmesan Croutons, and shaved parmesan cheese.

    Pro-Tips

    1. Use a food processor if you're not confident in your whisking skills. You really need to whisk the olive oil fast and hard to get an emulsified dressing. The food processor will make this a lot easier for most people.
    2. Adjust the thickness of the dressing by adding a tablespoon of water if it is too thick.

    This is the easiest recipe ever and it's so tasty. Yes, it's a little more work than glopping on some dressing you like, but the flavor depth of the ingredients is so much more worth it. You will actually taste all of the flavors instead of the typical "caesar" flavor.

    Don't sleep on a traditional caesar dressing. Put in that little bit of extra work and try this dressing. you won't be disappointed.

    Follow us on Instagram @vindelgiudice or Tiktok @alwaysfromscratch for more short instructional videos.

    📖 Recipe

    Traditional Caesar Dressing

    Vincent DelGiudice
    A traditional caesar dressing to add to romaine salad with croutons, and fresh parmesan. This dressing is so flavorful and lights up your tastebuds with each bite.
    4.94 from 15 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Total Time 15 minutes mins
    Course Salad
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 6 servings
    Calories 318 kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 food processor you could use a whisk instead

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 egg yolks
    • ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 4 anchovies, chopped
    • ½ tablespoon dijon mustard
    • 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
    • 2 cloves garlic minced
    • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
    • ¾ cup freshly grated parmesan
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon black pepper

    Instructions
     

    • Add 2 egg yolks to a bowl and vigorously whisk or add to a food processor and mix until creamy.
    • If continuing with the food processor, slowly add the olive oil and process until creamy. Then add the remaining ingredients and combine. If whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil into the bowl as you intensely whisk it and emulsify the fat to become creamy. Once creamy, add the anchovies, garlic, worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, and lemon juice until completely combined.
    • Whisk in salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Serve with romaine lettuce, croutons and shaved parmesan cheese.

    Notes

    1. Whisking is incredibly hard. You have to pour in the olive oil EXTRA slowly and whisk vigorously to be able to emulsify the fat. It takes practice. If you try it and it doesn't work though, just pour the whole mixture into the food processor and combine. It will emulsify it just fine. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 318kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 5gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 76mgSodium: 764mgPotassium: 61mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 0.4gVitamin A: 198IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 124mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?We'd love for you to Leave a Review!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Laurie Ann

      September 17, 2025 at 7:53 pm

      5 stars
      Excellent recipe. Thank you for posting, my husband loves it. Making my second batch tonight.

      Reply
    2. Marty

      August 03, 2025 at 4:15 am

      5 stars
      So happy to find a REAL Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe.
      Everyone is so afraid of raw egg yolks and strong flavors of anchovies. Almost all the recipes omit the anchovies and replace the egg yolks & olive oil with mayonaise. What a glop of no flavor ingredients. This is the real deal.

      Reply
    3. Tara

      June 26, 2025 at 4:41 pm

      5 stars
      First time making this dressing and halved the recipe. It was super easy to make by hand and it omg was bomb! I think half this recipe will be able to dress about 4-5 side salads. Thank you!

      Reply
    4. Lea

      June 24, 2025 at 5:32 pm

      5 stars
      By far the best and most authentic Caesar dressing recipe. If you like it more garliky - I double the garlic. If you want less fishy I use anchovy paste.

      Reply
    5. Jim W

      May 25, 2025 at 12:01 am

      5 stars
      I suggest using a whisk and put the oil in a few drops to a 1/4 tsp at a time to start. Once the egg/oil starts to emulsify you can add oil more quickly.
      Use white pepper so you don’t get the black spots, add salt AFTER the Parmesan cheese, instead of water consider more lemon juice, and lastly, a few drops of Tabasco if you like it a bit spicier than the raw garlic and pepper provided.

      Reply
    6. Beatrice Paneto

      May 19, 2025 at 11:53 pm

      Question, how long would you store the dressing for ?

      Reply
      • Vinny

        May 20, 2025 at 12:38 am

        about 3-4 days before the garlic will start to become very overpowering. Technically it should last for a week or 2.

        Reply
    7. Grace Lau

      May 10, 2025 at 6:48 pm

      I used an immersion blender and it didn’t thicken so then I put it into small food processor. Still very liquidy.

      It was only 2 yolks and avocado oil. No other ingredients.

      What did I do wrong?

      Reply
      • Vinny

        May 11, 2025 at 3:26 pm

        Sounds like you put all of the oil in at once? I would slowly drizzle instead. You will get a better emulsification.

        Reply
      • Cambo

        July 15, 2025 at 9:54 pm

        Read the Recipe!!! And follow the directions!!!

        Reply
    8. Maryann

      April 24, 2025 at 11:12 pm

      5 stars
      This Caesar Recipe is a PERFECT "10"! DELIZIOSO!!!!

      Reply
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    4.94 from 15 votes

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    Vinny in the Kitchen.

    Vinny DelGiudice, MS CCC-SLP

    My name is Vinny. I am an Italian-American home cook, a photographer, and previously, a speech pathologist specializing in swallowing and voice disorders. I share the recipes I grew up eating in my home and the recipes that I cook for my family. Always From Scratch is about cooking homemade meals and eating with family.

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