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This is my very favorite Caesar Salad recipe. Crisp, hand torn romaine lettuce is tossed in a creamy, classic Caesar Salad dressing made from scratch, then embellished with shatteringly crisp croutons, grated parmesan cheese, and crispy capers. It’s heavenly.
Table of Contents
Ingredients You Need to Make Caesar Salad
For the Salad, Croutons and Crispy Capers
- Romaine Lettuce: ideally romaine hearts with fresh, crisp leaves
- Parmesan Cheese: ideally Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano
- Capers: ideally non-pareil capers (smaller capers with better texture and flavor)
- Sourdough Loaf: or other crusty bread
- Olive Oil: good quality, extra-virgin olive oil
For the Dressing
- Lemon Juice: ideally fresh
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Egg Yolk: or good quality mayonnaise
- Anchovy Filets: or anchovy paste
- Dijon Mustard: good quality, creamy Dijon mustard
- Garlic: fresh garlic clove
- Parmesan Cheese: ideally Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano
- Olive Oil: good quality, extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Recipe Lore
If the story is true, we can thank a rush of unexpected restaurant patrons in 1924 for Caesar Salad. The story goes that an Italian restaurateur in Tijuana, Mexico, Caesar Cardini, was caught off guard by too many customers on the 4th of July. He improvised the few ingredients he had left in the kitchen and tossed them tableside for the serendipitous diners.
Homemade Dressing is Key
When I started thinking about creating my own Caesar Salad recipe, I focused on the one key element: Caesar Salad Dressing. Classic ingredients combined in just the right proportions for a reliably delicious dressing: egg yolk, fresh garlic and lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, anchovy filets, Dijon mustard, parmesan cheese, olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. Quality ingredients matter here because this salad is all about the dressing.
If you’re not sure about using anchovy filets (my favorite brand), feel free to swap in anchovy paste which has a milder flavor (1/2 teaspoon of anchovy paste for each anchovy filet, as I use in my Caesar Pasta Salad). But I hope you’ll be game to try the dressing with anchovies at least once, you may be surprised. They add a wonderful umami flavor without fishiness (just as they work their magic in Bagna Cauda). Similarly, if you’re concerned about eating raw egg yolks, swap in mayonnaise (2 tablespoons of mayonnaise for 1 egg yolk).
What goes into a Caesar Salad?
This is largely a classic version of Caesar Salad, just lettuce, traditional dressing (the original didn’t have anchovies, but most modern versions consider them a key component) and croutons. But I have twisted the norm on a couple of things: oven crisped capers and oversized croutons. Taking the place of traditional croutons are thin slices of crusty bread drizzled with olive oil and toasted until crisp enough to shatter easily under your fork. And the addition of crispy capers are for spark, little bursts of salty-crisp flavor in every bite.
More Classic Salad Recipes to Try:
- Egg Salad (coarsely chopped eggs and just the right amount of dressing!)
- Spinach Salad (a family favorite for more than 30 years!)
- Nicoise Salad (the French bistro favorite!)
- Crab Salad (this one is ALL about the real lump crab)
- Wedge Salad (just like you order at your favorite steakhouse!)
How to Make Caesar Salad
Make croutons and crispy capers: bake capers and thin slices of crusty bread drizzled with olive oil on a baking sheet in a 375˚F oven until crisp. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
Make Caesar Salad Dressing by combining egg yolk, garlic, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, anchovy filets, Dijon mustard and parmesan cheese in a blender pitcher. Blend until smooth then, with the blender running, add olive oil in a steady stream and blend until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
In a large bowl toss hand torn romaine lettuce with dressing, half of the capers and more parmesan cheese until combined. Divide among serving bowls, top with croutons, remaining capers and more parmesan cheese if desired. Serve.
Caesar Salad
Video
Ingredients
Crispy Capers and Croutons:
- 1/3 cup capers rinsed and patted dry
- 6 thin slices sourdough loaf or other crusty bread, try for 1/4-inch slices
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Caesar Salad Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice from about ~1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 egg yolk or 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 anchovy filets or 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 medium clove garlic minced
- 1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the salad:
- 12 ounces romaine lettuce hearts hand torn into bite size pieces
- 1 ounce grated parmesan cheese or more
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 °F (191 °C).
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange bread slices on one half of the baking sheet and sprinkle capers in a single layer on the other. Drizzle bread slices with olive oil. Bake 15 minutes or until bread is golden brown and capers are crispy. (Capers may require another 5 to 15 minutes to fully crisp. Remove bread and check capers every 3-5 minutes until crisp.) Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- Add all dressing ingredients except oil (lemon juice through Parmesan cheese) to the pitcher of a blender; blend until smooth. With blender running, slowly add olive oil and continue to blend until thoroughly combined. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Place torn romaine in a large bowl. Top with desired amount of dressing, parmesan cheese and 1/2 of the crispy capers. Toss to distribute cheese and capers and coat with dressing.
- Divide salad between 6 large salad plates. Top each salad with one crouton, a sprinkle of remaining capers and more Parmesan cheese if desired. Serve.
Notes
- This recipe makes ample Caesar Salad Dressing, so take care not to overdress. Add less dressing than you think you’ll want, toss and add more dressing as needed.
- I specify ‘hand torn’ because using a knife will cause the lettuce to brown at the edges more quickly. Feel free to ignore this and use a knife if you prefer.
- You’ll want a good bread knife to thinly slice the bread, here are a couple of options – a splurge and a steal.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love Caesar salad! And the crispy capers and giant croutons you include would just take it over the top. I’m definitely trying this one!
Yay! Thank you, Kelsie!
We love Caesar salad at my house but I never make my own dressing! I’ll bet this is so much better than what I use. Love those crispy toasts too!
I’m so excited for you to try it, Karen! Thank you for your sweet comment!
What a fun story about the origin of Caesar Salad…I’ve never heard that. Caesar salad is totally one of my go-to salads, and a good one is a thing of beauty! I’ve never tried my hand at making Caesar dressing, though…and now I want to try it! Sounds delicious, Marissa!
Thanks so much, David! I thought of you when I was writing that Caesar Salad lore, knowing that you’re a history buff!
Wow beautiful salad recipe, one comment I had was make sure not to use wholefoods spanish olive oil or it will not turn out as great! The olive oil was too spicy.
Thank you, Shannon! It’s true that some olive oils are on the spicy side. Thanks for the tip.
With crispy capers???! SOLD! My hubby orders this salad whenever we go out, so you’ve inspired me to start making it more often at home!
You know that makes me happy, Liz!!
A favourite for sure! I always like to make at home cause it’s so much better than out. Thank goodness that guy improvised all those years ago ’cause we wouldn’t have had this classic 😉 Love the addition of capers here, Marissa! So much flavour in a little package!
Thanks, Dawn. Yes, so much flavor! Adds that extra ‘something’. 🙂
This salad is a thing of dreams, Marissa! When I order a caesar salad at a restaurant, I can only hope it’ll come out looking like this. That crisp lettuce, and crunchy croutons! I’m drooling a little. Great recipe, great photos!!
What a sweet comment, Katherine! Thank you so much!
Caesar salad is my all time favorite salad Marissa! And your recipe does look heavenly! I LOVE the video too!
Thank you so much, Mary Ann! I hope you give this version a shot!
Love a crisp, fresh Caesar salad, and the homemade giant crouton, genius!
Thank you, Kevin!!
Yum! I love Caesar salad, and have never made it at home. Thanks for the recipe!
My pleasure! Thanks, Jeff!
Caesar salads are such a crowd pleaser, and I usually make one any time we have a large gathering. Being able to top it with a homemade dressing is so important as I try to stay away from the store-bought varieties. Looks delicious Marissa, and I love the crusty thin slices of sourdough that go along with it!
Thank you, Leanne! I agree completely about bottled dressings – they’re just never as good as what you can make at home!
Caesar salad is one of my weaknesses – I love the giant crouton!
Me too, it’s thin and crispy – easy to crush up with your fork.
Loving all the different textures here — crispy capers, crunchy lettuce and toasted bread!
Thank you!
Me too. Love the giant crouton idea! Salad and bread make just about an everyday pairing over here. Your combination with the toasted capers looks delicious.
It’s amazing how much flavor those little guys have!
Ooh great idea having the giant crouton! I always love the croutons 😀
Thanks Lorraine – yes, love the croutons!