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.
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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: 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: 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
Can I make the salad without Worcestershire sauce?
Made this for my extended family last night and it was a HUGE hit for everyone. I added more garlic, because we’re a garlic family and a little more lemon and Worchestire.
I will be making this again for sure!
Sidenote: Worchestire is not vegetarian, for anyone who isn’t aware. You can get vegetarian Worchestire powder though.
can i use regular mustard in place of dijon?
Hi Lynda, Dijon would be best, but you could use regular mustard in a pinch. I might start with just 1 teaspoon and add more to taste.
My son found this and ever since this is our go to Caesar dressing. And our last name ends in a vowel (lol Italian!)
I’m so glad you love the dressing, Lisa!
Seasar dressing without anchovies 🧐, sorry if I haven’t read it carefully, maybe you prefer them not sliced…
There’s anchovies in any quality Worcestire Sauce and most ppl have that in their kitchen, thus this is an “easy” version of the authentic recipe where you’re whipping egg yolks, oil, lemon, anchovy paste, etc. which most people would rather not do. This recipe gets quite close to top notch restaurant Cesar Dressing and is infinitely better than anything bottled.
Love this recipe. Ever since I have used your recipe I have never bought from the store again!! I do, however, add anchovies. Good thing I made the full amount, it was instantly gone!!
I’m so glad you love the dressing, Marion!
Soooooo delicious even better it’s pregnancy friendly because of no raw egg
So glad you love it, Ally!
I just made this. First time making homemade. Oh my goodness this is so good and so easy. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I don’t think I will ever buy bottled again
I’m so glad you loved it, Beth!
Love the flavour gives the salad a spark of flavour
I’ve made this dressing several times and it’s a huge bit. I use more lemons and a bit more cheese as well and sometimes top it with shredded parm for presentation. I have a huge wood burle bowl and it disappears each time I make it for big groups. I use store bought croutons. Texas toast mainly!
Really easy to make and totally delicious!
I’d like to see nutritional information on this recipe. Is it available?
Hi Marie, we are working on adding nutrition facts to all the recipes on our website but haven’t gotten to this one yet. They should be coming soon!
Yes, I made it with with Greek yogurt and it was delicious.
So glad you enjoyed it, James!
I made this recipe with fresh ingredients. I won’t buy Caesar dressing again. So easy to put together. I did one-half of the recipe because that’s all I needed. Definitely a great recipe. Will make it again.
I’m so glad you loved the dressing, Susan!
Needs anchovies and more garlic.
YEP, TWO CLOVES OF GARLIC AND LITTLE ANCHOVY PASTE AND THIS WAS PERFECT!
Terrific recipe! The only thing I do different is swap out half the mayonnaise for Greek yogurt. …and add 4 or 5 anchovies, because anchovies are love.
I’m so glad you love the recipe, James! Thanks for sharing your version.
Can you use Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise
Hi Renee, you could! We also have a separate Greek yogurt Caesar dressing: https://strong-nights.today/healthy-caesar-dressing/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv class=reply>
Easy and quick version of Cesar Dressing! I added extra Worcestershire sauce and 1 teaspoon of anchovy juice. Delicious!
I made this last night. I made a couple of small modifications. I did add a couple extra teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce, as it didn’t seem to be enough. And I had to add a little extra mayo because my wife thought the lemon was overpowering. (My lemon may have been extra sour…). And I used a small touch of buttermilk to thin it out a bit. With the minor mods, I found it to be very, very good. That said, everyone likes things their own way. Thanks for a great basis for me to start with.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Hola querida,
Todo el queso parmesano se elabora con leche animal, no la mayoría jaja. De hecho, el queso parmesano tiene denominación de origen: Parma (Italia) = queso parmesano, otro queso similar elaborado fuera de Parma ni siquiera debería llamarse parmesano. Es más, algo que no se elabore con los ingredientes ni el procedimiento del queso como tal, no debería llamarse queso.