Easy Caesar Dressing
This easy Caesar dressing recipe yields classic Caesar flavor. This simple mayonnaise-based recipe is ready in 5 minutes (anchovy-free!).
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 27, 2024
This Caesar dressing really hits the spot. You know I love vinaigrettes, but sometimes only a creamy dressing will do. I’ve been feeling sentimental lately and decided to satisfy my craving for the classic Caesar salad.
This Caesar salad dressing requires just a few pantry ingredients. Stir them together while you bake up some croutons, and you’re ready to enjoy top-notch restaurant-quality Caesar salads at home.
Compared to other Caesar dressing recipes, this dressing is remarkably simple to make. We’ll start with a base of mayonnaise, which is easier than emulsifying oil and egg, not to mention foolproof.
This Caesar dressing is anchovy-free, which makes it suitable for vegetarians like me and anyone with a shellfish allergy. (Technically, anchovies are fish, but they are likely to cause reactions in those with shellfish allergies.) It will also appeal to anyone who is sensitive to anchovy flavor. This dressing offers bold, classic Caesar flavor, without the anchovies!
Watch How to Make Caesar Dressing
Caesar Salad Dressing Ingredients
To make this Caesar dressing, we’ll simply stir together the following:
Mayonnaise
Some Caesar dressing recipes call for oil and egg yolk, which turn into mayonnaise during the process of making the recipe. We’re taking the easy route and starting with store-bought mayonnaise. You’ll find an array of mayonnaise options at well-stocked grocery stores these days—I prefer organic options made with olive or avocado oil.
Garlic
Just one clove of garlic will do the trick. Use a garlic press or mince it finely by hand.
Lemon Juice
Lemon juice is one of several tangy ingredients in this dressing, so we only need a couple of teaspoons (one lemon will be more than plenty).
Dijon Mustard
Dijon mustard lends some key flavoring to Caesar dressing. You probably won’t discern it in the final product, but it makes a big difference.
Worcestershire Sauce
Just a small amount of Worcestershire sauce makes this Caesar dressing taste complete! Worcestershire sauce offers loads of rich umami flavor that makes this dressing taste complex and irresistible. In the absence of anchovies, Worcestershire sauce is absolutely key.
Anchovy/dietary note: If you are vegetarian or allergic to shellfish, choose your Worcestershire sauce carefully. Traditional Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies, but several brands make anchovy-free Worcestershires (Wizard’s, Annie’s and Whole Foods 365 come to mind). Also note that these sauces typically introduce soy, if that is relevant to you.
Parmesan Cheese
Parmesan ups the ante with additional salty, umami flavor and a rich, cheesy texture. Finely grated Parmesan is best here. Vegetarians, try Whole Foods 365 or BelGioioso brands of Parmesan, which are truly vegetarian (most Parmesans contain animal rennet).
Salt, Pepper & Water
Since several of the ingredients in this recipe are already salty, we won’t add much additional salt. We will, however, load up this dressing with black pepper, to taste! Lastly, we’ll thin the dressing with a tablespoon of water so it reaches a drizzly consistency.
Looking for a dairy free/vegan variation of this dressing? You will love the Tahini Kale Caesar Salad with Whole-Grain Croutons in my cookbook, Love Real Food (page 72). The tahini-based dressing is vegan as written and remarkably Caesar-like! You’ll find a nutritional yeast substitute for the Parmesan garnish in the recipe notes.
More Salad Dressings to Try
Here are just a few of my favorite salad dressings:
Please let me know how your Caesar dressing turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Easy Caesar Dressing
This easy Caesar dressing recipe yields classic Caesar flavor. This simple mayonnaise-based recipe is anchovy-free as long as you choose your Worcestershire sauce carefully (see recipe note). Recipe yields about ¾ cup, enough for 6 side salads (use 10 ounces romaine lettuce).
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice, to taste
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce*, to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅓ cup (1 ounce) finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon water
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a liquid measuring cup or bowl, combine the mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, Dijon, and Worcestershire sauce, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Stir in the Parmesan, followed by the water. Season generously with black pepper, to taste. I usually think the dressing tastes just right, but if you’d prefer a more bold dressing, add another ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, or for more zippy dressing, add up to 1 teaspoon additional lemon juice. Serve as desired.
Notes
Storage suggestions: Leftover dressing will keep well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 5 days.
*Worcestershire note: To ensure that this salad dressing is vegetarian/fish-free, choose your Worcestershire sauce carefully, as most contain anchovies. I like Annie’s, The Wizards or Whole Foods 365 brands (note that some anchovy-free Worcestershire sauces contain soy).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
The BEST! I actually like this much more than any store bought OR house dressing! Delicious, easy, divine!
I’m excited you love it, Mary!
Doesn’t Worcestershire sauce traditionally have anchovies?
Hi Hazel, yes they can. As noted in the post, you can find options without anchovies. It will be listed in the ingredients. I hope you try it!
Hi!
Just made your dressing for Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salads. Delicious!
I’m glad you liked it, Lee! Thank you for sharing.
I made the Caesar Dressing and it was absolutely gorgeous. Will not be buying it going forward as the home made one was just perfect.
Thank you for sharing a great recipe
Honor
Hooray! I’m glad you loved it, Honor. Thank you for your review!
Great dressing, easy to make. Didn’t change a thing.
Delicious recipe! We will never buy store bought dressing again!
Fantastic to hear! Thank you for your review, Katy.
I made your dressing a few days ago and it was delishous. I used a litte fish sauce too. Now I don’t have to waste money on a bottle that would eventually get thrown out. Thanks you for a great recipe.
Made this recipe. I omitted the water—wasn’t needed as I added more lemon juice. I also upped the Dijon to 2 tsp for a bit more kick. It was delicious. Thank you, Kate.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Teri!
Delicious and so easy to make. Made it tonight for company to have with our pizza.
That sounds like a delicious column!
Way too much mayonnaise for our liking. I ended up scrapping my first batch and making it with half the mayo and some olive oil.
Just made the dressing followed your recipe completely just doubled it due to the amount I need. It is awesome thank you!
I loved this recipe, and so did my husband! I will never use store bought again. I had everything on hand. So easy. Took me longer to read about it than to make it. About 5 minutes.
I’m delighted you loved it, Linda! Thank you for your review.
Hey Kate… made the dressing for a family dinner and had compliments from my Grandkids !! It is a great recipe and now in my go to book
Cheers
Love it! Thank you for your review, Lynn.
This came out amazing!! I didn’t use exact measurements I just adjusted it to my taste. Thanks for sharing!
I’m delighted you enjoyed it, Celeste!
Oh my goodness! I will never buy store bought dressing again! It was brilliant, thank you so much :)
(From a very satisfied Aussie)
Wow!! This is soooo amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever left a review on a recipe before but I was so impressed! I forgot to take one of those salad dressing packages from the grocery store with the chicken Caesar I bought and don’t usually keep dressing in my house. I figured I would try to see if I could make a dressing, I found this one and I had most of the ingredients. I didn’t have any Parmesan cheese so I used queijo sao miguel cheese since I had some of that and also add a splash of hot sauce and lots of lemon and woowaweewa!!! This is the best Caesar dressing I’ve ever had!! Thank you!!!
I’m so glad you did, Jodi! I like you got creative. I appreciate your review.
Hello, thanks for this nice recipe. Can you please add the grams equivalent? :) Being in Europe is rather difficult to find this out. :)
Thanks in advance.
This dressing is easy and the best!
I prefer without anchovies. The added water is brilliant to thin it out. Just need some chicken on top and croutons for a meal. add parmesan on top too!
I’m happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for your review, Carole.
I made this for Easter dinner everyone loved it. Everyone was begging for your leftover dressing which I sent home with one daughter. I made it just as your recipe says. It is perfect. I had gone to the grocery store and the Ceaser Kits were four dollars I would’ve needed two. This is so much cheaper and so much better tasting. I also made your croutons which were great!
I love to hear that, Ellen! Thank you for sharing.
My husband and I absolutely love this and it’s so easy to make.
I’m happy you both enjoyed it, Tammy! Thank you for sharing.
OMG! I usually don’t make my own Caesar dressing but this was so easy, how could I resist. It was definitely a 10 star recipe with a 10 star taste!!
I’m glad you liked it, Sherry!
Omg I will never buy Ceasar dressing again this is so easy and so tasty yum thankyou for sharing
You’re welcome, Judy! Thank you for you review.
So so easy and delicious! Had all ingredients and put together in minutes. Will be my go to dressing especially cuz it’s gluten free! Love your site. Thank you!!
You’re welcome, JoAnn! I appreciate your review.
Thank you , recipes are great.
Thank you, Julie!
I made this last night and it’s delicious. Quick and easy to make! I like the short cuts, using mayo instead of an egg and yolk. When time is of the essence, this hit the spot in taste!
The best Caesar dressing ever!!! So easy to make and didn’t have to make a special trip to purchase anchovies.
This recipe tasted great!! However technically Worcestershire sauce is made of anchovies meaning this wouldn’t be vegetarian.
Hi Anne, yes that is why I made a note :) You can find some that doesn’t contain anchovies.
I will make Cesar salad dressing and let you know how it turns out.
I hope you love it!
I wanted a Caesar salad dressing without the egg. Do glad I found this one! Made it last night and it was delicious, better then the restaurant we usually go to. Definitely a keeper. Thanks
I’m happy you came across it too, Patti! I appreciate your review.
My family is OBSESSED with this dressing! Not only do they love it on salad, they have recently discovered it’s also delicious as a dip, and I have even caught my 7 year old eating the dressing with a spoon. So glad to have a salad dressing I can feel good about feeding to my family!
I love to hear that, Julie! Thank you for your review.
I’ve used your recipe twice now as my guideline, and each time have been very happy with the results. I just came to look for the third time today!
Of course I tamper with your recipe (sorry!). I omit the mustard, and use half a garlic clove. I also use your extra Worcestershire sauce and extra lemon juice suggestion, and more pepper. I have been using plant milk instead of water, but I don’t think it matters. And I don’t add any salt. (My mayonnaise is pretty salty.)
But what I love is that with your ingredients and ratios, can get a result that tastes like a restaurant creamy Caesar, or one you get from the refrigerator case at the store. Tweaking the quantities to taste let me get a result I love each time. Thanks for your help cracking the creamy Caesar recipe!!
Thank you for sharing, Cali! I’m glad you were able to find something that worked well for you.
Can you omit the Dijon mustard? I don’t particularly care for the taste.
Sure, your flavor will vary. Let me know what you think!
Delicious! I added about 1/2 tsp of fish sauce and POW! Awesome and Hubby ( Caesar connoisseur) LOVED it!
I’m glad you love it, Donna! Thank you for your review.
It was an absolute hit with my family. I will be making this recipe again. Thank you for all your great recipes!
This was a fantastic simple recipe that everyone loved. I made two big salads with it. It doubled nicely and gave a salad to a friend who was sick along with a dinner. Rave reviews for young and old alike!! I LVE this recipe and will make my own from now on!! Thank you so much!!
You’re welcome, Minda! I appreciate your review.
At the beginning I thought I was doing it wrong. But at the end my hole family and I loved it. AND IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I MADE IT.
I’m so glad it was a hit, Mauro! Thank you for your review.
Absolutely incredible!! Just curious, any opinions on trying it with black garlic?
I’ve been making an almost identical recipe for a very long time, and it is my favorite salad dressing. The one thing I would say is that if tightly sealed in a small jar, it will last way more than 5 days, we usually go weeks with it. If you think about it, pretty much every ingredient in the recipe has a long refrigerator lifespan, especially mayo, mustard, Worcestershire, etc. The garlic can get a bit strong over time, but I don’t mind that at all.
I had lost the knack of making homemade caesar dressing. I just made yours and it’s easy and delicious. Perfect consistency. Thx
You’re welcome, Jeanne!
I will never buy bottled caesar again unless I’m in a real pinch! This is delicious and easy, the best part is no raw eggs or anchovies, so most likely all the ingredients are in the pantry or refrigerator already!
Thank you for sharing, Debra!
what would be the ratio for 100 people;e
I haven’t made it for that many people. You should be able to increase the recipe size by that much.
Made this recipe. So simple and had all ingredients in house which is a plus. It was delicious. I did add more lemon juice and Worcester sauce for that extra zing. It was fabulous. Will definitely make this again!!!
Love this!! easy to make and a crowd pleaser. I like it zippier add extra WC sauce, lemon and garlic.
Thank you for your review, Pauline! I appreciate you taking the time.
Henderson’s Relish for UK is alternative toWorcestershire sauce
I made this exactly as written and it was delicious. So much better than any store bought dressing. This will be my go to Caesar dressing, I might add a little Anchovy next time just to try. Thank you for posting this delicious recipe.
Wonderful to hear, Linda! I appreciate you taking the time to review.
I love this dressing recipe! I make it all the time.
Great to hear, Sherry! I appreciate your review.
Made this in a pinch to have with some wings as most Aussie’s don’t really eat ranch dressing. Perfect!
Wonderful to hear Ellie!
absolutely brilliant.
we used avocado oil mayo and parmigiano reggiano for a most elevated and divine taste and quality…. thank you!
You’re welcome, Karyn! I appreciate your review.
Made this tonight…soooo good thank you! Can see this being in high rotation over Summer
That’s great, Kylie.
This dressing is really delicious. I love dressings from scratch (the only way in my book). Made with Julia child’s classic mayonnaise recipe . I enjoy your site .