Classic Caesar Salad Recipe

There’s nothing like a delicious easy to make fresh Caesar salad recipe that is served with homemade dressing and croutons!

I need a couple of salads a week just to make sure I’m getting some greens in me.  Some of my absolutely favorite salads are my Nicoise and my Chopped Chicken, and you should definitely make them both.

Caesar Salad

Crazy enough Caesar salad originated in Tijuana, Mexico by an Italian named Caesar Cardini.  Cardini moved to California in the early 20^th century and often times during prohibition he, like many others, would head to Tijuana for a drink.   He quickly opened a restaurant and a few years later created the Caesar Salad.  Who got that story right?

It’s a simple salad that is massively popular worldwide in homes and on restaurant menus.  It is easy to make and when homemade is far better than anything you’re going to get anywhere else.

Ingredients and Substitutions

This recipe actually is incredibly simple and has few ingredients making it that much more amazing.  Here are the things needed to make a Caesar salad:

• Romaine Lettuce: This is very easy to find green leaf lettuce that is firm and almost always available. This is the only lettuce used in a classic recipe.
• Parmesan Cheese: Large shaved pieces are most traditionally used when making this. You can do it yourself or buy it pre-shaved.
• Caesar Dressing: If you have a food processor then this 6-ingredient recipe consisting of anchovies, lemon juice, eggs, parmesan, and olive oil, will take you no more than 5 minutes to make and hands down make the best Caesar salad.
• Croutons: These homemade crunchy cubes of bread add some much-needed texture and flavor to the recipe.

How to Make a Caesar Salad

Follow these simple instructions on to make this amazing recipe:

Cut the fresh romaine lettuce into roughly 1 ½” pieces.

Rinse the lettuce removing and dirt or unwanted particles on the lettuce leaves and dry thoroughly.

Add the lettuce, parmesan cheese, croutons, salt, and pepper to a bowl and pour the dressing around the bowl on the inside.

Mix the salad thoroughly making sure every leaf has brushed the dressing and is coated and serve.

Optional Toppings

There are many things you can add to the top of a Caesar salad to make it unique, as well as add some protein.  Here are the most popular things you can add:

• Anchovy Fillets
• Chicken
• Steak
• Tuna Steak
• Cooked Salmon
• Shrimp
• Hard-Boiled Eggs

Grilled Caesar Salad

Grilling romaine lettuce has become incredibly popular the last decade.  It’s very easy to do and will also bring out some sweetness from the char marks when doing so.  Follow these simple steps in making a Grilled Caesar:

1. Add a few tablespoons of oil to a head of Romaine that has been sliced in half longways in the grill for 20 to 30 seconds per side over a hot grill between 450°and 550°.
2. Remove the lettuce from the grill and drizzle on dressing along with croutons and parmesan cheese.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: This recipe is meant to be eaten as soon as it is mixed together with the dressing.  it can however be made the day before if the lettuce, dressing, cheese, and croutons are kept separate and covered in the refrigerator.

How to Store: Place each ingredient in its own plastic container or bag and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.  This recipe will not freeze.

chef notes + tips

• Feel free to add in more dressing, croutons, or Parmesan cheese as you see fit.
• Be sure to serve the salad immediately after tossing in the dressing.
• If there is another romaine lettuce shortage, green leaf or red leaf lettuce as a substitute will work.
• Kale is sometimes used as a substitute or as the main green in this recipe

More Amazing Salad Recipes

• Mandarin Orange Salad
• Shaved Brussels Sprouts
• Watermelon and Feta
• Strawberry, Chicken, and Spinach
• Summer Berry and Quinoa
• Caprese

Be sure to follow me on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest, and if you’ve had a chance to make this then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!

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Classic Caesar Salad Recipe

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5 from 21 votes

There’s nothing like a delicious easy to make fresh Caesar salad recipe that is served with homemade dressing and croutons!

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes minutes

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• 2 heads of cored romaine lettuce cut into 1 ½” pieces
• ½ cup shaved parmesan cheese
• 1 croutons recipe
• 1 Caesar dressing recipe, there will be some leftover
• sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a large bowl add in the lettuce, cheese, croutons salt, and pepper.
• Using a spoon add the desired amount of dressing to the inside of the bowl around the lettuce touching the bowl (see video).
• Thoroughly toss the greens using tongs until the lettuce, cheese, and croutons are coated in the dressing and serve.

Notes

Chef Notes:

• Make-Ahead: This recipe is meant to be eaten as soon as it is mixed together with the dressing. it can however be made the day before if the lettuce, dressing, cheese, and croutons are kept separate covered in the refrigerator.

 

• How to Store: Place each ingredient in its own plastic container or bag and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This recipe will not freeze.

 

• Feel free to add in more dressing, croutons, or Parmesan cheese as you see fit.

 

• Be sure to serve the salad immediately after tossing in the dressing.

 

• If there is another romaine lettuce shortage, green leaf or red leaf lettuce as a substitute will work.

 

• Kale is sometimes used as a substitute or as the main green in this recipe

Nutrition

Calories: 390kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 5gFat: 36gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 889mgPotassium: 54mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 678IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 113mgIron: 1mg

Course: Main, Salad

Cuisine: American, Italian

Author: Chef Billy Parisi