Caesar Salad
To make a caesar salad, whisk together anchovy paste, garlic, egg yolk, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and olive oil to create a creamy dressing, then toss with romaine lettuce and top with parmesan and homemade croutons. The entire salad comes together in about 20 minutes and serves 4.
A proper Caesar salad is mostly a study in contrast: cold, crisp romaine; creamy dressing; salty Parmesan; hard-crunch croutons; black pepper. None of those pieces is especially complicated, but if one gets lazy the whole bowl knows. This version starts by making the croutons from torn day-old bread at 375°F so they dry and brown instead of merely becoming warm bread cubes with self-esteem.
The dressing gets the same attention. Garlic and anchovy paste are worked together before egg yolk, lemon juice, Dijon, and Worcestershire go in. Olive oil is whisked in slowly enough to build a stable emulsion, then Parmesan thickens and seasons it. The dressing should taste bold on its own because two heads of romaine are about to dilute that intensity. Use the crisp inner leaves when you can; they have the structure to carry the dressing without immediately collapsing.
Then comes the part restaurants know and home kitchens occasionally try to negotiate with: toss it and serve it. Caesar salad does not improve while sitting dressed on the counter. Coat the romaine, add the croutons and more Parmesan, finish with cracked black pepper, and get it to the table while every texture is still doing its assigned job. This is not meal prep. This is lettuce with a deadline.
Ingredients
- FOR THE DRESSING:
- 1 large egg yolk (room temperature)
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated
- 2 teaspoons anchovy paste (or 4 oil-packed anchovy fillets, mashed into a paste)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup good-quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- FOR THE CROUTONS:
- 3 cups day-old bread, torn into roughly 1-inch pieces (sourdough or a sturdy Italian loaf works best)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- FOR THE SALAD:
- 2 large heads romaine lettuce, outer leaves removed, inner leaves torn or roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup freshly grated or shaved Parmesan cheese
- Freshly cracked black pepper to finish
Instructions
- 1Make the croutons first: Preheat your oven to 375°F. Toss the torn bread pieces with 3 tablespoons olive oil, garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt until every piece is coated. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, flipping once at the halfway point, until deep golden and crispy. Set aside to cool. They will firm up more as they cool.
- 2Make the dressing: In a medium bowl, combine the minced garlic and anchovy paste. Using the back of a fork, press and smear them together against the bowl until they form a rough paste — about 30 seconds of actual effort.
- 3Add the egg yolk, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce to the bowl. Whisk together vigorously until combined and slightly pale in color, about 1 minute.
- 4Drizzle in the olive oil very slowly — start with just a few drops while whisking constantly, then increase to a thin, steady stream. This slow addition emulsifies the dressing and gives it the creamy consistency you want. If you dump the oil in all at once, the dressing will not emulsify and you will have to start over. Ask me how I know.
- 5Once all the oil is incorporated and the dressing looks creamy and cohesive, stir in the 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust — more lemon for brightness, more anchovy paste for depth, more salt if needed. The dressing should taste bold and a little aggressive on its own; it mellows significantly when it hits the lettuce.
- 6Assemble the salad: Place the romaine in a large bowl. Add roughly half the dressing and toss well, making sure every leaf gets coated. Add more dressing as needed — you may not use all of it, depending on how much lettuce you have.
- 7Add the croutons and the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Toss once more, lightly, so the croutons don't get crushed.
- 8Serve immediately, topped with a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper. Caesar salad does not wait for anyone.
Nutrition Information
Estimated per serving: 1 of 4 servings.
Estimated from the ingredients and quantities in this recipe using standard food-composition values. Brand choices, trimming, cooking loss, optional ingredients, and actual portion size can change the numbers. How we calculate nutrition estimates.
Pro Tips
- Use the inner romaine leaves — the pale, crunchy hearts — as much as possible. They hold up to the dressing better than the floppy outer leaves and give you the textural contrast that makes this salad worth eating.
- Day-old bread makes noticeably better croutons than fresh. Fresh bread has too much moisture and steams in the oven instead of crisping. If all you have is fresh bread, tear it up and let it sit uncovered on the counter for an hour before you bake it.
- The dressing keeps covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, and it gets better on day two. I am not saying make it the night before specifically so you can eat spoonfuls of it directly from a jar while standing in front of the open refrigerator, but I am not not saying that either.
Substitutions
Storage Instructions
Store the dressing separately from the dressed salad. Dressing keeps refrigerated in a sealed jar or container for up to 3 days. Once the salad is dressed and assembled, it should be eaten within 30 minutes — dressed romaine does not hold overnight without becoming sad and limp. Undressed romaine can be washed, dried, and stored in the refrigerator wrapped in a paper towel inside a bag for up to 3 days.
Make Ahead
The dressing can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. The croutons can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored at room temperature in an airtight container or zip-top bag. Assemble the salad only when you're ready to serve it.
Freezing
Do not freeze the assembled Caesar salad. Romaine loses its crisp texture, and the dressing and croutons are better kept separately. Make the croutons and dressing ahead if needed, then assemble the salad fresh.
