Caesar Salad
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 1-pound loaf day-old country or sourdough bread
- ⅓cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt, to taste
- 1egg yolk at room temperature
- ¾cup neutral oil, such as grapeseed
- 3 to 4tablespoons lemon juice, more if needed for mayonnaise
- 8anchovy fillets
- 1garlic clove, finely grated or pounded with a pinch of salt
- 1teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 13-ounce chunk of Parmesan, finely grated (about 1 cup), plus more for serving
- ¾teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and ground black pepper
- Romaine lettuce, Little Gem lettuce, chicories, raw or blanched kale, shaved brussels sprouts or Belgian endive
For the Torn Croutons
For the Salad
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
505 calories; 36 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 21 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 31 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 14 grams protein; 750 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Make the torn croutons: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove the crusts from the bread, then cut into inch-thick slices. Cut each slice into inch-wide strips, and tear each strip into inch-size pieces. Toss with olive oil to coat them evenly, then spread pieces out in a single layer on a baking sheet. (Use a second sheet if needed to prevent crowding.) Toast for 18 to 22 minutes, checking them after 8 minutes. Rotate pans, switch their oven positions and use a metal spatula to turn the croutons so they brown evenly. Bake until they’re golden brown and crunchy on the outside, with just a tiny bit of chew on the inside. Season with a light sprinkling of salt if needed. Use immediately; store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, make mayonnaise: Place the egg yolk in a deep, medium metal or ceramic bowl. Dampen a tea towel and roll it up into a long log, then form it into a ring on the counter. Place the bowl inside the ring; this will hold the bowl in place while you whisk. (And if whisking by hand is simply out of the question, use a blender, stand mixer or food processor.)
- Step 3
Use a ladle or bottle with a nozzle to drip in the neutral oil a drop at a time, while whisking the oil into the yolk. Go. Really. Slowly. And don’t stop whisking. Once you’ve added about half the oil, you can start adding a little more oil at once. You want the mayonnaise to be stiff, but if it thickens so much that it’s impossible to whisk, add a teaspoon or so of lemon juice to help thin it out.
- Step 4
Prepare the dressing: Coarsely chop the anchovies and then pound them into a fine paste using a mortar and pestle. The more you break them down, the better the dressing will be.
- Step 5
In a medium bowl, stir together the anchovies, mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, Parmesan, Worcestershire and pepper. Taste with a leaf of lettuce, then add salt and adjust the acid (the lemon juice and vinegar) as needed, or add a little of each salty ingredient (Worcestershire, anchovies, Parmesan) to the dressing, bit by bit. Adjust the acid, then taste and adjust the salty ingredients until you reach the ideal balance of salt, fat and acid.
- Step 6
Use your hands to toss the greens and torn croutons with an abundant amount of dressing in a large bowl to coat evenly. Garnish with Parmesan and black pepper and serve immediately. Refrigerate leftover dressing, covered, for up to 3 days.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Brennan
Nicole, I make caesar salad dressing literally once a week, using these same ingredients, and always make it in a small Cuisinart food processor.
With the utmost respect to chef/author Nosrat, spare yourself the tea towel and double bowels, and just follow instructions using a processor. Voila! The time-cost-benefit-taste ratio of making your own dressing > store-bought.
Do follow her tips about slow oil pour, finely pulverizing the garlic-anchovy and only adding salt at the end, though.
jasmedmal
Do not be afraid of the anchovies. Use good quality salt-packed anchovies that you rinse well. You will be rewarded with a depth of flavor that is not "fishy".
Old School
Everyone,do yourself a favor. Go back and look at the original recipe by Craig Claiborne in the New York Times cookbook published in the 1960s. Easiley has the best Caesar salad recipe by far.
Nicole
Can you just put all ingredients in food processor and then drizzle the oil in?
diane
Immersing the egg in boiling water for 45 seconds kills any bacteria that may be on the outside of the shell and does not cook the yolk. I always use this method when using raw egg yolks.
Nancy
Yes. You can make it just as delicious but faster if you make the mayo inside a big glass or jar using a hand (immersion blender) - takes SECONDS - and then put all the dressing ingredients including the garlic and anchovies into a food processor. Can add salt and adjust acids, then toss with leaves, then cover with Parmesan, which has a great texture if you use those store bought flakes, so perfect for Caesars. And croutons if you like them.
Xochitl
ABSOLUTELY DO NOT USE A CUISINART OR BLENDER. When you whisk by hand you get a silky dressing not mayonnaise. Also, strictly romaine heart, it is the sweet part of the lettuce, don't use the leafy part, its bitter. We make Caesar salad quite often, and it's our most requested dish at parties and potlucks.
David Morton
Does anyone feel a little hot in the cheeks reading this recipe? Maybe I'm just hungry, but Samin Nosrat has gone right inside the Caesar Salad and all but fed it to my mouth with her writing. I've made many a Caesar Salad, and approve of the slow build, the golden croutons "with just a tiny bit of chew on the inside," the whisk of the mayonnaise, adding the oil a drop at a time, the damp towel roll under the ceramic bowl, the mortar and pestle of the garlic and anchovy, the spray of the lemon.
nablaze
I have been doing this for years as well, in a mini cuisinart. I start with the garlic and anchovies, and whizz them for a few seconds. Then I add the lemon (I like Lime too), egg yolk, Worcestershire sauce and some fresh pepper; whizz for a few seconds; then I let the oil drip in from the lid while I pulse. I add the cheese last, just a little as I like to shave parmesan over my dressed salad; we love good anchovies so I add more to the finished salad too.
Sooz
I learned Caesar salad from James Beard's American Cookery many years ago (late 1970s?). Uses anchovies, lemon juice, olive oil & whole egg. Romaine, homemade croutons and an abundance of fresh-grated parm. Though the egg, oil & lemon juice emulsify somewhat, it's nowhere near mayonnaise consistency. Not sure I'd like that gloppy texture on my Caesar.
Caryn
I have loved Caesar Salad since I was a child, but am now vegetarian. I know purists might blanch at the idea, but a good miso substituted for the anchovies makes a delicious 'almost Caesar' dressing. Better than no more Caesars and, with my changed palate, actually preferable.
Rob
As I wrote in my cookbook, Cardini was opposed to using anchovies in his version. The faint taste of anchovies from the Worcestershire was sufficient for him. The other difference is that key limes were used in the original recipe. The change was not due to shifting taste, but to a problem in translation. When the salad was created in Mexico, the word for “lime” in Latin American Spanish was limón. If you look at early cocktail books, translations for the daiquiri wrongly called for lemons.
Vernonstwhiz
I will toss my Ceasar with a wooden spoon and fork, if you don't mind.
I believe that the original recipe(from Mexico) calls for limes and occasionally I will use them instead of the lemons.
Helen P
Thats what i do. I also add a spoon of dijon mustard.
Ginger Allen
I just think you are so mistaken. It is the anchovies that make it a caesar salad.
mickey
I just tried making this recipe three times tonight. But every time I make the mayo, it looses cohesion in the end and falls apart. Am I adding too much oil? Should I stop adding oil at some point? Thanks.
andrea
Made this with the immersion blender. Used 6 cloves of garlic. No Worcestershire sauce so subbed a splash of soy sauce. Incredible!
mk
Maybe too much oil in dressing. Lost thickness after about half oil added. Maybe yolk too cool? Check notes next time?
Etienne
The best Caesar dressing.
Seth
A couple times now my Mayo fails with Canola but succeeds when I switch to veg oil. My biochemist neighbor thinks this is not surprising. Because canola is mostly mono unsaturated whereas veg is more a mixed bag. And yet I think other folks use canola successfully. But if your mayo fails take heart and go get some plebian veg oil.
NYCHP
Made this for the first time. I had to toss my first attempt at the mayonnaise, which broke because I got impatient and added too much at once. On the second attempt, I used 2/3 cup of grape seed oil and it mostly worked. It looked nothing like the mayonnaise I'd used for sandwiches, but it didn't seem to matter after adding the other ingredients. It was so good. In sum, it is tedious to make as directed but worth the effort.
Jim
I pretty much followed this recipe, but I didn't bother with Go. Really. Slowly. I just dumped all the dressing ingredients into a container and emersion blended. The dressing became quite thick. Oh, and olive oil. Turned out great.
Heidi
Made the dressing as written. It was too oily and too fishy. Now for the adjust for taste as the recipe states…Since my bf doesn’t like vinegar, I upped the parm, added a clove of garlic, and lemon juice to get the flavors right. If I make again I would back off on the oil to a 1/2 cup. I’d cut the anchovies to 4 instead of 8.
Sam
We used a food processor. Blended everything but the cheese and oil. Then streamed in oil. Lastly mixed in cheese and pepper with just a few pulses so it wasn't completely broken down - we wanted some texture. Best Caesar dressing ever. Enjoyed that the anchovies were completely dissolved, which I think flavored the dressing better.
Katy J
Made the dressing entirely in the Cuisinart... it was delicious! Started with the whole anchovies, garlic roughly chopped, and grated parmesan. Blitzed. Threw in the egg yolk and lemon juice, blitzed those in a bit, then drizzled in the oil. (The Cuisinart plunger has a little hole in the bottom that's the perfect diameter to slowly drizzle in oil: start the food processor, and then pour your oil into the plunger so it drips in while the blade is running. Perfect mayo) Adjusted for acid/pepper.
Susan
Since it’s difficult to whisk with one hand while dribbling in oil with the other, I used a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and it turned out great! Much better than the “homemade” versions which call for store-bought mayo. A keeper!
Lorie
I followed the instructions the first time and it took some time and tasted great. Every time since then I've thrown everything into my blender. It takes a fraction of the time and tastes just as good. I like adding a teaspoon of Dijon.
Missy Mooney
I followed this recipe but had to sub anchovy paste because my local store was pretty small. However, it was delicious next to the reverse seared tomahawk I cooked for me and my boyfriend for a special date night.
Leesa
I've been making caesar dressing for years using a food processor and I was curious to see if it would make a difference doing it the "old fashioned" way and whisking the oil and egg together by hand. While it is definitely more time-consuming I will say that the texture is different and is definitely worth the time if you have it. I would describe the texture and more creamy and "velvety"...it's just different on the tongue! I will use this method when I have the time.
starrtreks.com
But you know Rose, the daughter of the inventor of Caesar salad, Italian Caesar Cardini who invented it (the most widely supported account) said the original recipe never included anchovies. This was confirmed by Julia Child.
s zupic
I love it with and I love it w/out. 2 very unique flavors:)
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