Best Caesar Salad Recipe

5 from 7 votes

The Best Caesar Salad recipe consists of a thick dressing made up of egg yolks, anchovy fillets, olive oil, parmesan and lemon juice. These ingredients create a delicious savory dressing that is delicious when tossed with garlic croutons and crisp romaine leaves.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Assembly5

Total Time35

Course: Appetizer, Lunch, Salad

Cuisine: American, Italian, Mexican

Servings:

Author: Adrianna Adarme

Cost: $12

Ingredients

Garlic Croutons:

3 cups (1-inch) pieces of Italian or country bread with crusts and all
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves peeled and minced
Kosher salt

Dressing:

2 ounces Parmesan-Reggiano (about 1/2 cup grated Parmesan-Reggiano)
6 anchovy fillets packet in oil drained
3 garlic cloves peeled
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons lemon juice from about 1 1/2 lemons
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons avocado oil (or other neutral oil)
Freshly ground pepper
Kosher salt

Romaine:

1 large head of romaine lettuce outside leaves trimmed and/or discarded
Topping:
Freshly ground black pepper
1 ounce Parmesan-Reggiano

Instructions

To Make the Croutons:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Tear your bread until you get 3 cups of torn bread pieces. Add them to a baking sheet.
In a small saucepan, set over medium heat, add the butter, olive oil, garlic and a few pinches of salt. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Immediately pour over the torn bread and toss until the bread has been coated in the butter mixture. Transfer to the oven to bake until lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes.
I don’t like my croutons too too hard. If you like them crunchy, you’re more than welcome to bake them an extra 5 minutes longer.

To Make the Dressing:

In a food processor, add the Parmesan-Reggiano. Pulse until it’s grated and ground up. Then, add the anchovy fillets and garlic cloves; and blend. Next, pour in the egg yolks, lemon juice and Dijon mustard. With the food processor running, pour in the neutral oil and olive oil. Open up the food processor and scrape down the sides. Add about 5 turns of freshly ground pepper and blend one last time. Give it a taste and mix in salt to taste. I only needed a pinch. This will vary depending on your anchovies.
At this point, you can store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

To Assemble the Salad:

Prep your romaine lettuce. Trim off the root end. Discard any outer leaves that are witty and browned. And then using a knife, slice the romaine into 2-inch strips. Transfer it to a colander and wash. And then dry.
Place romaine lettuce in a large bowl. Pour dressing on top, along with the reserved bread crumbs, Parmesan-Reggiano and toss until evenly coated. You really want to make sure the leaves are thoroughly coated in dressing.
Serve immediately.

Notes

Tips and Tricks

If you want to make this salad ahead, you can make the dressing and keep it in the fridge for up to 1 week.
You can prep the croutons up to two days ahead and keeping them in an airtight container.
I find that the lettuce is best prepped right before. I like to use a salad spinner to ensure that the leaves are dry. This helps with the dressing adhering to the leaves.

Equipment:

Nutrition