How to Make Caesar Salad: Easy Caesar Salad Recipe With Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing

A salad of romaine lettuce, croutons, and parmesan cheese, what truly makes a Caesar a Caesar is the dressing. Though the ingredients can vary, in general, Caesar salad dressing is made from egg yolk, anchovy paste, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce. The combination of refreshing, crisp lettuce and creamy, umami-rich dressing has made Caesar salad a tangy comfort-food staple.

The Caesar salad was invented in Tijuana during Prohibition, during which time southern Californians would cross the border to Mexico to have a drink. Italian-born restaurateur Caesar Cardini immigrated to the U.S. and then decamped to Tijuana due to the aforementioned alcohol ban, where he opened Hotel Caesar’s, a stone’s throw from the border.

He claimed to have tossed the first Caesar salad tableside, in a large wooden bowl, on July 4, 1924, and in 1948 patented his recipe and began to sell the dressing, bottled, to grocery stores. Cardini’s original Caesar dressing recipe famously does not include anchovies, since Worcestershire sauce already contains the fermented fish. It’s also made with a raw egg yolk and olive oil, though many versions use mayonnaise instead.

The salad is still made tableside at Hotel Caesar’s, with a dressing of minced garlic, dijon mustard, anchovy filets, Worcestershire sauce, egg yolk, lime juice, olive oil, and parmesan cheese. To the bowl waiters add whole romaine hearts and black pepper. The salad is topped with one crostini, and parmesan cheese. Although the Caesar salad wasn’t named after Julius Caesar, ancient Romans did dress raw greens with garum, a fermented fish sauce that’s kind of like Worcestershire sauce’s great-great-grandmother.

Once you’ve mastered homemade caesar salad dressing, don’t just use it on romaine—try swapping the usual lettuce with raw kale, shaved Brussels sprouts, or chicories.

1. 1. Add halved cherry tomatoes, sliced grilled chicken breasts, a soft-boiled egg, avocado, or crumbled bacon. Try garnishing with shaved parmesan rather than grated, or replace the crouton with a parmesan crisp.
2. 2. For a more dramatic presentation that’s closer to the Cardini original, keep the romaine leaves whole, simply slicing hearts in half lengthwise.
3. 3. If you’re barbecuing, try grilling halved romaine hearts, cut-side down and lightly brushed with oil, just until grill marks appear. Then drizzle lettuce with dressing and top with homemade croutons—which you can also toast on the grill!
4. 4. Caesar salad goes well with Italian-American classics like pasta with Pomodoro sauce, pizza, chicken piccata, and eggplant parmesan.