This vegetarian Caesar Salad recipe is quick to make and perfect for serving as a delicious and healthy side dish.
On my forever-mission to make salads that aren’t boring, I’ve created some out of the ordinary salad recipes (like this Spinach Salad and this Grilled Watermelon Salad). But sometimes the classics can be just as great, and far from boring!
Today I’m showing you how to make a classic Caesar Salad that’s completely from scratch, so easy to make, and just happens to be vegetarian!
How to Make Vegetarian Caesar Dressing
We’ll start by making an easy homemade caesar salad dressing. To make the dressing, simply throw everything in a blender and blitz until smooth and creamy.
To make Caesar salad dressing (without the usual anchovies) you’ll need:
- Olive Oil: Caesar dressing is an emulsion, so oil is going to be our base! Use regular or extra virgin olive oil here.
- Mayonnaise: Rather than thickening with raw eggs, we’re using mayonnaise for a foolproof Caesar dressing.
- Parmesan Cheese: Parmesan adds a savory element to replace the anchovies that are usually found in Caesar.
- Lemon Juice: Fresh is best here! Bottled juice won’t have as much tasty lemon flavor.
- Dijon Mustard: This emulsion is held together by mustard, which will keep the dressing creamy and delicious.
- Garlic: Just a clove of garlic brings major flavor to this Caesar!
Best croutons for Caesar Salad
You can use store-bought or homemade croutons here (but croutons from scratch are heaven on earth, so you should definitely do that).
To make them yourself, cut a few pieces of stale bread into cubes (sourdough bread is great with Caesar salad). Drizzle with oil (about 1 tablespoon per cup of cubed bread). Then saute over medium heat until golden brown and toasted! Here’s the full guide on homemade croutons.
Finally, mix everything together with chopped romaine or mixed greens! I love using a combination of greens (like spinach and arugula) to pack a few more nutrients in there.
Serve this Caesar Salad with one of these tasty Italian mains!
Ingredients
Dressing
- ½ cup olive oil 120 mL
- ¼ cup mayonnaise 60 g
- ¼ cup shaved parmesan cheese 30 g
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice 30 mL
- 1 ½ tsp dijon mustard 7 g
- 1 clove garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste
Salad
- 5 heaping cups chopped romaine or mixed greens
- 2 cups croutons
- ½ cup shaved parmesan cheese 60 g
Instructions
- Make Dressing: Add all Dressing ingredients to a blender and blitz until smooth and creamy. Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed.
- Assemble: Roughly chop romaine or mixed greens. Toss together with croutons and parmesan. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat (you may not need all of the dressing).
Nutrition Information
I first published this recipe over on Amanda’s Cookin’, where I’m a contributor.
Jane McLaurin says
I agree Sarah. It’s easier to use mayo and this dressing will last a good amount of time in the fridge in a jar with a lid. I always make my own salad dressing and anything store bought will never ever compete! I add a few splashes of Worcestershire and a small dab of anchovy paste that u can buy in a tube. If some are afraid of the anchovy leave it out but you really won’t taste it. And add salt to taste at the end.
Sarah says
Isn’t homemade salad dressing the best? I love that you can make just what you need so you don’t end up with a fridge of half used bottles.
Emilie says
Super quick and easy to make, but too oily for my tastes. Would reduce the oil to 1/3 cup. Additionally, the dijon mustard flavour was a bit too prominent.
Sarah says
Thanks so much for the thoughtful notes, Emilie! 😀
Mizz P says
This turned out remarkably good considering how I kind of botched it! I used half greek yogurt and half light mayo. I think my main mistake was trying to just put it in a jar and shake it. I think it requires mechanical whizzing so I dumped the contents of my jar into a 2 C measuring cup and went at it with my 1995-era immersion blender and it came out pretty darned good. Will definitely make this again but will use a blender the next time around.
Sarah says
Thanks for letting us know how it went, Mizz! It definitely needs that blending action to fully emulsify.
Daniel Smith says
This recipe states it’s vegetarian but you use parmesan cheese that’s not vegetarian!!
Alexandria Inkster says
You are so right, Daniel! Parmigiano-Reggiano and EVERY wedge/brick of “Parmesan Cheese” I have ever seen contain RENNET — so NOT vegetarian! However, I have encountered a few pre-grated/shaved varieties of “Parmesan” which do not contain rennet OR lipase… Finding them requires some sleuthing and a great deal of label reading, but they’re out there.