Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing (without Egg)
If you’ve been wondering how to make a super Simple Caesar Salad Dressing at home, but you are looking for a recipe without egg then you’re in the right place! In today’s post, I have all you need to know about how to make simple egg-free caesar salad dressing with step-by-step photos.
I originally shared this recipe on July 5, 2012. I have updated the images and some of the text today.
Table of contents
Why We Love This Recipe For Caesar Salad Dressing
While I love a thick and creamy Classic Caesar Salad made with raw egg yolk, if I am serving Casear to the kids or to my elerly relatives, I made this egg-free Caesar instead. It uses no raw egg yolk, but still has the bold flavors of a classic Caesar Dressing!
This week when my family came to visit, I whipped up this simple Caesar dressing without eggs and made a giant salad with a bunch of chopped Romaine and tossed it with a batch of my Home-made Whole-Grain Croutons. It was so tasty and just what I needed.
The best part about this recipe is that in just 10 minutes you will have an awesome jar of loveliness.
If you’re looking to turn your Caesar into more of a main course, you could top the salad with some crispy oven-baked chicken tenders, grilled boneless chicken thighs or Foil Baked Salmon.
Key Ingredients For This Recipe
- Garlic: Garlic goes a long way, so you don’t want to add too much. Dressings also get more garlicky as they sit.
- Coarse kosher salt: You’ll need this to make the garlic-salt paste.
- Anchovies, chopped: Even if you’re not a big anchovy fan, please don’t skip this ingredient! Anchovies are a classic Caesar dressing ingredient that really amp up that umami flavor.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: I prefer a mildly fruity olive oil for Caesar dressing
- Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese: grating the cheese yourself versus buying pre-grated makes such a difference. It has so much more flavor and tastes much fresher.
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice: Make sure to use fresh lemons, not the juice from a bottle of lemon juice.
- Dijon mustard: I like the classic Grey Poupon Dijon, but any Dijon will do.
- Cracked black pepper: Season the dressing to your liking with pepper.
Step-by-Step Instructions to Make This Caesar Dressing
How to Make a Caesar Dressing with Step-by-Step Photos
Peel and roughly chop the garlic clove. Sprinkle coarse kosher salt on top. You can also use regular table salt. But if you do so, read this first to see why you should use half the amount.
Use the side of your chef’s knife to press down on the garlic and salt to form a smooth paste.
While you are chopping, go ahead an chop the anchovies. Even though they are going into the food processor, this step will make sure they break down evenly.
Scrape the chopped anchovies and the garlic and salt paste up off the cutting board and add them to a food processor fitted with a steel blade attachment.
Add extra-virgin olive oil, grated Pecorino Romano cheese, fresh lemon juice and pepper to your food processor or blender.
Since this is an egg free Caesar salad dressing, the dressing would otherwise come out of suspension rather quickly. But I’ve added in a hearty spoon of Dijon mustard which is a natural source of lecithin, which acts as the emulsifier in the dressing.
The Pecorino is also helpful in keeping the dressing in suspension (it act as a physical emulsifier.)
FAQs and Expert Tips
Making a garlic and salt paste ensures the garlic will be incorporated evenly throughout the dressing and you won’t get a big bite of it in the salad- instead you’ll have an overall awesome garlic flavor (see photos above).
If you have a smaller blender (with a narrow style pitcher) you can also use that. But a wider blender like a vitamix wont work well because there will not be enough dressing to come above the blade. If you want an alternative to the food processor you can use a mini prep, and imersion blender or you can always whisk by hand. If you do so, make sure to chop the anchovies very finely.
This dressing is different from classic Caesar made in the bowl because it relies on the food processor or blender to make the emulsion. Just one more way to keep it egg free.
The one downside to this dressing is that it doesn’t last that long. I would recommend making it only one to two day in advance if making ahead. If you’re making it right before serving and there’s dressing left over, store it in the fridge for an additional day or two.
This recipe makes 1 cup or 8 servings. The jar of dressing is enough for a salad made with three chopped hearts of romaine and croutons. Keep in mind that this dressing is really strong, so taste as you go when you’re tossing it with your greens. I like to add a generous amount of Pecorino Romano as I’m tossing. The saltiness helps to balance the lemon’s acidity. You’ll also be happy to know it can dress a surprisingly large bowl of greens which is a good thing because this salad will disappear quickly.
Additional Caesar Recipes to Try
- This Overnight Kale Caesar is an awesome make-ahead recipe.
- This Lacinato Kale Caesar Salad only takes 15 minutes to make. Score!
- You get a whole head of roasted garlic EACH in this Roasted Garlic Caesar Salad recipe!
- This Napa Cabbage Caesar Salad is amazing and is a great use of Napa cabbage.
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing (without Egg)
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
Description
This simple Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing (without Egg) is snap to make and ready in just 15 minutes! Pour it over Romaine, Croutons and add in cheese or make a kale caesar with it.
Ingredients
- 1 small clove garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 4 anchovies, chopped
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Peel and mince garlic clove. Sprinkle salt over the garlic and mash with the side of a chef’s knife to form a smooth paste. Scrape garlic paste into a food processor or blender.
- Add anchovies, oil, cheese, lemon juice, Dijon and pepper and puree until smooth and pale yellow, about 30 seconds.
Notes
Make Ahead Tip:
Can be made up to two days ahead. Store in a jar in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature and shake well before using.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Salad Dressing
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 134
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 1 g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1 g
MORE SALAD DRESSINGS
This is THE BEST CAESAR dressing, EVER! Wow! I am in love with this dressing. Thank you!
Omg! I love that you are using a used Bonne Maman jar. I don’t throw a single one out and use them for my holiday egg nog gift packs. This made me chuckle. Can’t wait to try the dressing.
That’s genius, Chris! Let me know how it goes!
Can I leave out the anchovies?
Yes you can. I would taste and add a bit more salt to balance the lemon.
Do I need to refrigerate this dressing if I make it day or 2 in advance?
Yes you should. The olive oil will solidify in the fridge, so just let it come up to room temperature by setting a jar in a bowl of warm water before using it.