Roasted Garlic Caesar Salad
You won’t want to miss this recipe: Garlic Lover’s Roasted Garlic Caesar Salad, with roasted garlic in the dressing and a whole head of roasted garlic to go on each serving! I added a bit of radicchio to the romaine and served it with a big crostini to spread the luscious roasted garlic on.
If you love Caesar Salad try our 5-minute creamy Classic Caesar Salad Dressing and this Egg-Free Caesar Salad dressing too!
I originally shared this recipe on August 29, 2014. I have updated the images and some of the text today.
Table of contents
Why We Love This Recipe For Roasted Garlic Caesar Salad
Calling all Garlic Lovers!! This Caesar recipe may not be for the faint of heart from a flavor perspective, and I am here for it!
It is delicious, it is easy to make! It’s one of the best recipes to make when you’re in the mood for a salad, but hungry enough for a real meal. Make it for a Sunday evening and top it with chicken, shrimp or seared salmon if you like. Or make it to serve family-style at your next dinner party!
- Capers: I love capers! They are salty and sour and are a great addition to Nicoise Dressing, Puttanesca Sauce and Salmon Puttanesca. They add a richer and balanced flavor to the banknotes of this dressing.
- Radicchio: I added this because a little bitter makes everything else a little sweeter.
- Chopping: Chopping the Radicchio and romaine lettuce is much faster and less fussy than tearing it by hand.
- Crostintons: The croutons are actually like crostini, so you can pick them up and spread the roasted garlic on them, and then crunch them up… which brings me to…
- Roasted Garlic: A whole head of roasted garlic all to yourself. That is reason enough to fall in love with this salad.
If you love roasted garlic try our Roasted Garlic Hummus, our Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes and this Potato Leek Soup with Roasted Garlic and Cheddar.
Key Ingredients for This Recipe
Garlic
You’ll need 8 whole heads of garlic. YES, you read that right. Your garlic should be fresh and firm (no soft or dry spots).
Baguette
I prefer to use multi-grain or whole-wheat baguette. If all you have is regular white baguette that is fine too.
Parmigiano-Reggiano
You’ll use this for the dressing and to top the salad with. You can also use Asiago instead.
Anchovy paste
It might seem weird, but anchovy paste is a classic in Caesar salads. Check out the FAQ section to see what else you could use!
Step-by-Step Instructions to Make This Roasted Garlic Caesar Salad
Step 1: Preheat oven
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2: Roast garlic for dressing
Cut the ends of garlic heads off with a serrated knife exposing individual tips of garlic cloves. Place root-side down in a small baking dish and drizzle with 2 tablspoons oil over the exposed garlic clove ends. Cover with foil and transfer to the oven. Roast garlic until the garlic is soft and fragrant and starting to brown, 1 hour to 1 hour 25 minutes. Remove the foil and allow garlic to cool.
Step 3: Make croutons
Lay the baguette on a parchment lined baking sheet. Stir together 1 tablespoon oil, Italian seasoning and salt in a small dish. Brush the oil over the baguette slices. Bake until they’re browned and crisp, 14 to 16 minutes. Let them cool.
Step 4: Make dressing
Squeeze the cloves from two heads of garlic into a blender or food processor and discard papery skins. Add the roasted garlic oil from the baking dish, if there is any. Add the remaining ¼ cup oil, lemon juice, capers, anchovy paste, mustard and pepper and puree until smooth. Add the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and purée to combine.
Step 5: Assemble salad & serve
Combine the romaine, raddichio and grated Parmigiano or Asiago in a large salad bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Mound onto 6 plates and serve each with three croutons and a head of garlic.
FAQs and Expert Tips
If you’re gluten free that is absolutely no problem. Just substitute the baguette for a gluten free baguette or gluten free bread. You can also use Whisps cheese crisps instead of croutons.
If you don’t like anchovy you can use Worcestershire sauce or an additional pinch or two of salt as a substitute.
Yes. Make the above substitution and use vegan/dairy free Parmesan instead and skip the anchovy.
If you’re planning on preparing the salad ahead of time or want to store leftovers, store the dressing, croutons, cheese, garlic and lettuce separately in airtight containers in the fridge. (Croutons don’t need to be refrigerated.)
Additional Recipes to Try
- I feel like this Shrimp in Garlic Sauce recipe speaks for itself, don’t you?
- This Garlic Herb Marinated Chicken is a full-flavor way to make marinated chicken and much faster than most marinades.
- Need more Caesar salads? Try this Napa Cabbage Caesar Salad, Overnight Kale Caesar and this Lacinato Kale Caesar Salad.
- Our Stove Top Roasted Garlic is another method for roasting garlic you may want to try.
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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Roasted Garlic Caesar Salad
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Garlic Lover’s Roasted Garlic Caesar Salad, with roasted garlic in the dressing and a whole head of roasted garlic to go on each serving! The dressing is egg-free and it has capers in it!! I added a bit of raddichio to the romaine and served it with a big crostini to spread the luscious roasted garlic on. A super yummy entree salad!
Ingredients
Dressing
- 8 whole heads garlic
- 2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons drained capers
- 1 tablespoon anchovy paste
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Croutons
- 18 slices baguette, preferably multi-grain or whole-wheat
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian Seasonings
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Salad
- 3 hearts of Romaine, chopped and washed
- 1/2 head raddichio lettuce, chopped
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Asiago
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Roast Garlic for Dressing: Cut ends of garlic heads off with a serrated knife exposing individual tips of garlic cloves. Place root-side down in a small baking dish and drizzle with 2 tablspoons oil over the exposed garlic clove ends. Cover with foil and transfer to the oven. Roast garlic until the garlic is soft and fragrant and starting to brown, 1 hour to 1 hour 25 minutes. Remove foil and allow garlic to cool.
- Make Croutons: Lay baguette on a parchment lined baking sheet. Stir 1 tablespoon oil, Italian seasoning and salt in a small dish. Brush oil over the baguette slices. Bake until browned and crisp, 14 to 16 minutes. Cool.
- While croutons cool, make dressing: Squeeze cloves from two heads of garlic into a blender or food processor and discard papery skins. Add roasted garlic oil from the baking dish, if there is any. Add the remaining ¼ cup oil, lemon juice, capers, anchovy paste, mustard and pepper and puree until smooth. Add grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and puree to combine.
- Make Salad: Combine romaine, raddichio and grated Parmigiano or Asiago in a large salad bowl. Pour dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Mound onto 6 plates and serve each with three croutons and a head of garlic.
Notes
How to Store:
If you’re planning on preparing the salad ahead of time or want to store leftovers, store the dressing, croutons, cheese, garlic and lettuce separately in airtight containers in the fridge. (Croutons don’t need to be refrigerated.)
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 1/2 cups salad plus 1 head garlic
- Calories: 297
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 898 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 39 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 10 g
Here are the original images associated with this blog post.
Would totally make again! Loved it and was super easy to make in my mini food chopper. Next time a little less capers for this gal. Hehe. Thanks for the recipe!!
I am so psyched to hear you like this recipe! Thank you for coming back to review!
Love all of the flavors going on in this salad! Love the tips also on how to roast garlic perfectly!
This was so delicious! It’s my new favorite salad!!
This is the best Caesar Salad ever! Absolutely delicious!
I love everything about this salad! So flavorful!
yum!
This is my favorite salad recipe! I make it all the time, delicious!
Roasted garlic is the best! Sounds so delicious 🙂
Thank you Lauren! Have a great week!
Hi Katie! Thanks for the awesome comment you left on my blog the other day. I just stopped by to check out your site and seriously, you and I need to be friends. Caesar salad is one of my all-time favorites, as is whole roasted garlic. That’s usually my biggest complaint about restaurant versions of caesar dressing, is that the garlic is too sharp and pungent. I pretty much roast garlic whenever I have the time to do so (it’s also awesome in pesto — so much flavor, and no harsh bite), and love the idea of having an entire head of it all to myself to spread on crostini. I might just need to make that for lunch, just so I can stop drooling. 🙂
My thoughts upon reading your blog exactly Willow. Ha ha. Oh I love the idea of roasted garlic in pesto. I have never tried it but will do that before the summer is over for sure.
Roasted garlic and anchovies? This is literally the best Caesar salad ever! And the pictures are amazing too!
Thank you Mike! So glad you came by 😉
It indeed sounds and looks the BEST Caesar salad! Beautiful shots, Katie.
Thank you so much Angie.
You had me as soon as i saw roasted garlic in your photo. I can imagine that this is the best caesar salad.
I love roasted garlic too Barbara.
This is honestly the most beautiful caesar salad I have ever seen! I love the pop of color that the radicchio adds and roasting the garlic is such a great idea. And I am completely with you on the raw eggs!
Thank you so much Emily. I am not a big fan of taking pics of salad so I appreciate the compliment.