There is a reason that you can find caesar salad on menus all over the world, and that is because it is a beloved classic and iconic dish. Something about the creamy, zingy dressing, crisp & garlicy croutons tossed with fresh lettuce… mmh I’m drooling just writing this. It’s an incredibly satisfying dish, especially when you make it from scratch.

PLEASE do not buy premade caesar dressing (I’ll make an expect for some high quality ones, but the shelf stable ones are such a NO), this recipe below easy to whip up and makes a WORLDs difference. So let’s get right to it:

Homemade Caesar Salad with Garlic Croutons

Here is my spin on the classic, iconic, beloved caesar salad. Once you make it from scratch, you won't go back!!

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Course Appetizer, Main Course, Salad

Cuisine American

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

Dressing

1 large clove garlic minced
2-3 anchovies (or about 1 tsp of paste) If you MUST pass up on this, you can swap in Worcestershire sauce.
1 lemon zested and the juice of half
1 tsp salt
1 Pasteurized egg yolk
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 cup light tasting olive oil (or any neutral oil) Avoid using strong tasting oil, it will affect the flavo
1/4 cup parmigiano cheese

Croutons + Salad

3 cups bread of choice (I like Italian bread here, but have also made with sliced bread and it works!) cubed
1 clove Garlic grated
3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
A big pinch Salt
2 romain hearts washed & chopped

Instructions

The Dressing

Finely mince the garlic and anchovies on a cutting board and combine together. Add the zest of the lemon, salt and combine together using the side of the knife to press down and out to form a paste.
Transfer the paste to a bowl. Add in the egg yolk, juice of half a lemon, dijon mustard and whisk to combine. Begin slowly streaming in the oil while whisking constantly under the dressing begins to thicken. If it gets too thick, add in a tiny splash of water. If it is too thin, continue to add oil until it thickens. Mix in the parmigiano cheese and set aside.

The Croutons

Preheat oven to 400 degree F.
Cube up your bread of choice. Add to a nonstick or parchment lined sheet try.
Drizzle on the olive oil and salt, toss to combine and bake for about 15 minutes – tossing half way though – or until golden brown.

Assembling

To assemble, wash, rinse, and spin your lettuce. Add into a bowl and toss together with 3/4 of the dressing. Top with the remaining dressing, parmigiano cheese shavings, croutons, and lemon zest.
ENJOY!!

Keyword caesar, croutons, salad

Caesar Salad with Garlic Croutons – A Classic done RIGHT