Lighter Caesar Dressing

At a glance

What stands out: Prepare a classic Caesar salad easily with your own lighter Caesar dressing. Lower in calories than traditional Caesar dressings, you’ll love that this from-scratch salad dressing tastes just like a creamy Caesar dressing you’d get in a restaurant, and it’s straightforward to mix.

How long it takes: 10 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: small blender or food processor
Servings: 12 servings (2 tablespoons each)

We love a good Caesar salad, don’t you? Have you ever had one prepared by a chef tableside? It’s performance art!

And Caesar salad shows up in so many forms. Chicken is often added to make a main course salad, and you can find recipes for Caesar salad pizzas, Caesar salad sandwiches, Caesar salad appetizers, Caesar salad soup (really!), and even a bacon-and-egg Caesar salad breakfast.

With the recipe we're bringing you today, you can prepare your own Caesar salad. It’s a simple salad and we have a healthier-for-you dressing that we're sure you’ll love.

A Little History

Caesar salad was not invented by a long ago Roman emperor. The story goes that an Italian chef, named Caesar Cardini, immigrated to the United States and opened a restaurant in San Diego, California. When Prohibition laws were passed in the U.S., he opened a second restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, in order to serve alcohol to his patrons. In 1924, on a busy Fourth of July weekend, running low on supplies, out of desperation he created what is now known as a Caesar salad. It’s thought that the original salad was meant to be a finger food, served on individual Romaine lettuce leaves. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)

Julia Child, who visited Caesar’s restaurant with her parents, recounts how Caesar himself rolled a big cart up to their table, and made a Caesar salad for the family. She says, “It was a sensation of a salad from coast to coast, and there were even rumblings of its success in Europe.” (From Julia Child’s Kitchen, 1975).

Lighter Caesar Dressing

No raw egg yolks! Traditionally, Caesar dressing is made with raw egg yolks to add creaminess. We skip the egg yolks to keep things straightforward and unquestionably safe.

But yes to anchovies! Canned anchovy fillets add lots of savory umami flavor. Please don’t leave them out. They don’t taste a bit “fishy” and add so much to the dressing. You’ll find them in our Green Goddess dressing, too.

Made with lighter yogurt. If you have tried any of our creamy salad dressings, you know our trick: Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt adds creaminess with less calories and fat than mayonnaise or sour cream. We like to use 2% or full fat yogurt but non-fat is fine, too. With only 60 calories per serving (2 tablespoons), it’s a pretty lighter dressing.

How it comes together

You’ll need a a mini blender or food processor to get a nice smooth salad dressing. Simply blend together:

• Greek yogurt
• a small amount of mayo (just one-fourth cup!)
• 2 anchovy fillets (or a teaspoon of anchovy paste)
• lemon juice, freshly squeezed, to brighten the flavor
• fresh garlic
• Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper

That’s it! Whirl it all together until it’s nice and creamy. Stir in grated Parmesan cheese, and you are ready to make your own classic Caesar salad.

You’ll need romaine lettuce, croutons (from-scratch croutons are by far a standby!), and additional Parmesan cheese, if desired. Toss it all together until the dressing coats everything well.

Enjoy!

Ways to change it

• No mayo version: We like the flavor of a little mayo in the dressing but if you want, you can use all yogurt. The dressing will be a bit more tangy. If it’s too tangy, add a little sweetener (sugar, honey, agave), a teaspoon or so.
• Vegan recipe: While we don’t have a recipe on our site, you could take a look at this vegan Caesar salad by Platings and Pairings. No anchovies, no mayo, eggs, or dairy, this salad is made with blended cashews, and includes capers for umami flavor.
• Add protein: Make a main dish salad by adding cooked chicken, fish, hard boiled eggs, or chickpeas.
• Add more veggies: Not classic, but why not? Tomatoes, sliced cucumber, chopped bell peppers, or radishes all go great in this salad.
• Chicken Caesar pasta salad: You can use this from-scratch dressing to make a fabulous main course pasta salad. It’s always a hit and it’s straightforward.

Keeping leftovers

Make this Caesar dressing ahead and store it in the fridge for up to a week, in a tightly covered container or jar. Shake it well before serving.

• Yield: 12 servings
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Total: 10 minutes

Ingredients

Dressing

• ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt (non-fat, 2% or full-fat)
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 2 canned anchovy fillets (packed in oil), drained and patted dry
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 small garlic clove, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salad

• Romaine lettuce
• Croutons
• Additional Parmesan cheese, to garnish
• Coarsely ground pepper

Method

1. In small blender or food processor, combine yogurt, mayonnaise, anchovies, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, scraping sides as necessary.
2. Scrape dressing into small bowl or measuring cup; stir in Parmesan cheese.
3. To make salad, combine the desired amount of dressing with chopped romaine lettuce; stir well to coat. Sprinkle with homemade croutons, additional Parmesan cheese, and coarsely ground pepper, if desired.

Notes

If desired, omit the mayo and use all yogurt. If the dressing is too tangy, add a teaspoon of sweetener (sugar, honey, agave).

Add additional vegetables to the salad: sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, chopped bell pepper, and radishes are good choices.

Add protein: chicken, fish, hard boiled eggs, or garbanzo beans.

Nutrition information is for dressing only: one serving is 2 tablespoons. Recipe makes about 1 ½ cups.