Homemade caesar salad recipe with crunchy croutons
There are some classic salads that stay delicious no matter how many times you actually eat them. For me, Caesar salad is definitely one of them.
Caesar Salad
There’s something about Caesar salad. It is probably one of the easiest salads to make. You literally only need a few ingredients, yet it is one of my favorites. Salty, creamy and crunchy. By the way, not everyone is a fan of anchovies, but if you don’t like them, just don’t use them.
Where does Caesar salad come from?
To be honest, I thought it came from America. But it turns out that Caesar salad is a Mexican invention. I did not see that one coming. It was actually invented by an Italian immigrant, Caesar Cardini. That’s where the name comes from.
The original Caesar salad consisted of 6 ingredients; romaine lettuce, garlic, egg, parmesan cheese, croutons and Worcestershire sauce. Whole anchovies were not part of the dish at that time. And some people still eat it with or without the fish. I have to admit that I don’t always like anchovies. But not using them is definitely an option!
Are there anchovies in the dressing?
Again, this is optional. You can certainly mix the anchovies into the homemade caesar salad dressing. In fact, that’s my favorite way. That way you get the salty taste of the anchovies. But like I said, on it or in it. The choice is up to you.
What kind of lettuce is used in the Caesar salad?
It is originally romaine lettuce. That’s what I used here. If you can’t find it, you can substitute little gem lettuce or another crunchy salad of your choice.
How do you make a Caesar salad?
The salad is very easy to make. I start by toasting the bread for the homemade croutons. I used slices of baguette, but you can use any kind of bread instead. I sprinkle the chopped bread with some olive oil and bake them crunchy and golden brown in a large skillet. Let them drain on paper towels. You can make garlicky croutons too by first placing the bread in a large bowl, sprinkle with olive oil, some grated garlic and some extra parmesan cheese. Mix it all together and then bake the bread cubes in the skillet. Extra delicious! Don’t use store-bought croutons. I’ve never really like those and making it yourself is super easy to do. Let the croutons drain on paper towel to make them extra crispy.
You also often come across Caesar salads that use cooked or roasted chicken breasts. A chicken caesar salad is definitely a good option if you want to add some more protein to the dish.
It’s all about the dressing
Next, cook the eggs to your liking and divide the crispy romaine lettuce among four plates. Place the rest of the ingredients on your plate as well and make the creamy dressing by blending everything together. I usually use an immersion blender for this. If you want to add a bit of anchovies to the dressing use maximum of 2-3 anchovies. Otherwise it will get too salty.
How can I make a healthier version of the caesar salad?
Making a healthier version of the caesar salad is not complicated. In general the ingredients used for a good caesar salad are pretty healthy to begin with. The secret to a healthier version is to change the dressing by making it lighter and to not overdo it on the parmesan side of things. I love parmesan and since it has so much flavor you really don’t need a whole lot of it, to still get that specific caesar salad taste.
For a healthier creamy caesar dressing follow the below recommendations:
Mix the mayonnaise with Greek yogurt for a lighter dressing. Use about 1 tbsp of mayonnaise to 2-3 tbsp of Greek yogurt. I do like the full fat Greek yogurt for this but it will still make the dressing lighter. Mix some lemon juice, black pepper, garlic powder and maybe a teaspoon of anchovy paste through the dressing. Add some grated parmesan too and bring the dressing to taste.
For the croutons you can prepare a baking sheet and mix the bread with some parmesan and garlic but leave out the oil. Add the bread to the prepared baking sheet and roast it in the oven instead of baking in a skillet. It will still be golden brown and crunchy but it will have less oil. Or alternatively leave out the croutons all together. You don’t need them in the healthy caesar salad. (or try this version of caesar salad with oat croutons)
If you want to replace the crunchy croutons you can bake a few slices of prosciutto until crispy and crumble them over the salad.
Serve quickly
As with all salads, you don’t want to make this one ahead of time. After all, it only takes 15 minutes, so there is no reason to let it sit too long. The croutons will become limp and lose their crunch, and the lettuce won’t improve.
For the full recipe find the information in the recipe card below.
Caesar salad
Ingredients
- 8 slices baguette
- 8 pcs white anchovies
- 8 slices prosciutto
- 4 eggs
- olive oil for brushing
- 2 baby romaine lettuce halved
- 4 tbsp finely grated parmesan to serve
Parmesan dressing
- 150 g mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp water
- 2 tbsp finely grated parmesan
- sea salt and cracked black pepper
How to make a caesar salad
- To make the dressing, place the mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, water, parmesan, salt and pepper in a bowl and stir to combine.
- Toast the bread and the prosciutto in either grill or on the stovetop until crispy and golden brown. You can rub the toasted bread briefly with a sliced garlic for some extra flavor and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle some seasalt on top.
- Place the lettuce, egg, prosciutto, anchovies (if using) and parmesan in a plate and drizzle with the dressing. Serve the rest along side the salad
Nutrition Information per portion
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
11 comments on “Homemade caesar salad recipe with crunchy croutons”
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Well Simone, what can I say….. except it will be worth it in the end. Just stick with it for a while! LOL!
I agree, the worst Caesar’s salads out there, this one looks great!!
xox
That’s the idea Karin.. 😉 No more multiple blogs and changing all the time. I learned my lesson (the hard way I might add…lol)
Morning Simone!
I love your new site, although I did love the name jungle frog.
Thank you for going to so much effort for all of us and of course yourself to make this an exceptional site.
This salad looks so very good.
I have a problem with garlic and only like to have a hint of it.
What would you suggest for the amount I put in to it?
Have a Joyful Day :~D
Charlie
Thanks Charlie! As for the garlic; I wouldn’t do the entire clove if you have a problem with it. What you can do is to add a tiny bit in powdered form as that is less strong as the fresh/dried ones, or you can leave it out alltogether. It’ll taste different but still be pretty good.
Thanks Simone!
Charlie
It will all work itself out. Google doesn’t like duplicate content so they might be looking a bit sideways if the posts are the same.
Your blog is too good not to be where you want it.
A well made caesar salad is a real joy to eat.
Anchovies for me, please! Love them and love Caesar Salad — one of my favorites. Sorry about all the work in putting old material on the new blog, but it’ll be worth it. And stats jump around a bit, or at least mine do, so I wouldn’t worry about it.
Love the Caeser salad. Stats would come around soon and then you’ll know the effort was well worth of.
A good lament is good for the soul. You have a beautiful site and the reward will far outweigh the work … but right now, oh, the work! The less glamorous side of blogging so few see, thanks for being authentic.
Thanks Judy. Yes it’s a monstrous amount of work but I’m about halfway so getting there…. 🙂
Wonderful! Really detailed and easy to read and to understand! Great job Simone!