Caesar Salad

This Caesar salad recipe is guaranteed to impress dinner party guests! It's topped with homemade croutons, crisp veggies, and a rich, tangy dressing.

Caesar salad

If there’s any recipe that’ll convince someone that they love salad, it’s this Caesar salad recipe. Its base is chopped romaine lettuce and crisp veggies, but shaved cheese, homemade croutons, and a bold, creamy dressing fill it with so much flavor and texture that it hardly feels like you’re eating a plate full of vegetables!

This Caesar salad recipe would be a fantastic side dish for a holiday dinner party, but, lately, we’ve even been loving it as a meal on its own. It’s the perfect fresh, yet still satisfying, break from the holiday rotation of appetizers and sweets. Pretty, nourishing, and so, so delicious, this is a recipe you don’t want to miss!

Caesar salad recipe ingredients

Caesar Salad Recipe Ingredients

My Caesar salad recipe starts with 4 basic components:

  • Romaine lettuce – Chop it into bite-sized pieces that’ll mingle with the other ingredients! You don’t want any big chunks of romaine here. Butterhead lettuce would be delicious in this recipe as well.
  • Cheese – I like to scatter shaved pecorino cheese over my Caesar salad, but a generous sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese would add the same nutty, savory flavor.
  • Homemade croutons For crunch! These are so yummy and easy to make – just toss bread cubes with olive oil and salt, spread them on a baking sheet, and toast them in a 350-degree oven until they’re golden brown.
  • Caesar dressing – Traditional Caesar salad dressing is made with raw egg yolks, Worcestershire sauce, and anchovies, but my version is much simpler and just as good. In a small bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, a minced garlic clove and capers, Dijon mustard, and black pepper. You’ll end up with a creamy, rich mixture that tastes every bit as tangy and savory as the classic version.

To make this recipe extra fresh, I add a few unconventional components to the classic Caesar salad template. First, I pile on a generous amount of roasted chickpeas. They add protein to this recipe, along with lots of extra crunch. Finally, shaved red radishes, pine nuts, and a sprinkle of chives take the whole thing over the top.

Caesar salad dressing

Caesar Salad Serving Suggestions

With its rich dressing and hearty toppings, this Caesar salad recipe could easily make a meal on its own. However, it’s also a lovely dinner side dish. Pair it with your favorite protein, or serve it with any of these vegetarian main courses:

Whether you’re passing it at a potluck or packing it for lunch, this Caesar salad recipe is a great one to make ahead of time. Toast the croutons, stir together the dressing, and prep the veggies in advance. Then, store the components separately until you’re ready to eat. If you’re making this salad ahead, roast the chickpeas at the last minute, or omit them and toast a few extra croutons in their place. The chickpeas are best eaten right out of the oven!

Caesar salad

More Favorite Salad Recipes

If you love this Caesar salad recipe, try one of these fresh salads next:

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Caesar Salad

rate this recipe:
4.91 from 52 votes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Serves 4 to 6
This easy Caesar salad is a stunning dinner side dish, but it's also hearty enough to be a meal on its own.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Make the croutons. Place the bread cubes on the baking sheet, toss with olive oil and salt, and bake 10 minutes, until toasted.
  • Assemble the romaine on a platter. Drizzle with half the dressing, sprinkle with the radishes, croutons, and chickpeas, and drizzle with the remaining dressing. Top with the pecorino, chives, and pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

*To make this recipe vegan, omit the cheese, and replace my Homemade Caesar Dressing with this vegan dressing recipe:
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons capers, drained
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Freshly ground black pepper
 
In a high-speed blender, place the cashews, garlic, lemon juice, mustard, capers, water, and a few grinds of black pepper. Blend until creamy.

 

68 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Meredith Price
    04.12.2021

    5 stars
    This was a delicious and refreshing recipe to bring out the best in the newfound sunshine in the PNW this week.

    I made the recipe as is with everything homemade. I thinned about 1/3 of the dressing a touch with water to drizzle and then the rest left thick for eaters to add on.

    Served with some grilled chicken as well. On the keepers list

  2. Hannah Bahler
    04.12.2021

    Just made this for lunch, so delicious and easy and the dressing (!). I used pepperoncini peppers instead of capers in the dressing, was a great substitute. Thanks for a delicious recipe

  3. Tara Fehon
    04.11.2021

    5 stars
    This was so good and EASY. I love a quick to-make salad that’s delicious and filling.

  4. Elaine Scanlon
    04.10.2021

    4 stars
    This was a hit at my house! I used cashews instead of the pine nuts and it was delicious. It will definitely be in my rotation. Thanks!

  5. Lisa day
    04.10.2021

    5 stars
    Loves this! Will definitely be making this again!

  6. H
    04.10.2021

    5 stars
    I made this salad like 20 times last year I love it. I made the vegan version for the first time today and it was very good although the creamy yogurt dressing is to die for.

  7. Maria Hatfield
    04.10.2021

    Added cucumber and red bell pepper…Loved the roasted chickpeas!

  8. Andrea Brady
    04.10.2021

    5 stars
    Delicious!! I couldn’t find organic radishes and swapped croutons for roasted cauliflower. I made it with the vegan dressing and added vegan parmesan to mine and real cheese to the others. Will definitely be making again soon! Thank you!

  9. Marissa van allen
    04.10.2021

    This salad is so easy and delicious! A big hit with the family!

  10. Kaitlyn Coroso
    04.10.2021

    5 stars
    Delicious!! I used the vegan version. 🙂

  11. Brooke Stone
    04.09.2021

    5 stars
    Yum!! I love caesar salad but have never made it at home and don’t order often because of the guilt 😬 now I don’t think I’ll ever be able to order one again after tasting this version. I didn’t have greek yogurt so subbed half sour cream half plain whole milk yogurt. Also no pine nuts so I sprinkled some hemp seeds instead. Just delicious. Light but filling, and my two year old is digging it too (crunchy lettuce!), especially the crispy chickpeas. Thanks for this fantastic recipe, it’s going to be a regular!

  12. Susanna wolfe
    04.08.2021

    I loved this salad. Love the addition of the garbanzo beans. Leftovers for tomorrow.
    Yum.

  13. Anna Bartels
    04.07.2021

    Delicious recipe – has become a standard in my lunch rotations. The dressing is creamy but brine-y and fresh!

  14. Nicole
    02.15.2021

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! So many flavours and textures to explore. Will definitely be making this one again

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      02.15.2021

      I’m so glad you loved the salad!

  15. Mitra
    12.08.2020

    5 stars
    wow really great recipe and pictures

  16. Alessandro Cipriano
    04.27.2020

    This Cesar Salad looks so delicious. It’s one of my favorites. Keep up the good work. Aless 🙂

  17. Sarah
    12.22.2019

    Any vegan alternatives for the dressing? Thank you. Have a wonderful holiday!

  18. Scarlet
    12.19.2019

    Caesar salad is my husband’s favorite kind so I am glad to find this recipe and try making it at home for him. Thanks!

  19. Nippon
    12.18.2019

    5 stars
    Indeed one of the perfect work, I have ever came across!!

  20. OHHH!!
    What a coincidence – we just had Caesar Salad tonight – veggi style – and we totally love it:-)

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.