Impress your guests with this homemade creamy caesar salad! It has a perfect balance of garlic and rich flavours, then toss with homemade croutons and smoky bacon.
This classic caesar salad has been a favourite for many years and rightly so! To this day, many restaurants continue to include this classic salad on their menu. It’s creamy texture with rich garlicy taste with a tangy kick of lemon juice and richness from the extra virgin olive oil. I opted not to add anchovies as it’s not one that is liked very much or at all in my home. You can still enjoy and get the delicious flavours and creamy texture of a caesar salad.
WHAT GOES INTO THIS DELICIOUS CAESAR SALAD...
START WITH DRESSING:
- Mayonnaise: I like to use low fat or olive oil Hellmann’s mayo
- Garlic: prefer to crush or minced
- Lemon juice; freshly squeezed
- Dijon mustard
- Parmesan cheese or parmesan-reggiano cheese
- Extra virgin olive oil: a good quality is recommended
- salt and pepper
Whisk together mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper in medium bowl. Then slowly stream in the olive oil. Then add to a glass jar or container with a lid and place in the refrigerator. Why you ask to transfer to a glass jar? Glass containers don’t take on the smells of food and in this case, the fresh garlic will have an intense aroma.
MAKE CROUTONS AND FRY BACON
Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut the baguette into slices, and then cubes. Transfer to a baking sheet, and add olive oil, garlic powder and salt and toss enough to evenly coat the baguette cubes. Bake for 10 minutes until golden and set aside. Fry bacon in a skillet over medium heat, until crispy. Transfer to a plate.
LET'S TOSS THIS DELICIOUS SALAD TOGETHER
Using a large bowl, add the prepared romaine lettuce and toss and coat with dressing. Add half the bacon and croutons while tossing. When ready to serve, add the remaining croutons and bacon with grated parmesan cheese. Garnish with lemon wedges. Enjoy!
TRY THESE DELICIOUS SALADS
This easy homemade Caesar salad can be made within a half an hour and you get this delicious salad that will impress your guests and they will be asking for the recipe!
When I was teaching hospitality and I had my students make this salad for the teaching staff when we served lunch every Friday. The staff LOVED this salad and said it was the BEST they have had. They were always requesting this salad to be served. So I hope you give it try, it won’t disappoint!
STORING
Store the dressing in the glass jar, making sure it has a sealed lid and it will keep up to 5-6 days, up to a week. Once you toss the salad with the dressing, it won’t hold out for long, it will start to become limpy. Only add enough of the dressing to the romaine that you think you will need.
Homemade Caesar Salad Recipe
Equipment
- small and large bowls
- skillet
- Baking sheet
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salad:
- 1 cup baguette, cubed
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- sea salt
- 4 slices bacon, sliced
- 6 cups romaine, washed, dried and torn into bite size pieces
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnishing
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. While whisking, slowly stream in olive oil and continue whisking. Then add to a glass container with a lid and place in the refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Cut the baguette into slices, and then cubes. Transfer to a baking sheet, and add olive oil, garlic powder and salt and toss enough to evenly coat the baguette cubes. Bake for 10 minutes until golden and set aside.
- While the croutons are in the oven, fry bacon in a skillet over medium heat, until crispy. Transfer to a plate.
- Using a large bowl, add the prepared romaine lettuce and toss and coat with dressing. Add half the bacon and croutons while tossing. When ready to serve, add the remaining croutons and bacon with grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
