This Homemade Caesar Salad recipe is made with homemade croutons, Romaine lettuce, Parmesan cheese, and creamy Caesar salad dressing made without anchovies.
It costs about $5.07 to make eight servings of this salad, which is only $0.63 per serving! This salad is the perfect side dish for any main dish.
Serve this salad with Instant Pot Lasagna, our Stuffed Flank Steak Pinwheels, and this Slow Cooker Pot Roast.
Caesar Salad Kit Hack without Anchovies
Our family’s favorite salad is no doubt Caesar Salad. We were buying about four kits a week to have for dinners because one is not enough to feed our families. Have you seen the little packets of Parmesan and croutons they put in those kits? It is almost laughable how tiny the packets are!
One kit from the store costs almost $4.00 for only 11 ounces. That is when we realized that we could make a larger portion at a more affordable price for our families.
Our homemade Caesar Salad kit hack makes twenty ounces for just about $5.00! Plus, you get a whole batch of fresh croutons and a lot more than two ounces of dressing and cheese!
Even better, the dressing is made without anchovies! It has a mayonnaise base which gives it that creamy texture without using raw eggs.
This classic Caesar Salad is perfect for lunch, for a potluck, or as a side dish to your main entree, any time of the year.
What do you put in a Caesar salad?
Caesar salad’s basic components include Romaine lettuce, Parmesan cheese, croutons, and Caesar salad dressing. However, you can add some additional toppings such as bacon bits, chopped Iceberg lettuce, chicken, etc.
Is a Caesar salad healthy?
It’s a salad, so it has to be healthy, right? Well, that is not necessarily true. While it is full of lettuce, it is also full of croutons, cheese, and a delicious creamy dressing. For a healthier version of this salad, use less of the toppings and dressing.
How to make Caesar Salad recipe:
STEP ONE: First, make the croutons. Bake them until golden brown.
STEP TWO: Next, make the caesar dressing. Blend until the dressing is smooth.
STEP THREE: Finally, in a large bowl, combine the lettuce, parmesan, and dressing. Add croutons before serving.
Cook’s Tools:
- blender
- large bowl
- cutting board
- measuring cups
- Chef’s knife
- measuring spoons
- baking sheet
- whisk
The Flavor and Recipe Variations
- The Caesar Salad dressing will keep for a week in the refrigerator. We like making double batches of the dressing to use all week long on our salad.
- The croutons will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container at room temperature. We almost always make the croutons ahead of time.
- If you love the taste of anchovies in Caesar dressing, add 2 anchovy fillets to the blender when you blend up the dressing.
- During the summer we like adding grilled chicken to the salad and then stuff it into pitas for a refreshing dinner.
How much will this Caesar Salad recipe cost to make:
RECIPE COST: $5.07
PRICE PER SERVING: $0.63
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil – $0.42
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Montreal Steak Seasoning – $0.07
- 3 cups French Bread cubes – $0.48
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise – $1.07
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil – $0.14
- 2 garlic cloves – $0.10
- 1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar – $0.03
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard – $0.02
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce – $0.02
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice – $0.04
- 1/2 teaspoon salt – $0.01
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper – $0.03
- 2-3 romaine hearts – $1.98
- 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese – $0.66
To find out more about how we price our recipes, check out Budget Recipes Explained.
How long is it good for:
Serve: You can keep this Caesar Salad at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
Store: Unfortunately, a dressed salad will keep for only a couple of hours before becoming soggy and wilted.
Freeze: Unfortunately, you can’t freeze salad. Once you defrost it, it will be a wilted mess!
How to get the kids involved with this recipe:
Ages 2-3: Let your little one help assemble the salad before serving.
Ages 4-5: Have your child help put the dressing ingredients into the blender. Teach him/her how to turn on and off the blender.
Ages 6-8: Teaching proper knife safety, have your child help cut the bread into cubes. He/she can then also help prepare the bread crumbs for baking.
Ages 9-11: Supervise them while they prepare the entire recipe. Remember to have them read it twice before beginning the recipe.
Ages 12+: Let them prepare the entire recipe, unsupervised, while you do the happy dance in the corner!
Budget Tips:
Save the ends of your bread loaves in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. When you have enough, you can quickly whip up a batch of croutons.
More $5 Recipes:
- 1 Hour French Bread
- Best Homemade White Bread
- Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
- Buttermilk Sheet Pan Pancakes
- Corn Muffins
- Crock Pot Greek Yogurt
- Eggs Benedict Breakfast Braid
- English Muffin Pizzas
- French Toast with Blueberry Syrup
- Grilled Potatoes in Foil
- Instant Pot Corn on the Cob
- Refried Beans
- Instant Pot Spaghetti
- Leftover Turkey Barley Soup
- Oven Roasted Potatoes
- Overnight French Toast
- Panda Express Chow Mein
- Pizza Grilled Cheese
- Red Velvet Buttermilk Waffles
- Vanilla Candied Bacon
Caesar Salad without Anchovies
Recipe Cost 5.07 Serving Cost 0.85Equipment
- blender
- large bowl
- cutting board
- measuring cups
- chef's knife
- Measuring spoons
- baking sheet
- whisk
Ingredients
CROUTONS:
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon seasoning salt like Mrs. Dash or Montreal Steak Seasoning
- 3 cups French bread cubes
CAESAR SALAD DRESSING:
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
FOR THE CAESAR SALAD:
- 2 - 3 romaine hearts about 20 ounces total, cut crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slices, rinsed, and dried very well (8 to 9 lightly pressed cups)
- ⅓ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
MAKE CROUTONS:
- Move the oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 425 degrees F.
- In a large bowl whisk together olive oil and seasoning salt.
- Add bread cubes and toss until the bread cubes are coated in the oil mixture.
- Place the bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake the bread crumbs until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes, stirring halfway through baking.
MAKE CAESAR DRESSING:
- Add all of the Caesar dressing ingredients into a blender. Blend until the dressing is smooth and incorporated.
TO FINISH:
- In a large bowl, toss together romaine, Parmesan, and dressing. Add croutons and serve.
Hanna says
Ceaser salad is a favorite at our house! Even my 6 year old loves it. I haven’t ever tried to make it from scratch. I’m excited to try this!
LIsalia says
The perfect salad to accompany our dinner. We were able to make SO MUCH of it compared to the small amount that comes in the grocery store kits. LOVED the dressing especially. It didn’t taste as “sharp” as store bought kit dressing. The best depth of flavor and loved by everyone – young to old!