Caesar Salad Dressing & 3 Variations

This easy homemade Caesar salad dressing is delicious with any of these 3 quick and easy Caesar salad variations.

When the temperatures rise, cold and crunch salad is a perfect dinner idea.

My kids love traditional Caesar salad, but we usually serve it as a simple side dish. When I want to turn it into a full dinner option, we just add a few extras to make it more filling.

Fun Fact: We're going to be cooking an entire week of meals LIVE from the rental kitchen at our beach condo in North Myrtle Beach next month. This Caesar salad is just one of 6 easy dinners I'll be demonstrating to inspire you to do a little cooking of your own this summer.

Get all the details on the week of beach house recipes here.

In the meantime, here's everything you need to know about making the most delicious Caesar salad for dinner.

Ingredients for the Caesar Dressing

My kids love the texture of this homemade dressing so much more than the bottled kind.

Making it from scratch during our beach house trip was better than buying a prepared bottle because I used the other ingredients on the list in other recipes during the week.

• Mayonnaise
• Minced garlic
• Lime
• Dijon mustard
• Grated parmesan cheese
• Salt & Pepper

3 Caesar Salad Variations

The first two variations are the recommended dinner from our beach house meal plan.

1. Classic Caesar salad with Chicken

Toss chopped romaine lettuce with the classic Caesar salad dressing from the recipe below. Sprinkle shredded parmesan over the top and a squeeze of lemon. Top with big, chunky croutons.

For the chicken: You can use sliced grilled chicken or shredded rotisserie chicken but my new favorite is this healthy air fryer chicken that is done in 15 minutes!

2. Caesar Salad with Spicy Shrimp

Toss chopped romaine lettuce with the classic Caesar salad dressing from the recipe below. Sprinkle shredded parmesan over the top and a squeeze of lemon. Top with big, chunky croutons.

For the shrimp: Frozen shrimp are the most convenient. First, learn how to properly defrost the shrimp. Then you can cook our favorite spicy sautéed shrimp from this recipe.

3. Caesar Salad with Steak and Tomatoes

Toss chopped romaine lettuce and a pint of cherry tomatoes sliced in half with the classic Caesar salad dressing from the recipe below.

For the steak: Grilled and sliced flank steak is the best choice for beef when you're making an entree salad. Not sure how to grill the steak? This recipe is a great one.

Sprinkle shredded parmesan over the top and a squeeze of lemon.

Top with big, chunky croutons.

Continue to Content

Caesar Salad Dressing

Yield: 1 cup dressing

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

This Caesar salad dressing does not use anchovies but boosts the flavor with garlic, dijon, and fresh lime juice.

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Ingredients

• ⅓ cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic (or 1 clove minced)
• 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• ¾ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoon grated Parmesan
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 - 2 tablespoon of water

Instructions

1. Whisk all the ingredients except for the water in a mixing bowl. Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency has been reached.