Easy Caesar salad
A creamy, garlicky Caesar dressing stirred together in two minutes, tossed with crunchy romaine, croutons and plenty of parmesan.
- 15 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $1.49 a serving
- 310 calories
Dolly says: It’s ready in 15 minutes, start to finish.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 clove garlic, finely grated
- ½ cup grated parmesan, divided
- 3 romaine lettuce, hearts
- 2 cups croutons
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp water
Each serving has about 310 calories, 7 g protein, 17 g carbs and 24 g fat, and costs about $1.49 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
- No romaine lettuce? Green leaf lettuce or iceberg lettuce or butter lettuce works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire, garlic, ¼ cup of the parmesan, the oil and pepper in a large bowl until smooth.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Dolly’s tip: Grate the garlic on the small holes of a grater so it melts into the dressing instead of biting.in the water a tablespoon at a time until the dressing pours like heavy cream.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Taste it: it should be bold and garlicky. Add a squeeze more lemon if it tastes flat.
the romaine into bite-size pieces, then it and dry it really well.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Add the romaine to the bowl and with your hands until every leaf is coated.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Dolly’s tip: Make the dressing up to 3 days ahead, but toss the salad only when you’re ready to eat so it stays crunchy.Add the croutons and the rest of the parmesan, once more, and serve right away.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
When you host a dinner, Dollop builds the menu around your guests’ allergies, works out a cooking timeline back from when everyone sits down, and puts it all on one grocery list.
