This Caesar Salad recipe can be quick, delicious, and economical if you know how to make the right tweaks. I’ll show you how in this easy Caesar Salad recipe.
This is a great dish to serve with Goat Cheese Pizza.
Sure, those salad kits and pre-made boxes of Caesar Salad are easy, but they’re not cheap and they’re not all that good.
Making your own Caesar Salad at home seriously takes just a few minutes and the result is a delicious, crisp, tangy salad that is the perfect accompaniment to your favorite main dishes.
It’s also pretty good all on its own, especially if you add a hard cooked egg, some grilled chicken, or a sliced avocado. I should know. Me and Caesar Salad go way back.
When we got married over 20 years ago, restaurants were at the height of the Caesar Salad craze. Now, I know that Caesar Salad never truly goes out of style. But, in the early 90s every restaurant had a signature Caesar Salad recipe. Every. restaurant.
And it’s a good thing, too, ’cause we loved it. There are many delicious caesar salad recipes filed away in my memory bank. The one that we ordered every time we went to California Pizza Kitchen while we were dating. The chicken caesar salad from Taffy’s Pizza that we usually got after church back in our Santa Barbara days. The salad I usually ate when I finished waiting tables at Brigitte’s.
And the delicious, hand-crafted-at-your-table version that we enjoyed the first days of our honeymoon when we forgot our travel money at home and lived for two days on $40. One of our first “make-do” moments of marriage.
That’s us on our early honeymoon in San Luis Obispo, circa 1994. (Luckily we stopped back at home for some cash before heading to France for two weeks!) Yes, I’ve got lots of memories wrapped around the iconic Caesar salad recipe that was created on a spur-of-the-moment in Tijuana almost 100 years ago. Thankfully, early in our marriage I found some inexpensive alternatives to restaurant caesar salad, delicious though it may be. At first I relied on bottled varieties, but the best Caesar Salad recipe is the one you make yourself at home.
Does Caesar Salad Have Anchovies?
Yes traditionally Caesar salad does have anchovies. This particular Caesar Salad recipe is a trimmed down version. It’s the one I made most often when we were fighting debt and had little kids. It has no expensive anchovy paste and no raw egg. This means it’s light, simple, and very inexpensive to make. If you want a frugal, but creamier version, check out this Chicken Caesar Salad recipe.)
Is Caesar Salad Bad For You?
Caesar salad can get a bad rap because of the cheese, croutons, and creamy dressing it’s covered in. This version though is a less creamy version, so it’s lighter in calories!
What Goes With Caesar Salad?
You could eat this on its own for a nice light dinner. We served this with my easy lasagne recipe with basil and chives.
How to make this good and cheap:
Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. Parmesan is the high ticket item here. Buy it when you find it on sale. I buy big blocks of it at Costco for a cheap price. I also use Asiago or Romano if they are cheaper.
- Make your own dressings. I’m sure you’ve got plenty of salad recipes that call for bottled dressing. Those bottles are either way too expensive or full of junk. Make your own and save money.
- Make your own croutons. Do not waste money on boxed croutons when you can make your own for pennies.
Tools I use to make this recipe easy:
This is a pretty straight-forward dish. You don’t need any fancy equipment. However, having some good basic kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs. Here are the tools that I like to use in this recipe.
- plastic cutting boards – I have blue boards for veggies and white boards for meat.
- Ergo Chef chef’s knife – I’ve had my set for several years and they work well.
- salad spinner – I have this one and love the salad bowl bottom.
- cooking tongs – I use these all the time for cooking in a skillet.
Easy Caesar Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lemon (juiced)
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ cup olive oil
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 head romaine lettuce washed, torn into bite-sized pieces, and chilled until ready to serve
- 3 oz Parmesan cheese (shredded) (¾ cup)
- 1 cup croutons
Instructions
- In a small glass jar or bowl combine the lemon juice and garlic. Blend well. Add the olive oil and shake or whisk well to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
- In a large salad bowl, place the lettuce and toss with the dressing. Sprinkle on cheese and croutons, toss again.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. Parmesan is the high ticket item here. Buy it when you find it on sale. I buy big blocks of it at Costco for a cheap price. I also use Asiago or Romano if they are cheaper.
- Make your own dressings. I’m sure you’ve got plenty of salad recipes that call for bottled dressing. Those bottles are either way too expensive or full of junk. Make your own and save money.
- Make your own croutons. Do not waste money on boxed croutons when you can make your own for pennies.
Nutrition
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