Greek Yogurt Caesar Salad Dressing (Without Anchovies!)
Greek Yogurt Caesar Salad Dressing is a delicious dressing made with basic ingredients that even little kids will love – no whole anchovies or raw egg yolks here. Master this easy homemade Caesar dressing recipe, and you can cut out store-bought dressing for good!
Caesar salad is the all-time favorite salad in my house. My husband and kids love it, which means it gets served a lot. Probably about three times a week. When your kids are asking for seconds and thirds of salad, you make that salad available frequently, am I right?
My only misgiving about serving Caesar on repeat was the store-bought dressing. I like to avoid highly processed ingredients in my diet when possible, and there are not a lot of good choices at my local grocery store for healthy Caesar salad dressing. Thus began the challenge of making a homemade dressing that my whole family would love, with ingredients that I would feel good about.
My kids are always home when I’m cooking dinner, so I wasn’t going to get away with any of the “gross” ingredients in authentic Caesar dressing, like raw eggs or anchovy fillets. Even anchovy paste got some major side eye. Thankfully, after many tests, we created this delicious creamy dressing made with simple ingredients that is our new family favorite. All it takes is a couple of swirls in your food processor for a classic creamy Caesar dressing. Making your own salad dressing doesn’t get much easier than that!
This easy Caesar dressing is made with protein-packed Greek yogurt, instead of a mayonnaise base. It is full of classic Caesar flavor from olive oil, Dijon mustard, fresh Parmesan cheese, garlic cloves, fresh lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Serve it with a bed of crisp romaine lettuce and some homemade croutons for a perfect traditional Caesar salad, or spice it up with some blackened chicken for a delicious main dish Blackened Chicken Caesar Salad! Maybe make my all-time favorite lunch, arugula Caesar salad with crispy BBQ chickpeas. However you serve it, I know this will become one of your favorite salad dressings.
You Will Love This
- This creamy Caesar salad dressing is made with simple whole food ingredients and nothing yucky – no mayo, anchovies, or raw eggs. It’s a great option for kids, and for pregnant women who are craving a great Caesar salad.
- This recipe tastes so much better than store-bought Caesar dressings! It’s bound to become one of your go-to recipes for homemade salad dressing.
Ingredients
Gather up your ingredients. For this simple homemade Caesar salad dressing, you will need:
- Greek yogurt: I recommend full fat yogurt for this dressing. I used 5% Fage.
- Fresh garlic clove: You can substitute 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder if you don’t like fresh garlic.
- Dijon mustard
- Fresh lemon juice
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Fresh-grated Parmesan cheese: Fresh-grated high quality cheese gives this recipe tons of great flavor. I shredded the cheese on the large holes of a box grater before adding to my food processor.
- Milk: I used 2% milk, but you could also use skim milk, or half-and-half for a little richer dressing.
- Worcestershire sauce: This is a key ingredient to give the dressing a little bit of that rich anchovy flavor, without the anchovies.
Top Tips
I tested this recipe many times to find the perfect dressing. Here are my top tips for getting it just right:
- Use a food processor or blender. I tried to make this with just a whisk in a bowl, using finely grated Parmesan, and it just didn’t have the same creamy texture and deep umami flavor that comes from getting the cheese really well blended into the dressing.
- Use full fat yogurt. I tried this dressing with nonfat yogurt and 2% yogurt. The full fat yogurt was the best way to get a rich and creamy final product that really tastes like the real deal. It’s not the absolute healthiest option, but it’s definitely an improvement, and I feel good serving this to my family.
Instructions
Step One: Add garlic clove, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, olive oil and Parmesan cheese to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse for 15-20 seconds until fully combined, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.
Step Two: Add yogurt, milk, salt and pepper to the food processor. Process for about 15 more seconds, until the dressing is thick and creamy. If you prefer a thinner dressing, add additional milk a tablespoon at a time.
Storage
This dressing will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge. It will thicken back up to a yogurt-like consistency after refrigeration. To use it as a dressing, just thin it out with a couple teaspoons of milk before serving. The thickened-up dressing is also great served as a dip for veggies! Serve this with some carrot sticks, peppers or cherry tomatoes for a healthy after-school snack.
Greek Yogurt Caesar Salad Dressing (Without Anchovies!)
Ingredients
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh-grated Parmesan cheese
- 5 ounces full-fat Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add garlic clove, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, olive oil and Parmesan cheese to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse for 15-20 seconds until fully combined, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add yogurt, milk, salt and pepper to the food processor. Process for about 15 more seconds, until the dressing is thick and creamy. If you prefer a thinner dressing, add additional milk a tablespoon at a time.
Our favorite Caesar dressing. The yogurt gives makes it nice and thick and creamy.