Craving a classic, velvety caesar dressing on fresh, crisp greens? This easy, homemade, gluten-free recipe beats any restaurant version. It uses simple ingredients, safe for a GF diet, with perfectly-balanced rich flavor. Toss that creamy goodness with fresh torn romaine, parmesan, and crunchy gluten-free croutons for a dinner or side option you’ll want to make on repeat.
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Homemade Gluten-Free Caesar To End All Searches
When making a classic caesar salad gluten-free, there’s a few components I wanted to nail during recipe testing. The first one was easy. I’ve been using this toasty herbed gluten-free crouton recipe as the chef’s kiss on my favorite gluten-free salad recipes, so that was an easy one to cross off the list.
The next important piece? A gluten-free caesar dressing that not only uses simple ingredients, but a process that is quick and easy. I like an eggless dressing for ease, plus using mayo ensures a thick consistency.
You may even question the thickness once you are done combining the dressing, but I got you. It coats the lettuce in a nice velvety glaze, especially when the leaves are well dried. I recommend tossing the homemade dressing with the romaine in a large bowl, making sure everything can move around and become well coated.
Lastly, with an egg-free gluten-free dressing it’s important to not skimp on flavor! That comes in a magic little tube – anchovy paste. If you have never used it, or are a little fearful about a strong fishy taste, please trust me! It’s the perfect balance of umami and adds a nice salty richness.
This easy GF salad idea can be used for as tasty starter, side salad, or make larger dinner portions for a chicken caesar salad, top with steak, salmon, or sometimes I like to make a batch of these 30-minute crispy gluten-free salmon patties to serve on top.
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(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)
Gluten-free caesar dressing and flavor shortcuts
There’s a couple things I have on hand when I need a caesar for a quick dinner side or for guests – anchovy paste and garlic paste. The anchovy paste can be found by canned tuna in your local grocery store. Store leftovers in your fridge and it will remind you to keep making this easy salad on the reg.
For the dressing, it’s best if the garlic is crushed finely. Instead of doing that by hand, I use another ingredient I keep on hand – garlic paste. Generally this can be found either in the spice aisle or by the produce.
Then just whisk all the ingredients in a bowl, making sure the anchovies are combining uniformly throughout the dressing.
Best way to dress a Caesar
I got this trick from waiting a lot of tables over the years. Restaurant kitchens use a large metal bowl. They place the greens in with the dressing and use a flipping motion to move the greens up and around.
If you feel like that might result in lettuce leaves all over your kitchen floor, use the large bowl, but toss with tongs or salad serving utensils. The dressing is pretty thick, so it coats the leaves better doing it like this then pouring it on top.
Don’t forget the finishing touches!
Of course you could buy gluten-free croutons, or (gasp!) go without, but I highly recommend making your own to get that honest-to-goodness classic caesar experience. I include a link to my homemade seasoned croutons in the recipe card below.
Once the salads have been divided up on dinner or side plates, be sure to top with more freshly grated parmesan, fresh ground pepper, and croutons. Epic stuff.
If you don’t end up using all the dressing, store leftovers in an airtight container or lidded jar about 3-5 days. Give it a quick whisk again before serving again.
This salad is a great make-ahead option for entertaining or meal prep. My favorite dish to serve it with is this classic GF French onion soup. Store the greens, dressing, and croutons separately until ready to enjoy. If using the homemade croutons they stay crunchy for a couple days, but can be quickly revived in the oven or air fryer if they sit longer and start to soften.
Best Way To Wash and Dry Those Greens
An easy mistake home cooks make is not drying salad greens enough before coating with dressing. Don’t let that glorious GF caesar dressing become diluted with excess water! I’m a huge fan of salad spinners to quickly make excess water disappear. Better yet? This is a task my kids never complain about helping with. It is kind of fun…
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Did you make this recipe? I love hearing from you! Leave a star rating and comment below the recipe card. It helps others when searching for recipes and I appreciate feedback from our community. You will always hear back from me! -Melissa
Classic Gluten-Free Caesar Salad (Best Dressing)
Ingredients
Gluten Free Caesar Dressing
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 2 small garlic cloves, minced , (I use garlic paste)
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste , (found by canned tuna)
- 1 teaspoon gluten free Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
Salad
- 3 small heads romaine, washed, torn, and well-dried
- 1 recipe seasoned gluten free croutons
- additional grated parmesan , for serving
Equipment
Instructions
- For the dressing, in a medium bowl place all the ingredients. Use a whisk to combine, making sure the anchovy paste is blended throughly. The dressing will be thick.½ cup mayonnaise, ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice, 2 small garlic cloves, minced , 1 teaspoon anchovy paste , 1 teaspoon gluten free Worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon dijon mustard , ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Place the wash and well-dried lettuce in a large bowl. Pour half the dressing over the top and use tongs to toss and coat the lettuce. Add the remaining amount of dressing to your liking, and toss again until the lettuce is well coated and uniformly combined.3 small heads romaine, 1 recipe seasoned gluten free croutons , additional grated parmesan
- Divide onto plates. Grate more parmesan to sprinkle on top and add croutons. Serve immediately. Makes 4 large dinner servings or 8 side servings.
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Despite my name, I am Italian and owned Italian restaurants serving Ceasar salad tableside. Real Italian restaurants never use metal bowls at tableside, we use wood. The garlic is first rubbed on the wood to infuse flavor. I just made it in bulk for myself last night. I’m sure your recipe might taste good, but for the ‘real’ thing, here’s what I do. I now make it in a blender with these ingredients, modified to taste.
1 cup cold press organic extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves of organic garlic (yes, everyone present must eat it so no one is offended!)
6 anchovies
2 large raw organic eggs
1 tsp Dijon mustard powder or 1.5 if using Dijon mustard
2 tsp gluten free Worcestershire sauce
1 juice of 1 lemon
Blend until homogenous. Store in fridge. We found it’s better to let sit for a few hours too.
This lasts 2 of us a week of large salads every night. Many guests have asked for more and the recipe over the years. Some may not like using raw eggs, but I’ve been eating it this way for over 50 years without a problem. Mayo is made from eggs, but it will modify taste in my opinion.
Buon appetito
Thanks so much, Steven, it sounds absolutely amazing! I’d love to have that experience at your restaurant!
Best,
Melissa