Caesar-ish Dressing
Light, zesty and nothing the bottled stuff
I love a creamy dressing. They feel a little taboo, but when the craving strikes, a vinaigrette just won’t cut it. Caesar has an especially potent pull — but it’s a tough one, because the bottled versions are so gloopy and viscous, often packed with a long list of heavy ingredients and. Not to mention, they’re usually flat and lack the zest of a proper Caesar.
Most restaurants use the bottled stuff too, so I almost never order a Caesar salad out — but I regularly crave a damn good one. When a strong pregnancy craving for a great Caesar hit, I set out to make it myself, only to be reminded that even scratch-made versions usually rely on a fair amount of oil and raw egg yolk or a lot of mayonnaise as the base.
The Experiment
In an effort to lighten it up — so I could properly drench my romaine, crispy chicken, and pasta salad in dressing — I started playing around with a base of buttermilk, Greek yogurt, and a touch of mayo.
The result?
Creamy yet light. It drizzles beautifully, clings to lettuce, and doesn’t weigh the salad down.
From there, I added the usual suspects — anchovy paste, Dijon, Parmesan, garlic, Worcestershire — and after a quick whisk, I had a serious competitor to my favorite restaurant Caesars.
We’re calling it Caesar-ish, because while it’s not the truest form, the flavor comes very close — for half the calories and ingredients of bottled options.
Since that first test, there’s always a jar in my fridge. It makes weeknight salads, wraps, and pasta lunches ridiculously easy.
Current Obsession
Lately, I’ve been making a shaved Brussels sprout Caesar with toasted breadcrumbs and a mountain of Parm and Pecorino. It’s perfect for winter— tastes like a restaurant salad, but from the comfort of my sofa. If you skip the breadcrumbs, it is an excellent meal prep salad that will get better over the course of the week.
Ingredients
Yield: about 2 cups
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Storage: Refrigerate up to 14 days in airtight container
Ingredients
½ cup / 120 g buttermilk (pasteurized)
½ cup / 120 g Greek yogurt (I use whole milk)
¼ cup / 60 g Mayonnaise (pasteurized)
2 tsp / 12 g Anchovy paste
1½ tsp / 8 g Dijon mustard
2 tsp / 8 g Garlic, minced (pasteurized or roasted)
4 Tbsp / 32 g Grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp / 15 g Fresh lemon juice
1 tsp / 5 g Worcestershire sauce
Freshly cracked black pepper and kosher salt to taste
Instructions
In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, Greek yogurt, and mayonnaise until smooth.
Add the lemon juice, anchovy paste, Dijon mustard, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk again until fully blended.
Stir in the Parmesan cheese and season with black pepper (and salt, if needed).
Transfer to a clean jar or bottle, seal tightly, and refrigerate immediately.
Serve cold over crisp romaine, grilled chicken, or roasted vegetables.
Shake or stir before each use.
Nutritional Information (per 2 Tbsp / 30 g)
Calories: ~40 kcal
Protein: 3 g
Fat: 2 g
Carbohydrates: 1.2 g
Sugar: 1 g
Sodium: ~280 mg
Calcium: ~45 mg
(Approximate values based on USDA data.)
Notes
This is a base recipe that should absolutely be adjusted to your taste:
If you like it thicker, add more mayo.
If it’s too tangy, add a drizzle of maple syrup or honey.
Love garlic? Go wild. Prefer less anchovy? Dial it back.
That’s the beauty of homemade dressings — once you have the foundation, you can play.
This dressing will last up to two weeks in the fridge if stored properly.
Use roasted garlic instead of raw and pasteurized dairy/mayo for the best shelf life.
Why I Use Metric
We’ve added metric units because weighing ingredients on a kitchen scale is faster and so much cleaner.
I started doing this when I began baking bread last winter, and it’s been a game changer — just tare the scale between each ingredient and skip the measuring spoons entirely.
We hope you enjoy this dressing as much as we have! Stay tuned for for a dairy-free version and a cleaned-up Blue Cheese dressing up next!
xx Chelsea