Who needs to buy bottled dressings when you can make Light Caesar Dressing at home in just about 5 minutes? Easy and delicious!
Before I get too deep into the recipe process, I thought I’d just lay it all out there: this is honestly the BEST caesar dressing I’ve ever had, regardless of being light or not. I really see reason to order this out anymore. It really rivals my Asian Peanut Dressing and The Best Light Ranch Dressing as my my all-time favorite.
So, let’s dive in. To anchovy or not to anchovy? I might as well address the elephant in the room first. People have very strong opinions about this, and I get it. I personally love anchovies, but I totally get that they’re not for everyone. For that reason, I’ll give you a couple of options.
Creating Depth of Flavor
If you’re afraid to use whole anchovies in your dressing, you’ll still need to supplement with an ingredient that has a deep, salty, umami flavor. Otherwise, it’s just not really a Caesar dressing. I experimented with a lot of different options, and here’s what worked for me, ranked in order of taste.
Anchovy Paste: This really does taste the best, and buying it as a paste in a tube is a good way to ensure that it will last a while in your refrigerator if you don’t use anchovies often. I promise that this doesn’t make the dressing taste fishy–just really complex.
Fish Sauce: If I could avoid it, I wanted to find a dupe that I already have around. After rummaging around in my pantry, I thought I’d try this out. If you do a lot of cooking with Asian flavors, like I do, you probably have it around, too. If not, pick up a bottle in the Asian foods section of your grocery store. It will be cheaper than anchovies and last longer. Plus, you can use it for other recipes, like Pad Thai or Thai Coconut Curry Soup (recipes coming soon!). And the best part is that I really couldn’t tell much of a difference between this and the anchovy paste
Extra Worcestershire Sauce: If you’re still not sold on the “fishy” ingredient options, you can just add more Worcestershire sauce. It won’t have quite the depth of flavor, but it will still be REALLY good Light Caesar Dressing.
Making Croutons
A proper Caesar Salad needs croutons. Of course, you can buy some at the store, but since I’m already going through the trouble to make my own dressing with real, whole ingredients, I thought I’d do the same with the salad toppings.
All I did was preheat my oven to 375 degrees, then cut my favorite low-point bread, Milton’s Thin Sliced Whole Wheat, into chunks. Spray with nonstick cooking spray, then season with salt and pepper and bake until crispy, about 5-10 minutes depending on how small you cut them. Since 1 slice of bread is only 1 Freestyle SmartPoint, I get a good amount of croutons for 1 SP.
Beyond Lettuce
One of my favorite meals of all time it a Chicken Caesar Salad, so I’ve been making them a lot with this dressing. A local restaurant around here even puts bacon in their Chicken Caesar, so I’ve been doing that as well. Salmon or shrimp would also be delicious instead of chicken.
But you don’t need to think just salad or this. It’s so creamy and tangy that it makes a great marinade for chicken or fish. You could even use it as a binder for breaded chicken. Or toss it with some cooked potatoes for a light take on potato salad.
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you make it, be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook (@litecravings) and use the hashtag #litecravingsrecipes. I sometimes miss a tag here or there, but I always check in on the hashtag. And don’t forget to add the image to your Pinterest boards!
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4.96 from 22 votes
Light Caesar Dressing
Who needs to buy bottled dressings when you can make Light Caesar Dressing at home in just about 5 minutes? Easy and delicious!
This is a great one folks, all of the zip and tang of a classic caesar salad dressing, but in a lighter style! You'll defiantly want to make this one and keep it on hand for the summer. It hits all the marks of a great salad dressing; creamy, tangy and super bright.
Caesar salad can be more nutritious with a few modifications. Consider adding more vegetables, keeping dressing portions small, making your own croutons or using another crunchy topping instead, and adding some lean protein.
The ranch is hands down America's most beloved salad dressings. It is made from a number of ingredients such as buttermilk, mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, onion, chives, salt, and pepper.
With the low saturated fat, only 11% of the DV for sodium, and just 50 calories, this is one of the healthiest Caesar dressings that still has the creamy texture you'd expect.
“This is a great option, because it won't have any added sugar or salt,” says Allers. “But the type of oil is important. Opt for olive or avocado oil over an alternative like canola or soybean oil.” These healthy oils are packed with antioxidants, and can even help lower cholesterol.
Broken down, a burger is a much better choice. Check out these salad options that are really not so healthy: Crispy chicken Caesar salad: Even before you add the salad dressing (about 200 calories), this salad can easily reach 700-plus calories, just from the crispy chicken pieces.
Some Caesar salads pack in almost two and a half times more fat than a Big Mac. Other salads would be more than 1,200 calories and over 4,300 grams of sodium, depending on where you order it. It's really good to understand exactly what's in your salad before you deem it a healthier choice. SHARE this with a friend 💛
Tip: A salad beats both pizza and pasta because you fill up on veggies, not white flour. (Note: at CPK, even the salads have around 1,000 calories, so order a half salad.)
When searching for Caesar salad dressing, you'll find a ton of variations — like eggless Caesar dressing or anchovy-free dressing (like the one in Kale Caesar Salad). There's also really good store-bought salad dressing. But this is the very best restaurant-style Caesar salad dressing.
Caesar salad was invented in the early 1920s by Caesar Cardini, an Italian chef who owned a restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico. He moved to Tijuana from California to avoid Prohibition, and it was here, on July 4th, 1924, where Caesar is believed to have invented the Caesar Salad.
Pungent but not too strong, Caesar dressing comes together easily with a lineup of common ingredients—eggs and oil (or an even easier option, mayonnaise); garlic; lemon or white wine vinegar; a splash of Worcestershire; a dollop of Dijon; and ideally, a few anchovies.
Ranch Dressing. The ranch is a salad dressing or dip made with buttermilk, salt, garlic, onions, herbs (dill, parsley, chives, etc.), and spices (mustard seeds, black pepper, paprika, etc.) ...
Caesar salad dressing comes in a few basic forms. First, some are creamy, like ranch dressing, while others are more like vinaigrette, with a visible separation of oil and water-based ingredients.
To make the dressing: Mash anchovy fillets and garlic in a large salad bowl.Add lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, egg yolk, and Worcestershire sauce; whisk until smooth and creamy. Gradually stream in olive oil while whisking constantly. Season with salt and black pepper.
Introduction: My name is Merrill Bechtelar CPA, I am a clean, agreeable, glorious, magnificent, witty, enchanting, comfortable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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