Before this recipe, I had never made a Caesar Salad Dressing recipe from scratch that was all that special. There are an abundance of Caesar Salad Dressing recipes online, so it wasn’t that I couldn’t find one.
The problem was I couldn’t find a clean and healthy one.
Let’s just say, this Caesar Salad Dressing recipe is a high notch above the standard restaurant versions. And it certainly beats those supermarket Caesar Salad kits!
Making a Healthy Caesar Salad Dressing recipe
A classic Caesar Salad Dressing, such as Julia Child’s version, calls for raw egg yolks, which I am really not a fan of. I have nothing at all against eggs (although I only buy pasture-raised), but I just can’t help but worry about salmonella. However, you can’t just leave the egg yolks out of this dressing. You need to replace them with something.
Of course there are plenty of no-egg Caesar Salad Dressing recipes online too, but inevitably they replace the egg with store-bought mayonnaise.
Homemade Mayo to the Rescue
Since I could never find a clean store-bought mayonnaise brand, I had just nixed the idea of making a Caesar Salad Dressing recipe for years. But for years, I have wanted to find a delicious Caesar Salad dressing and this week I was determined to revisit how to make a clean Caesar Salad Dressing.
However, if you’re looking for a clean mayo version, try my homemade Egg-Free Mayo recipe.
Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe – No Mayo/ No Eggs / No Refined Oil
I decided to substitute the egg in a conventional recipe for superfood hemp seeds. And believe it or not, pureeing the hemp seeds delivers the rich, creamy texture I was going for.
It also made the perfect substitute for the eggs and mayo. You do need a high-speed blender to puree the hemp seeds fully, but the recipe itself is incredibly easy. And it is seriously SO good.
Homemade Gluten Free Croutons
Of course, we can’t have a delicious ceasar salad dressing recipe without also telling you our secret to gluten free croutons.
Homemade croutons are beyond easy to make and they really do wonders for making recipes for dinner salads extra special. You can pretty much use any bread you like, although my favorite is Canyon Bakehouse’s Gluten Free Whole Grain or 7 Grain. Get a $1.00 off coupon here!
All you have to do to make the croutons is use kitchen shears to remove the crusts and cut the bread into small bite-sized pieces. Then toss the bread pieces with extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil, spread them out on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt and toast in a 425 degree oven for about 12 minutes, or until just crispy.
A Perfect Dressing Storage Container
This salad dressing storage container is a clean cuisine favorite. We use it for most of our salad dressings and love how it pours easily. You can purchase it from Pampered Chef by clicking here. We have two in our fridge — one filled with a creamy dressing like this caesar salad dressing recipe and another with an olive oil based dressing like this homemade turmeric dressing.
Clean Caesar Salad Dressing
Clean Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe is creamy and delicious. You won’t even believe that this homemade caesar dressing with no mayo.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad Dressing
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: Greek
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 2–3 whole garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon organic, gluten free Worcestershire
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds, such as organic Manitoba Harvests
- Unrefined sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Optional: 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste, Amare brand is best (leave this out if you want it to be 100% vegan)
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a and process until smooth and creamy.
Note: Dressing will keep in refrigerator for 3 to 4 days if stored in a covered container.
Do You Wish You Could Get Your Child to Love Salad?
I realize the average kid is probably not going to be all that excited over my Caesar Salad Dressing recipe, much less the Romaine lettuce it is meant to dress. But I firmly believe a child’s food preferences can be shaped by their first bites and the foods they was raised to eat.
If you are struggling to get your child to eat vegetables, salads, fruits and other healthy foods, I highly recommend the book, First Bite: How We Learn to Eat (Basic Books, 2015). Author Bee Wilson, is an award-winning food writer who draws on the latest research from food psychologists, neuroscientists, and nutritionists to reveal how our food habits and food preferences are formed and…most importantly, how they can be changed.
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Click this link to sign up, you can get an extra $20 off your first purchase.
Haley says
Delicious! I’ve tried a lot of different home made Caesar dressing and this one is delicious and I don’t feel guilty about any of the ingredients!
Can it freeze and be stored?
Thanks for the great recipe!
★★★★★
Aimee Harris Niedosik says
Thank you Haley for letting us know. I have not put the dressing in the freezer before, but if you do – please let us know how it turns out and we can update the recipe notes! 🙂
jennylharris@hotmail.com says
Perfect!
★★★★★
Maddy says
Are the hemp seeds shelled? Can I use hemp hearts instead?
Ivy Larson says
Hi Maddy! Yes, you can definitely use Hemp Hearts. Please let me know how it turns out if you make it =)
Karen says
Why is the worescher sauce needed? They soy ingredients are so not good for you. Can this be eliminated or substitute for something else?
Ivy Larson says
Hi Karen, I’m so sorry I am just now getting back to you. I agree, Worcestershire sauce is not exactly a “superfood”, but an organic version is not the worst thing in the world either, especially considering you are only using a very small amount (which gives a LOT of flavor). Here are the ingredients in Annie’s organic brand I recommend: water, *Apple Cider Vinegar, *Molasses, *Soy Sauce (Water, *Soybean, Salt, *Wheat, *Alcohol), *Cane Sugar, *Tamarind, Sea Salt, *Cornstarch, Xanthan Gum, *Garlic, *Onion, *Clove, *Chili Pepper.
As for soy, there is a LOT of confusion over soy but as long as you are taking “whole” soy (and not soybean oil, soy protein isolate, soy isoflavones, etc) and as long as you do not have a food sensitivity/ allergy to soy then it is actually a very healthy and “clean” source of protein. Here’s a great article by Dr. Furhman explaining more: https://www.drfuhrman.com/library/eat-to-live-blog/137/dont-fall-for-the-myths-about-soy
I hope this helps?
Mel says
This is not vegan, as Worcestershire has fish in it. Do you have another one without Worcestershire sauce?
Ivy Larson says
Hi Mel, Thanks so much for commenting, but the Worcestershire brand I recommend, Annie’s, actually is vegan. You can read the ingredients here: http://www.annies.com/products/condiments-sauces/organic-vegan-worcestershire-sauce
Linh says
Delicious! I was pleasantly surprised how easy and good this was. Will not go back to store bought jars.
Ivy Larson says
oh so good to know you like it so much Linh =) Thank you for taking the time to let me know!