Caesar Salad Supreme

Caesar Salad Supreme

Last updated: July 2026 · 2 min read

A proper Caesar is a meal, not a side dish. This one earns it with a thick anchovy-and-garlic dressing and croutons fried in garlic oil — the kind of salad you eat with a fork and a piece of crusty bread, not one you pick at.

It also skips the raw egg yolk that makes most people avoid homemade Caesar dressing. Mayonnaise does the emulsifying, so the dressing keeps in the fridge for up to three days and there’s nothing to worry about serving it to guests.

Total time is 35 minutes, most of it hands-off while the dressing rests. Make the dressing first — the garlic needs those twenty minutes to stop being sharp.

At a glance

  • Prep: 20 minutes
  • Cook: 15 minutes
  • Total: 35 minutes
  • Serves: 6

Ingredients

For the dressing

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¾ cup mayonnaise
  • 5 anchovy fillets, minced
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice, plus more to taste
  • Salt and ground black pepper

For the croutons and salad

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, quartered
  • 4 cups day-old sourdough or ciabatta, cut into ¾-inch cubes
  • 1 large head romaine (about 10 oz), torn into bite-size pieces
  • 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Directions

  1. Make the dressing. Stir the minced garlic, mayonnaise, anchovies, 2 tablespoons of Parmesan, Worcestershire, mustard and lemon juice together in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then taste — it should be sharp enough to make you blink. Cover and refrigerate at least 20 minutes so the garlic mellows.
  2. Flavor the oil. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the quartered garlic and cook, stirring, until golden and fragrant, 2–3 minutes. Fish the garlic out and discard it — leave it in and it burns.
  3. Fry the croutons. Add the bread cubes to the hot oil and cook, turning often, until crisp and lightly browned on all sides, 6–8 minutes. Move them to a plate and season with salt and pepper while they’re still hot.
  4. Toss and serve. Put the romaine in a large bowl, add the dressing a spoonful at a time and toss until every leaf is lightly coated. Add the remaining Parmesan and the croutons, toss once more, and serve straight away — the croutons soften fast.

Make it a training meal

As written, this is a rich salad rather than a high-protein one. Add a sliced grilled chicken breast per serving — roughly 35 more grams of protein — and it becomes a genuine post-workout meal. Grilled shrimp or flaked salmon work the same way.

Nutrition

Per serving, without add-ins: 384 calories, 33.5g fat, 16.3g carbohydrates, 5.8g protein, 18mg cholesterol, 549mg sodium.

 

Back to blog