My family eats Caesar dressing at an alarming rate, both on salads and as a dip for raw veggies, but most commercial Caesar is made with soybean oil, highly inflammatory and NO good for us!
Today I teach my 10-year-old daughter how to make homemade Caesar dressing since it’s a little bit tricky of a process and I need help keeping up with the family demand. You can learn along with her but be warned – I do a lot of “cheat” measuring! 🙂
Get the written recipe below!
Can’t see the video? Click to watch “Homemade Caesar Dressing” on YouTube.
No time to watch the whole video? Here are the notes!
Homemade Caesar Dressing Video Timestamps
- 0:44: Caesar dressing is a little bit trickier than Italian or ranch dressing. Today I’m going to show you and Leah how to make it!
- 1:07: When I’m using a food processor and need to chop fresh garlic I always start with that. We peel the garlic and let the food processor chop it up. (This is the type of garlic peeler Leah is using.)
- 1:22: We’re making a triple batch today. The recipe calls for one egg yolk per batch, but using two whole eggs for a triple batch will make it a little bit more pourable.
- 2:25: Caesar dressing is an emulsification (like mayonnaise) so we’re mixing eggs, seasonings and acid and then the oil gets drizzled in last while the food processor is running. You’ll be able to see the ingredients coming together as it blends!
We always move our used ingredients to the other side. That way if you get distracted, you know what you’ve used. -Mrs. Kimball
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- 3:19: I add the spices. Usually, we would add parmesan cheese to Caesar dressing, but we leave it out since Leah is sensitive to dairy.
- 3:59: I demonstrate separating eggs. We usually throw the extra whites into scrambled eggs.
- 5:19: Sometimes using all olive oil will give a bit of a bitter flavor, so I’m using about half olive oil and half avocado oil.
- 5:44: Watch as I start my emulsification! Your dressing will continue getting thicker and then become just the right dressing consistency. If you put in too much oil, the emulsification will break and the dressing will suddenly be really watery.
- 6:44: One trick for a successful emulsification is to use room temperature eggs.
- 7:34: You could use garlic powder, but fresh garlic has so many great health benefits.
- 8:38: Our dressing is done! Sometimes I think the most time consuming part is getting it in the jar!
Wish you didn’t have to feel nervous when your kids ask to use knives?
Homemade Healthy Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe
This is the measurements for a single batch, but this recipe easily doubles or triples (as we show in the video!)
Ingredients:
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 TBS lemon juice (room temperature)
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 egg yolk (room temperature)*
- 3/4 cup olive or avocado oil (I use a mixture of both) (use the code STEWARDSHIP for 10% off that olive oil!)
- 2 TBS parmesan cheese (optional)
Directions:
- Peel garlic and chop it in the food processor. (If you’re using a stick blender or whisk, chop the garlic on your own)
- Add lemon juice, vinegar, mustard powder, salt, pepper, and egg yolk and blend together.
- Drizzle in the oil while the food processor is on. Keep an eye on your dressing so you don’t accidentally add too much oil and break the emulsification!
- Stir in the parmesan cheese and enjoy!
Tip: If your emulsification breaks try whisking up another egg yolk and drizzle that in slowly just like you did with the oil.
*Note about using raw eggs: I generally only use pastured eggs from farmers I trust. Any harmful bacteria from eggs is on the shell, so if you’re concerned about it, you can wash the shell before cracking the egg. Any raw animal product does carry an inherent risk, just like the restaurant menus say, but I don’t worry about it personally. Do your research and make the decision you feel comfortable with.
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About Katie Kimball
Katie Kimball, CSME, creator of Kids Cook Real Food™ and CEO of Kitchen Stewardship®, LLC, is passionate about connecting families around healthy food. As a trusted educator and author of 8 real food cookbooks, she’s been featured on media outlets like ABC, NBC and First for Women magazine and contributes periodically on the FOX Network.
Since 2009, busy moms have looked to Katie as a trusted authority and advocate for children’s health, and she often partners with health experts and medical practitioners to stay on the cutting edge. In 2016 she created the Wall Street Journal recommended best online kids cooking course, Kids Cook Real Food™, helping thousands of families around the world learn to cook. She is actively masterminding the Kids’ Meal Revolution, with a goal of every child learning to cook.
A mom of 4 kids from Michigan, she is also a Certified Stress Mastery Educator, member of the American Institute of Stress and trained speaker through Bo Eason’s Personal Story Power.