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Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing: No Mayo

February 22, 2022   18 Comments

My homemade Caesar salad dressing with no mayo was created out of necessity. (I was out of mayo).

Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing: No Mayo

But, it turns out to be much lighter and still delicious without mayo or egg yolks! I also make a salad dressing all the time without mayo - check out DIY Salad Dressing.

My favorite salad that I will order out is Caesar salad. It is one of those salads that works with grilled chicken because of the saltiness of the dressing.

Usually, when you order an average Caesar you are consuming many calories (for a salad) which is not a problem unless you are replacing a burger with this salad and think you are being virtuous.

This salad does not have a halo. Until now.

The magic of this dressing is anchovy paste:

I found this box next to the anchovies and above the tuna in your supermarket. Buy yourself a tube and you will have the key ingredient in making this lighter dressing truly taste like Caesar. I believe it cost me about $3.50 and will work for many, many salads.

You can also add anchovy paste to your homemade pasta sauce such as How to Make Homemade Marinara Sauce in 20 Minutes for a depth of flavor without any added fishiness. Add a teaspoon instead of salt and see how it pops!

I know that Romaine lettuce was contaminated before Christmas with E. Coli but it is now considered okay to eat. They tossed out all the lettuce and hopefully we won't have another problem. I buy whole Romaine hearts, chop them up roughly, and wash and rinse them in my salad spinner.

What makes this dressing work is using Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise for the creaminess. I did add 1 tablespoon of olive oil so that it wouldn't taste too flat without any fat. It works!

Have you made homemade Caesar dressing without mayo? What do you put in it?

Lighter Caesar Salad Dressing

3.3 from 54 reviews

Makes ½ cup

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Ingredients

1/3 cup plain Greek fat-free yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

Whisk yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, anchovy paste, mustard, and black pepper in a medium bowl. Use immediately or store for later use in the refrigerator.

Nutrition Facts

One tablespoon is 26 calories, 2.7 g fat, 0.0 g saturated fat, 1.0 g carbohydrates, 0.8 g sugar, 1.3 g protein, 4.0 g fiber, 65 mg sodium, 2 Green, 1 Blue, 1 Purple Smart Point

Points values are calculated by Snack Girl and are provided for information only. See all Snack Girl Recipes

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18 Comments:

Believe me when I tell you that I was there in the very restaurant where this Caesar salad originated. In Juarez Mexico, Mr. Caesar Cardini who was an Italian immigrant had a restaurant. Although the recipe given here is close it is not authentic. One or two egg yolk were used from coddled eggs. In the old days they used raw egg yolks. Anchovy fillets were used, not paste. (They take the place of using salt). Don't worry they get mixed with the egg and other ingredients and never taste or smell fishy. The garlic was never crushed. It was peeled and rubbed around the inside of the salad bowl. Use the other ingredients and never use vinegar, always lemon. Parmesan cheese was grated on top. This is a delicious salad that my father would always order. It is easy to make at home and you *don't need* that bottled stuff, sour cream, mustard or mayonnaise.

I've been looking for a Caesar Salad Dressing recipe using anchovy paste instead of whole anchovies for so long! Unfortunately, I don't like yogurt (that is a big problem for me when it comes to a lot of the new WW recipes I find). Is there anything you would suggest as a substitute? I would really like to try this out. Thank you.

Caesar salad dressing never has mayo in it. I’ve been making it for over 30 years and wouldn’t ever put mayo in it! It has olive oil and a second oil of your choice, plus all the other goodies. Anchovies, lemon juice, garlic, Dijon mustard, an egg and red wine vinegar.

Thanks for the tip. I make this exact same recipe but with the mayo - now I will try this lighter version. I agree the anchovy paste is one of the key ingredients

@Kim - If I was going to skip the yogurt, then I would add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and it would be great - but not a creamy type of dressing -more of a viniagrette. That would also change the SmartPoints BUT it would be delicious. Thanks for your question!

I make this and it's delicious! The only other Caesar bottled dressing I use is Ken's light Caesar. It's low in calories and high in taste as well but this recipe is the bomb!!

I use soft tofu & all other ingredients & make in blender

I agree with IFortuna and others -- never any mayo, and if you have a mortar and pestle that's just the thing to smash the anchovies into a paste. Also, I used to use raw egg, but spoke with 'Egg Beaters' company and was told their product is pasteurized so it's fine to use as the raw egg substitute. Now if we could only be unconcerned about e-coli and romaine lettuce!

Snack Girl you never fail to amaze me! What a great recipe can't wait to try it. Also enjoyed reading about the birth of Caesar dressing :-) Happy New Year Everyone~

I've been making this salad dressing since the 1980s! It first came out in either Gourmet Magazine or Bon Appétit, I can't remember which. And more recently Jamie Oliver brought it out. Thanks for reminding me of it. It's great, and to the person who doesn't like yogurt, I wonder if you could use fat-free sour cream. In any event, after you add all the ingredients, it doesn't taste like yogurt; it tastes like Caesar Salad dressing. Yum!

Thank you, Snack Girl and Cyndy, for your suggestions!

To all of you saying you don't use mayo, but then say you use egg and oil in your ingredients, THAT is the same as mayo!

For this, Lisa! I have been making Caesar dressing for years with everything in this recipe except for Worcestershire sauce and yogurt. This will really make it good. And I was scared of the anchovy paste for a long time, but it really is the secret ingredient. I make the croutons by making a piece of toast and when it’s nice and crispy, brushing it with a little olive oil, rubbing a clove of garlic over it on both sides, cutting it into croutons and shaking it in a bag with Parmesan while it’s still warm. Very fun and a crowd pleaser.

This is a wonderful caesar dressing and one I would use if not vegan 4yrs now. That said, I made a very close version with firm tofu, 1cup raw cashews [fat], juice of 1 lemon plus 1/2tsp zest, 2 garlic cloves, 1Tbs capers [briny saltiness] and black pepper - into hi-sp blender. I throw this on a bed of chopped green cabbage, various vegs on hand and garlicky croutons. Delightful supper!

★★★★★

This is the best swap for the full fat version of a recipe I have ever had. Don't miss the mayo at all. My kids love it. I make a container in the beginning of the week and use it all week. The longer it sits the better it tastes as well!! Thank you for this recipe.

★★★★★

Wow… I was a bit skeptical but this recipe was on the mark. It was rich and creamy and was absolutely delicious. The only change I ,add was to decrease the Worcester sauce to 1t. Many thanks for sharing

I was taught how to make Caesar salad by a top chef back in 1976 and no self respecting chef would ever use mayo in a true Caesar. It uses egg ( coddled) and olive oil along with the other ingredients and it is made creamy by emulsifying the egg and oil. The lecithin in the egg keeps the dressing from separating.

Nope

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