If you’re searching for the best Caesar dressing, this is it. Johnny B’s Caesar Dressing is my dad’s viral, tried-and-true homemade Caesar dressing recipe that our family has been making for over 20 years. It’s rich, creamy, garlicky, zesty, and perfectly salty — everything a classic Caesar dressing should be. I order a side Caesar everywhere I go (research 😅), and nothing compares to this one. Once you try it, you’ll understand why this homemade Caesar dressing is always in our fridge.
This is one of those recipes that just lives in our fridge because it always delivers. It’s been made for weeknight dinners, big family gatherings, and everything in between, and somehow it never gets old. My dad has been making this Caesar dressing for as long as I can remember, and it’s the reason I judge every restaurant Caesar so harshly. Want more homemade dressings and dips? Try my Homemade Ranch Dip, Barone House Dressing, or Dill Dip.
😍 Why You’ll Love This Homemade Caesar Dressing
Family classic: This is my dad’s recipe — a true staple that’s been on our table for over 20 years and never gets old.
The best Caesar dressing: It’s rich, creamy, garlicky, zesty, and salty in all the right ways. The kind of Caesar that ruins restaurant versions for you.
Made with real ingredients: Just quality mayo, Parmigiano-Reggiano, fresh lemon, garlic, and that classic anchovy depth.
Quick and reliable: Comes together in minutes, tastes consistent every single time, and always delivers.
🥗 Ingredients To Make This Homemade Caesar Dressing Recipe
Mayonnaise: is the rich, creamy base that gives this Caesar dressing its signature body and smooth texture.
Yellow mustard: adds a subtle tang and helps balance the richness of the mayo.
Anchovy paste: is the classic Caesar ingredient that brings deep, savoury umami without tasting fishy. Use paste rather than whole anchovies. It makes it much easier and the flavour is 10/10.
Worcestershire sauce: adds complexity and that unmistakable salty-sweet depth Caesar dressing is known for.
Garlic: minced for a bold, punchy flavour that gives this dressing its garlicky backbone.
Lemon juice: fresh and bright, it cuts through the richness and keeps the dressing balanced.
Lemon zest: boosts the citrus notes and adds a fresh, fragrant lift.
Parmigiano-Reggiano: finely grated for salty, nutty richness that melts right into the dressing. Be sure to use a high-quality imported Parmigiano-Reggiano from Italy. The cheese makes all the difference in this recipe and anything else won’t taste as good.
Black pepper: adds gentle heat and rounds out all the flavours.
✔ How To Make Johnny B’s Caesar Dressing
To begin, grab a medium mixing bowl and add all of your ingredients: the mayonnaise, yellow mustard, anchovy paste, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and black pepper.
Whisk really well for about 1–2 minutes, until the dressing is smooth, creamy, and fully combined. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed, then pour over chopped romaine lettuce and croutons, toss to coat, and enjoy.
🗒 Variations
Less garlicky: I use 4 large garlic cloves because I loooove me some garlic, but feel free to scale down the garlic and use 2 large cloves if you aren’t the biggest fan.
More zesty: Increase the lemon zest slightly or add an extra squeeze of lemon juice to brighten things up.
Ultra-creamy: Add a tablespoon or two more mayonnaise for a richer, thicker consistency.
🗒 Substitutions
Fresh lemon: Bottled lemon juice will work if needed, but fresh juice and zest really make this homemade Caesar dressing shine.
🍴 Leftovers? Lucky you.
If you’ve got leftover Johnny B’s Caesar Dressing, store it in a mason jar or any airtight container in the fridge. It keeps well for up to 7 days. Let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before using, then give it a good shake or stir before using.
🤔 FAQ’S
Can I make this Caesar dressing ahead of time?
Yes. This dressing actually gets better after a few hours in the fridge as the flavours meld.
Does this taste fishy because of the anchovy paste?
Not at all. The anchovy paste melts into the dressing and adds savoury depth without any obvious fish flavour. It just tastes like a really good Caesar dressing.
What kind of mayonnaise works best?
Use a full-fat, good-quality mayonnaise. This is a rich dressing, and lower-fat versions will change both the texture and flavour.
Can I use pre-grated parmesan?
I don’t recommend it. Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano melts into the dressing and gives it that salty, nutty flavour. Pre-grated cheeses won’t blend as smoothly and won’t taste as good.
How long does it last in the fridge?
Stored in an airtight container, it will keep well in the fridge for up to 7 days.
👩🏻🍳 Hungry For More?
If you loved this homemade caesar dressing recipe, then make sure to check out a few of my other favourite recipes you may also love:
- Homemade Ranch Dip
- Dill Dip
- Caesar Pasta Salad
- Spicy Caesar Dressing
- Best Chicken Marinade
- Golden Citrus Chicken Marinade
- Barone House Dressing
💌 Let’s Stay Connected
Keep in touch with me on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Pinterest! If you do make this homemade caesar dressing recipe (or any recipe of mine) don’t forget to leave a review.
Johnny B’s Caesar Dressing
Ingredients
- 1½ cups mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 1 tbsp anchovy paste
- 1 tbsp + 1/4 tsp worcestershire
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1¼ cup parmigiano-reggiano, finely grated
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk all ingredients except the parmigiano-reggiano until smooth and well combined. Once the base is creamy, gently stir in the parmigiano-reggiano until everything has been thoroughly combined.
- Refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How long can this dressing be stored in the fridge?
Hi Tyra! Up to a week is fine!
I will never buy another Caesar dressing again- wonderful punch of flavor and home made is always the BEST! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe ❤️
11/10! We had a really similar dressing growing up but we lost the family recipe card. I subbed Dijon for Yellow mustard and halved the recipe overall. Can’t wait for Caesar salad again later this week.
Hi Deana – WOO! I love it! So glad you enjoyed the dressing and thank you for the review!
You wouldn’t think it, but the mayo works! this is by far the best Caesar dressing recipe I’ve ever had or made. It is the hit of the party every time I make it, and it is often requested. I also found that you can freeze this dressing, which is fantastic, it holds up well, so you can have some on hand in a pinch. If you’re on the fence, just try it trust me.
BEST CAESAR EVER! I’ll start be saying, I love Caesar salads. AND very picky about the dressing. I’m sorry but I have yet to find a store bought Caesar dressing that rivals homemade. This was so simple to make. Wonderful topped grilled shrimp or chicken. I could put this particular dressing on cardboard and it would be terrific. Soooo, so good!!!!!
Hi Page! Oh I LOVE IT! Thank you for this review, SO happy you made it, and loved it!
I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious. Its the only ceasar dressing I’m making from now on👌
Hi Sammy! Love love this recipe but for some reason mines very thick
Just wondering what I can use to thin it I don’t want to ruin the taste. 😊
Hi Tina! The dressing is certainly thick. Once you mix it with lettuce it works well. Should you want it thinner, you can add a small splash of water, or a bit more lemon juice. Hope this helps. -Sammy
The absolute best and I always order Caesar salad in high end restaurants but your was the absolute best I have ever had ..I love live love it !!
Hi Laura, I am so glad you love the dressing. Its my favourite also! Thanks for leaving a great review.
– Sammy
Want to make this today and don’t have yellow mustard. I only have brown spicy mustard and Dijon mustard.
Will any of those work?
Sub for dijon mustard and it will be so good!
What can I use in place of Worcestershire sauce?👀
Hi Nessa, I would simply leave the Worcestershire out of the recipe. Alternatively you can try 1/8 of a tsp of soy sauce.
Hope this helps! -Sammy
Can you substitute anchovy??
I would add a few tbsp of capers if you can’t use anchovy!
Anoly other options besides capers and anchovies?
Hello! What brand of mayo do you use for this recipe? I can’t wait to make this!
Hi Susan, Hellmans is the mayo I use!
Made this today, in fridge right now melding until dinner. Hoping it’s as good as described by all the reviews. Only thing I’m not sure of is the yellow mustard. Turned it yellow never had yellow Caesar dressing before. Fingers crossed.
I ❤️ a good Caesar dressing, however anchovy can be overwhelming to me. Does using anchovy paste reduce the intensity of the anchovy’s? I can’t wait to try this though…. Thank you!
Hi Cristin, if you can’t use anchovy, you could ask add a few tablespoons of capers and blend it all really well. This will give it a more subtle flavour. You could also reduce the amount of anchovy paste you add. Hope this helps.
Made this spontaneously and it was the best. I had all the ingredients in the fridge except for anchovy paste. It was delicious and very easy.
Hi Joanne, thank you for taking the time to leave a review! So happy you enjoyed it!!
This dressing is absolutely BEYOND YUM!!! Never buying it again!! So easy to make also! Thank you for this, Sammy!!!!
Hi Vanessa! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review! So happy you love it!!
Your salad dressing has been a huge hit at my family gatherings! Thank you for sharing it.
Your salad dressing has been a huge hit at my family gatherings. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Melissa, that is SO awesome to hear. I am so happy you all enjoyed it!
Love all your recipes and this doesn’t disappoint!
Hi Jess! Thank you SO much!
It’s 🔥! And comes together in a 🫰. So creamy and delicious. Each day it keeps getting better. Make it! You won’t be disappointed.
LOVE THIS COMMENT and couldn’t agree more! Thanks Linda! xo
This was amazing- finally a Caesar dressing that I will stick with. I’ve tried so many on the Internet. I was apprehensive about the 1 Tbsp of anchovy paste but def the right amount. I made mine with homemade mayo too which takes 1 min to make and was well worth it!
Hi Paulina – SOOOO happy that you liked this recipe! Makes me so happy! Thanks for the review!
I am always concerned when measuring cheese, especially Parmesan. Are you using 4 oz or measuring out 1 cup? I’m dying to try this recipe but don’t want to overdo the cheese. Thanks!
Hi Roz, I use 1 cup + 1/4 of cheese! It’s a larger batch and needs more than you probably think! Hope this helps!
Curious if you’ve tried this with Greek yogurt versus mayo…I have folks with egg allergies in the building 🫣?
I haven’t personally tried it with greek yogurt, but some of my audience has, and they said they enjoyed it still! Hope that helps.
I JUST finished mixing this up and couldn’t wait for lunch to take a taste. AMAZING. My 11 year old agrees and she’s picky (definitely wouldn’t enjoy knowing about the anchovy paste, I have no problem with that being my secret). So delicious. I’m half tempted to have a salad for breakfast. Thank you for sharing. This will be a family favorite for a long time. I’m actually tossing the bottled dressing we already have on hand.
I am excited to try this but I am allergic to mustard – any suggestions for substitutes? Thanks!!
Just leave it out!
Made so many of your recipes and they were all delicious! Made this dressing for chicken Ceaser salad today and it’s amazing! Thank you Sammy!
Hi Catherine! Aw this is so awesome, thanks for being here, and taking the time to leave a review! xo, Sammy
Wow. Just the recipe I’ve been looking for all my life. This is the best caesar salad dressing recipe, ever. I’m so happy!
OMG!! The BEST caesar dressing. Just made a double batch bc the single batch didn’t last long. I could seriously sit and eat this with bread. Mahalo for sharing 😀
Hi Lauren! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. I am so happy you enjoyed the recipe!!! xo -Sammy
Oh. My. Deliciousness… I just made this and have almost eaten an entire romaine just dipping it in! Addictive
Hi Stacy! I do the same thing. Thanks for leaving a review, and I am so happy you enjoy it! – Sammy
Just made this–I used dijon mustard instead of yellow mustard and it was delish. One of the best Caesar dressings I have had.
Hi Maureen! This is so awesome! Happy you loved the recipe!
Can you substitute out the anchovy paste??
You can take it out all together if you want, or you can add a tbsp or two of capers and then blend 🙂
Definitely keeping this one in my tried-and-tested file. Very delicious; the Caesar salad was absolutely smashed in minutes!! A Japanese student staying with us just about licked the plate!!
SO GOOD!!! This will definitely be my new go-to Caesar dressing. I will admit, I added more Garlic because, well, I LOVE Garlic heh heh. Thanks, Sammy!!! 🫶🏻
So eager to try this! what do you recommend as a substitute for the parmigiano-reggiano? I haven’t been able to find it in my neck of the woods. Thanks!!
Love! I know it’s for 8 people but 3 of us ate it!
Oh my GOSH this was delicious! And quick! I vow never to buy store bought again!!!
Yeah this recipe lived up to the hype! Was a crowd pleaser! I’ll never buy store bought ceaser dressing again!!
Literally the best cease dressing ever . I didn’t find anchovy paste so I got anchovies and chopped up 3 ( I was a bit intimidated by them lol) but literally couldn’t notice them when I was eating the salad with the dressing :). I’m definitely going to be making it again but will try with Greek yogurt since I’m out of mayo lol
I halved the recipe to be sure it was a keeper and it turned out great!! I ended up with the spicy version as everyone loves spice in the house and luckily I had picked up a calibrian pepper spread from Trader Joe’s and it was killer!! I used Dijon mustard as well.
Just made this and it is AMAZING!! So so good!!!
Best I’ve ever had! I love making my food from scratch so I can put my own lik spin on it and this is a perfect base. Personally I like more garlic, pepper, lemon, paste and parm but you can’t go wrong with the recipe! Thank you!
I will never buy another Caesar dressing again- wonderful punch of flavor and home made is always the BEST! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe ❤️
Made this dressing for side Caesar salads to have with a pasta dinner. It’s so good that I invited a friend over for Chicken Caesar salads for lunch tomorrow! Really really good.
Literally the best dressing ever!! I will never buy store bought again!!!
What could I use instead of mayonnaise?
Wondering for your mayo… what kind do you use? Would miracle whip work or plain mayo is better? Thanks
I use Hellmans, but any mayo will work. I dont recommend miracle whip as it would be too sweet. -Sammy
I’ve made so many Caesar dressing recipes and this one is definitely THE BEST! Didn’t need to tweak it at all. Thank you for sharing!
This was delicious! Garlicky, just the right amount of lemon. Way better than the store bought stuff. Stepson and hubby both approved !
This dressing is life-changing. This is now my GO-TO homemade Caesar dressing recipe. It’s the new Gold Standard! If you (like me) were surprised by the yellow mustard…trust the process.
I made this dressing for Mother’s Day and I only used 1 bag of romaine lettuce.. Well baby just say they went out and bought more lettuce to make more salad. THIS RECIPE IS TRULY AMAZING. There Is no Caesar dressing that compares to this one. My family is extremely picky when it comes to Caesar dressing .
If you haven’t tried this recipe you should!
Thank you for sharing!
Excellent!
So this is on constant rotation in my house. Tonight I made it and added a handful(6ish medium to small leaves) of fresh basil and blended it in my bullet. There is a restaurant here that makes basil Cesar dressing that is ridiculous and this made it soooo close. Try it! It’s amazing! Something to dip my pizza in another night. Yummmm
FINALLY, this is it, this is the one! Sooo good!
Looks fabulous… thanks for recipe. Do you have a metric conversion slide on your printable recipes. I can’t see one… have I just missed it? I want to downsize the recipe – any ideas of how many grams 1 1/2 cups of mayonnaise weighs in grams and 1 1/4 cups Parmesan cheese weighs in grams? Many thanks.
Holy crap this is SO GOOD!
Omg, No fail if you follow the recipe. I couldn’t stop dipping my romaine in it.
I made this once and my husband refused to eat store bought Caesar dressing ever since. I make it at least a once a month; it’s amazing!
This is amazing and will definitely make again!
We eat this exclusively in our house now and have for the last year or so. Consistent and delicious every time. This is the stuff of real caesar salad lovers’ dreams. Thanks for making it so easy!
This dressing is very good, thank you!
This is probably the 4th or 5th time I have made this dressing. It is absolutely FAAAABULOUS!!! I thought I had everything here at home, but noticed my lemons were bad. Decided to use a like instead and it WORKED! I was absolutely not going out on Christmas eve for one lemon. LOL. Thank you, Dammy, for THEEE best & easiest Caesar dressing recipe ever!!
Hi Vanessa, thank you for the great review and im so happy that you love this dressing. I agree with you, it is the best!
– Sammy
The best Caesar dressing recipe!!! Nothing else compares. I can just eat it out of the container, it’s delicious. Thank you Mr. Johnny B and Sammy for sharing with us.
Hello. How many servings of Caesar salad does it make?
Getting ready to make this because of so many great comments. Wondering if anyone has ever replaced a little of the mayo with olive oil to both make it a bit thinner and for the taste of the olive oil?
Hello Tara, you can definetly replace a bit of the may with olive oil, it just wont be as creamy. I hope you enjoy the dressing.
– Sammy
I made this dressing last week and was completely blown away! Absolutely delicious! I will never buy store bought Caesar dressing again. Thanks!
This is the BEST Caesar dressing I’ve ever had. It’s super easy to make and incredibly tasty. Thank you for sharing!!!!
Hello Cassandra, I am so happy that you loved the dressing. Thank you for taking the time to provide a review.
– Sammy