Most homemade Caesar salads have 300-500 calories, per side salad. Restaurants list their side salads around 200-250, but I suspect they are much smaller (I'll compare directly next time I get one with takeout!)
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Calorie breakdown
Caesar salad calorie counts can vary quite a bit based on 3 main ingredients:
- Cheese: how much is on the salad
- Dressing: calorie density & how much is used
- Croutons: calorie density & how much is used
Here's a breakdown of calories for each part of the salad:
| Ingredient | Amount used per serving | Calories per serving |
|---|---|---|
| Parmesan cheese (on salad) | 0.25 ounce | 28 calories |
| Homemade croutons | 12 croutons | 150 calories |
| Caesar dressing | 2 Tbsp | 200 calories |
| Chicken | 2 ounces | 134 calories |
Next, let's look at each element of the salad so you can make adjustments that fit into your nutritional goals.
Cheese
Cheese has about 100 calories and 7 grams of fat per ounce, regardless of the variety. It's very easy to add 2 or 3 ounces of cheese to any type salad without it seeming excessive.
However, Caesar salads are actually light on cheese, even though they often look (and taste) like they have quite a bit more. That's because the Parmesan is usually finely shredded or grated. This allows for a very even distribution of cheese without going overboard.
Most Caesar salads use 0.25 to 0.5 ounces of cheese per side salad portion. The photo above shows what just 0.25 ounces of Parmesan looks like, grated on a microplane.
This small amount of Parmesan adds about 25 to 50 calories to the salad. A full sized salad would generally use twice that amount.
Compare the amount of finely grated cheese on a Caesar to a Cobb salad, which is made with cubes of cheese. A Cobb salad generally requires five times the amount of cheese for a good flavor ratio.
The dressing has cheese as well. Most recipes use 0.1 to 0.2 ounces per serving (a serving defined as 2 tablespoons). Because of the small amount, the Parmesan only adds 15 calories to each serving of dressing.
Croutons
Homemade croutons generally have less calories that store-bought or ones made at a restaurant. Restaurant croutons, in general, use a lot more oil or butter for extra crunchiness and flavor.
Most homemade crouton recipes have about 150 calories per serving. A serving of homemade croutons is usually 10-15 croutons sized about ¾" square. That comes out to roughly 10-12 calories per crouton.
There are only 2 things that contribute to the crouton's calories: bread and fat. French bread is the popular choice for making croutons, and the calories vary slightly based on the bread's density. In general, a 1.5" section of french bread is 90 calories and makes a dozen croutons.
Olive oil and butter are the two most common fats used to coat the bread before toasting. Although both are pretty similar in calories, olive oil has the healthier monounsaturated fats. Most homemade crouton recipes use 0.5 to 1 tablespoon of fat per serving of croutons.
I've found that about a half tablespoon of olive oil is just enough to adequately coat a serving of croutons. They will still get toasty and crunchy, but won't be as indulgent as restaurant versions. Although they still taste 10 times better than store bought croutons.
The olive oil can be reduced, however they won't toast as nicely. The amount of olive oil I suggest is on the lower end of the optimal amount for toasting.
Store-bought croutons tend to have about 25% more calories. The serving size on most packages is 2 tablespoons, which has to be 2 croutons by my estimation. Next time I make homemade croutons, I'll weigh them to get a more definitive comparison.
Caesar dressing
Caesar dressing is typically a high caloric dressing. It's also harder to adjust and still get a good quality dressing, unlike vinaigrettes with are pretty forgiving when adjusting olive-oil to liquid ratios.
Homemade Caesar dressings are usually around 200 calories per serving (2 tablespoons). While the ratio of ingredients change, most recipes use the same following ingredients:
- mayonnaise
- mustard
- lemon juice
- Worcestershire sauce
- garlic
- Parmesan cheese
Almost all of the calories comes from the mayonnaise, whether that's homemade mayo or store bought.
Store bought mayo, like Hellman's, has almost 100 calories per tablespoon, and most dressing recipes use about 2 tablespoons per side salad. That totals to 200 calories per serving of homemade dressing.
You can also make Caesar dressing from scratch, using egg yolks and olive oil instead of store bought mayo. It definitely tastes delicious, but doesn't save on calories. In fact, 2 Tablespoons of the Caesar dressing recipe from Serious Eats comes out to 248 calories.
If you're looking to reduce calories, try this recipe from Skinny Taste. It uses Greek yogurt instead of mayo and just a little bit of olive oil. It only has 60 calories for a serving of 2 tablespoons (or 90 calories for her suggested use of 3 tablespoons).
Many store bought Caesar dressings are around 150 calories for a 2-tablespoon serving. You can buy Caesar-style vinaigrettes that are lower. I expect restaurant dressings to be about 200-250 calories per a 2-tablespoon serving, however, they might use more dressing per salad.
Adding chicken
My recipe doesn't include chicken, but you can easily add it. Each ounce of baked or grilled chicken breast is 67 calories. A side salad will be great with 2 ounces of chicken (134 calories) and a full dinner could use twice that (268 calories).
Restaurant Caesar salad calories
While Caesar salads are common at a lot of restaurants, only restaurants with more than 20 locations have to share nutritional information. That limits this search to chain restaurants.
The most popular ones appear to be at Panera, Applebee's, and Longhorn. Here's how the Caesar salad calories stack up for each restaurant:
- Panera: 210 calories for a half, 410 for whole
- Applebees: 230 for small caesar / 790 for large with chicken (980 if the breadstick is included)
- Longhorn Caesar salad: 250 for side salad, 670 for full size with chicken, or 800 for full size with salmon (source: PDF)
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