Caesar salad with tomatoes & homemade croutons

A plate of Caesar salad with tomatoes and homemade croutons.

No ratings yet

Caesar salad with tomatoes & homemade croutons

A summer Caesar salad with fresh tomatoes. Homemade croutons are infused with garlic and the dressing is made without anchovies.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Total Time30

Servings: side salads

Calories: 395kcal

Ingredients

Homemade croutons

2 cups bite-sized french or ciabatta bread cubes (¾") 6" of a baguette or 1.5 ciabatta rolls
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, grated
salt & pepper to taste about ¼ teaspoon each

Caesar dressing

½ cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, grated
2 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
½ ounce Parmesan cheese, freshly grated on microplane
⅛ teaspoon salt add more to taste
black pepper, to taste

Salad

1 large head of romaine lettuce (or 2 small heads)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, freshly grated on microplane
fresh cracked black pepper

Instructions

Prepare ingredients

For croutons: Preheat oven to 400℉ (no need to preheat if using a toaster oven). Cut the bread into ¾" cubes.
Microplane grater: Grate all of the garlic on a microplane to get it really fine. Set aside in two piles (one for the dressing and one for the croutons). Grate all of the Parmesan cheese on the microplane too and make two piles (½ ounce for dressing, 1 ounce for salad). (See note for volume measurements)
Chop and wash the romaine lettuce. Squeeze the lemon juice.

Make the croutons

Mix: Get out a large bowl (you can reuse it to mix the salad later, without washing). Mix together the olive oil & grated garlic in the large bowl. Swirl the mixture around the edges of the bowl to coat it, then toss in the bread cubes. (Swirling the oil around helps distribute the oil better, avoiding soaking into only a handful of the bread cubes). Toss the bread cubes until evenly coated in the garlic-oil. Sprinkle with salt & pepper then transfer to a baking tray.
Bake: In an oven, bake at 400℉ for 7-10 minutes, until golden brown. In a toaster oven, use the toast setting and keep an eye on them. They should be ready sooner, possibly in 5-7 minutes.

Make the Caesar dressing

Stir to combine: In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients, except the Parmesan cheese, until smooth. If too thick, add up to 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or water. Add Parmesan cheese.
Taste: taste dressing and adjust as needed. Add more salt or pepper as needed. For more acidity: add lemon juice or vinegar. For more umami, add Worchestershire or Parmesan cheese (both will add saltiness too). To thicken, add mayo.

Assemble the Caesar salad

In your large bowl, add the lettuce and half of the dressing. Toss to coat, then add more dressing as needed.
When ready to serve, top with homemade croutons, tomatoes, and remaining Parmesan cheese. Finish with fresh cracked black pepper.

Notes

Parmesan cheese

Volume is very difficult to standardize. It depends on the size it's grated into or if it is light & fluffy or packed for measuring. I'd say 1 ounce of freshly grated Parmesan on a microplane is about half a cup.

If you don't own a scale, you can estimate weight. Look at the weight on the block of cheese you bought (likely 8 ounces), then cut off just under a quarter of that to get 1.5 ounces. Also, you can always have more or less cheese on the salad - it doesn't need to be perfect.

No microplane?

If you don't own a microplane grater, mince the garlic really fine. Grate the Parmesan on the finest grater you have.

Scan QR code for full recipe page with images & more helpful tips

Nutrition