Homemade Healthy Caesar Salad
Make a restaurant-style Caesar Salad at home! This Healthy Caesar Salad recipe is made with crisp romaine, homemade croutons, a homemade creamy caesar dressing and optional lemon garlic shrimp.
Everyone loves a good Caesar salad. But have you ever made your own at home?
Introducing: My Healthy Caesar Salad recipe! This recipe is packed with nourishing foods including romaine lettuce, homemade sprouted grain croutons, my 10-Minute Healthy Caesar Dressing, and lemon garlic shrimp (which is totally optional, by the way).
This recipe is inspired by the homemade Caesar salad recipe that my family has been making for years. My mom’s been making her own version, complete with both homemade croutons and caesar dressing since I was young. Homemade Caesar salad reminds me of Sunday dinners at home, which I’m totally missing right now thanks to the current state of the world. Hopefully we’ll be eating Caesar salad together again soon!
Read on to find out how to make this homemade Caesar salad recipe.
Ingredients for this Healthy Caesar Salad Recipe:
This recipe is broken up in to four parts. The salad, the croutons, the dressing, and the optional lemon garlic shrimp. Here’s what you’ll need to make each part:
Ingredients for the Healthy Caesar Salad base:
- 1 large head of Romaine lettuce – this will be the base of the salad
- 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided – this will be used in the dressing and for topping the salad
- lemon wedges – for garnish!
Ingredients for Homemade Croutons:
- 3 cups sprouted whole grain bread cut into cubes – I freeze the ends of my bread loaves and use them for croutons!
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
Ingredients for Healthy Caesar Dressing:
- 1 cup plain full-fat greek yogurt – I use full-fat because it’s the most creamy
- 2 tbsp olive oil – extra-virgin olive oil preferred
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 anchovy filets, diced (or 2 tsp anchovy paste) – for that authentic caesar dressing flavour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Ingredients for Lemon Garlic Shrimp (optional):
- 1 lb. frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
How to Make this Healthy Caesar Salad Recipe:
Step 1: Homemade Croutons
To make the croutons, sprinkle whole grain bread cubes with Italian seasoning and garlic powder in a medium sized bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, minced garlic, and salt and pepper. Pour the oil mixture over the seasoned bread and toss to coat.
Bake in the oven at 350F for 15-20 minutes, tossing halfway through.
Step 2: Homemade Caesar Dressing
You can make this dressing in a blender, food processor, or by whisking all the ingredients together in a bowl.
In a blender/food processor:
Add all dressing ingredients except for parmesan cheese to a blender/food processor and blend on high speed until smooth and creamy. Fold in parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Adjust salt and pepper and seasonings as necessary to taste.
In a bowl:
In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients except for parmesan cheese. Once mixture is smooth, creamy and well-combined, fold in parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Adjust salt and pepper and seasonings as necessary to taste.
Step 3: Lemon Garlic Shrimp (optional)
To make the lemon garlic shrimp, start by defrosting the shrimp according to package directions. Warm olive oil to a large pan over medium heat, then add the garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
Add shrimp to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the pan-side turns pink. Flip the shrimp and cook for another 3-4 minutes until pink. Stir in lemon juice, then serve.
Step 4: Assesmble Healthy Caesar Salad
Chop romaine lettuce and add to a large salad bowl. Top with homemade croutons and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Add your desired amount of dressing (you will likely have some leftover) and toss well to combine and coat the lettuce/croutons.
Add shrimp (optional) and some lemon wedges for serving. Enjoy!
Substitution Suggestions:
- Sprouted whole grain bread cubes: You can make the homemade croutons with any type of bread that you have on hand.
- Full-fat plain greek yogurt: You can use non-fat or 2% plain greek yogurt in the dressing, but full-fat will give you the creamiest result.
- Lemon garlic shrimp: The shrimp is just one protein suggestion for this salad. You could do grilled chicken, or even crispy roasted chickpeas for a vegetarian option.
Tips for Storing Leftovers:
If you have leftovers, I recommend storing them in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. I recommend storing all parts (salad, croutons, dressing, protein) separately to prevent soggy croutons and lettuce! If stored this way, your salad will still be crunchy days later. 🙂
More Salad Recipes You’ll Love:
If you liked this recipe, you’ll definitely want to try these!
Healthy Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons & Healthy Caesar Dressing
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 1 large head romaine lettuce
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- lemon wedges, for serving
For the Homemade Croutons:
- 3 cups sprouted whole grain bread cubes
- 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp salt and pepper, each
For the Healthy Caesar Dressing:
- 1 cup full-fat plain greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tsp Worchestershire sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 anchovy filets (or 2 tsp anchovy paste), diced
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper, each
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
For the Lemon Garlic Shrimp (optional):
- 1 lb frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
For the Homemade Croutons:
- Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium mixing bowl, sprinkle whole grain bread cubes with Italian seasoning and garlic powder. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, minced garlic, and salt and pepper. Pour the oil mixture over the seasoned bread and toss to coat. Spread onto a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway.
For the Healthy Caesar Dressing:
- Add all dressing ingredients except for parmesan cheese to a blender/food processor or mixing bowl and blend on high speed or whisk until smooth and creamy. Fold in 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Adjust salt and pepper and seasonings as necessary to taste.
For the Lemon Garlic Shrimp (optional):
- Defrost the shrimp according to package directions. Warm olive oil to a large pan over medium heat, then add the garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add shrimp to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the pan-side turns pink. Flip the shrimp and cook for another 3-4 minutes until pink. Stir in lemon juice.
For the Salad:
- Chop romaine lettuce and add to a large salad bowl. Top with homemade croutons and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
- Add your desired amount of dressing (you will likely have some leftover) and toss well to combine and coat the lettuce/croutons.
- Top with lemon garlic shrimp or another protein (optional) and lemon wedges for serving. Enjoy!
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