Zesty Caesar Salad with Crunchy Garlic Croutons
Zesty Caesar Salad with Crunchy Garlic Croutons and a creamy homemade dressing. A fresh, flavorful salad perfect for lunch or gatherings.
Zesty Caesar Salad with Crunchy Garlic Croutons
Make a Zesty Caesar Salad with Crunchy Garlic Croutons. A family favorite that brings everyone to the table. Made with crisp iceberg or romaine lettuce. With a rich and creamy homemade spicy Caesar dressing, and golden garlic croutons baked to perfection. Fresh and flavorful side dish that pairs beautifully with any meal. It’s easy to make, kid and fussy eaters approved, and perfect for weeknight dinners. Weekend gatherings, or holiday spreads for lunches. A timeless classic with a delicious homemade twist the whole family will enjoy. Croutons are baked to golden perfection, and olive oil with garlic slices sautéed bringing out the aroma. All tossed together for the best crunchy salad for a meal.
FAQ’s
How to keep Caesar salad crunchy?
It is best to make sure the lettuce leaves are dry after rinsing. Also choose the crispy pieces of leaves to supply that crunch for the salad.
How to keep croutons crunchy?
If you have left over croutons store them in a airtight container or sip lock bag. Keep at room temperature for the best results. They have to be cool, before storing.
What’s the difference between a house salad and a Caesar salad?
The difference between a house salad and a Caesar salad would be the ingredients in the dressing. A classic Caesar salad dressing contains anchovies and mustard. With parmesan and lettuce with croutons. A house salad can contain various vegetables and toppings and not a specific dressing.
Ingredients for Zesty Caesar Salad with Crunchy Garlic Croutons
- Main Salad: lettuce, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper
- Dressing sauce: Mayonnaise, sour cream, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, clove of garlic, parmesan, black pepper, lemon juice.
- Croutons: Cubed bread pieces, garlic cloves, olive oil, salt and pepper, dried parsley
How To make a Zesty Caesar Salad with Crunchy Garlic Croutons
- Firstly, mix your dressing in a small bowl or jug. Whisk until all has combined. (see the recipe attached)
- Preheat your oven to bake or roast the croutons.
- In a medium bowl, add your cubed bread pieces, (bitable sizes)
- In a warm frying pan add your oil and the sliced garlic cloves. Heat up on medium heat and sauté until the garlic turns a little golden.(4-5 minutes is enough) Do not over cook as it would turn bitter. All you wanting is to flavor the olive oil with garlic fragrant. Take out the garlic pieces.
- Drizzle the bread croutons with the oil and toss until all has been covered. Place these pieces in a sheet pan with a rim. Bake for at least 10 minutes turning halfway so the sides are nicely golden.
- Once cooked return them to the bowl and add your salt and pepper and parsley and toss. Leave to cool.
- For the salad tear with your fingers the lettuce into bite size pieces. Add in a serving bowl.
- Drizzle 1/3 cup of the dressing over the lettuce. Toss so the dressing coats the lettuce.
- Then sprinkle half of the grated parmesan cheese over the spread, and add half of your croutons over the lettuce. Toss these all up.
- Finely sprinkle the rest of the grated parmesan cheese over the lettuce mix, and add the rest of the croutons over this. Add the ribboned parmesan cheese to the top.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve as a delicious side dish with the rest of your dressing for guests to apply as they desire.
Recommendations
(click the highlighted heading for the recipe)
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Zesty Caesar Salad with Crunchy Garlic Croutons
Zesty Caesar Salad with Crunchy Garlic Croutons and a creamy homemade dressing. A fresh, flavorful salad perfect for lunch or gatherings.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 35 min
- Yield: 10-12
- Category: side dish, lunch
- Method: Stovetop cooking, oven bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 1 cup of mayonnaise
- 1 cup of sour cream
- 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 pressed clove of garlic
- 1/4 Tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon of Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
Garlic Croutons:
- 4 cups of cubed firm bread pieces, about 1/2 inch in size, for bitable pieces.
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves sliced thinly
- 2 Tablespoon of parsley leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon of Himalayan salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
Salad:
- 8 cups of iceberg lettuce leaves, broken with fingers to bitable pieces.
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup of ribboned parmesan cheese.
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Firstly, mix your dressing in a small bowl or jug. Whisk until all has combined.
- Preheat your oven to 190 deg. C (375 deg. F).
- In a warm frying pan add your oil and the sliced garlic cloves. Heat up on medium heat and sauté until the garlic turns a little golden.(4-5 minutes is enough) Do not over cook as it would turn bitter. All you wanting is to flavor the olive oil with garlic fragrance. Remove the garlic pieces.
- In a medium bowl, add your cubed bread pieces, (bitable sizes)
- Drizzle the bread croutons with the oil and toss until all has been covered. Place these pieces in a sheet pan with a rim. Bake for at least 10 minutes turning halfway so all the sides are nicely golden.
- Once cooked return them to the bowl and add your salt and pepper and parsley and toss. Leave to cool.
- For the salad tear with your fingers the lettuce into bite size pieces. Place in a serving bowl.
- Drizzle 1/3 of a cup of the dressing over the lettuce. Toss so the dressing coats the lettuce.
- Then sprinkle half of the grated parmesan cheese, and add one cup of your croutons over the lettuce. Toss these all up.
- Finely sprinkle the rest of the grated parmesan cheese over the lettuce mix, and add the rest of the croutons over this. Add the ribboned parmesan cheese to the top. (judge how much croutons you need for your salad)
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve as a delicious side dish with the rest of your dressing for guests to apply as they desire.
Notes
- we replaced the 2 teaspoon of mashed anchovy paste with a teaspoon each of lemon juice, and of Worcestershire sauce.
- The dressing may be stored in a sealed jar up to a week.
- Croutons may be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks and freezes well.
How to Make Croutons
Nobody’s going to side-eye you if you grab a bag of grocery store croutons, but the homemade variety is so easy to make, they’re totally worth the extra few minutes to do so.
- Make the garlic-infused oil. Heat the olive oil and garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat until the garlic turns golden and becomes fragrant about 4-5 minutes (be careful not to burn). Strain out the garlic.
- Season the bread cubes and bake. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. Drizzle the oil over the bread cubes, toss to coat, and bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until the bread cubes are golden. Toss with the parsley and salt and pepper and set aside to cool.
Tip: Store the homemade croutons in a zip-top bag or in an airtight container. Or freeze for up to one month.
Make the Creamy Caesar Dressing Recipe
Creamy, garlicky, and cheesy with fresh Parmesan, my homemade Caesar dressing skips the raw egg yolks and calls for mayonnaise and sour cream instead. If you’re looking for a Caesar dressing with egg, check out my chicken Caesar salad recipe here.
Shave your Parmesan. Make the Parmesan shavings (that will go in the salad) by skimming a block of cheese with a vegetable peeler.
