Caesar Salad Dressing without Anchovies tastes just like your favorite store-bought dressing. It’s tangy, savory, and perfectly garlicky. This recipe is made without anchovies or anchovy paste. Worcestershire sauce, fresh lemon juice, and minced garlic step in to add a savory depth of flavor that we all enjoy in Caesar salad dressing. Make it in 10 minutes in one bowl – no food processor is required! Use the dressing to make this Smoked Salmon Caesar Salad.

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Why This Recipe is So Good
- It’s made without anchovies or anchovy paste! Instead, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and lemon juice add savory umami flavor to the Caesar salad dressing especially if you can’t find it in the store. If you are vegetarian or can’t eat fish make sure to find a Worcestershire sauce without fish, since most brands will usually include a little bit of anchovies in it.
- It’s better than store-bought! Using 8 ingredients this caesar dressing is easy to make with pantry staples. It’s thick and creamy and filled with savory, tangy, and zesty flavor. It makes enough for several salads and it’s ready in only 10 minutes.
- It’s soo good on almost any type of salad. Even if you aren’t making Caesar salad this dressing is so good on this Kale Chicken Salad or this Summer Kale Salad.
Recipe Ingredients
- Worcestershire sauce – Steps in for anchovies or anchovy paste in this Caesar salad dressing recipe. It’s slightly sweet and tangy and very savory, you only need a little bit to get the job done. Note: Worcestershire sauce contains a small amount of anchovies but it isn’t fishy tasting.
- Mayo – The base of this creamy dressing, so you don’t have to use raw eggs.
- Garlic – Increases the savory flavor of the dressing since we aren’t using anchovies.
- Lemon juice and mustard – Adds tanginess that cuts through the richness of the mayo and the garlic. Djoin mustard is preferable because it is zesty with a bold kick to it but regular yellow mustard is fine too. Mustard helps to emulsify the dressing with the mayo making it creamier.
- Oil – Optional, used to thin out the dressing making it pourable. Use olive oil or a neutral-tasting oil like avocado oil for a lighter flavor.
- Parmesan cheese – Optional. Adds a tangy, nutty savory saltiness to the dressing.
How to Make Caesar Salad Dressing without Anchovies
All ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- In a medium mixing bowl add minced garlic and salt. Use the back of a spoon to mash the garlic until it turns into a paste. This is helpful because we don’t want large chunks of garlic in our dressing.
- In the bowl with the garlic whisk in the rest of the ingredients. Taste the dressing for salt or if you want to add more Worcestershire sauce.
- Pour dressing into a mason jar, use immediately or store in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
Frequently Asked Questions —
Worcestershire sauce. It does contain a little bit of anchovies to give a savory flavor but it isn’t as strong as including actual anchovies in the dressing.
Nope! Use the back of a spoon to mash the garlic into small pieces then whisk the rest of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
You totally can! Use anchovy paste or mash 2 -3 anchovies with the garlic and omit the salt from the recipe.
Looking For More Recipes?
- Blackened Salmon Caesar Salad
- Bacon Caesar Salad
- Smoked Salmon Caesar Salad
- Lemon Garlic Tahini Salad dressing
- Easy Kale Chicken Salad Recipe
- Easy Kale Salad with Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- Farro Salad with Feta
- 4-Ingredient Macaroni Salad Recipe
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Caesar Salad Dressing without Anchovies
Equipment
- 1 Medium mixing bowl
- 1 Mason jar with lid for storage
Ingredients
- 3 large cloves of garlic
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1- 1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- ¾ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- ¾ cup mayo
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated, optional
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl add minced garlic and salt. Use the back of a spoon to mash the garlic until turns into a paste. This is helpful because we don’t want large chunks of garlic in our dressing.
- In the bowl with the garlic whisk in the rest of the ingredients. Taste the dressing for salt or if you want to add more Worcestershire sauce.
- Pour dressing into a mason jar, use immediately, or store in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
Notes
How To Store/ Make Ahead
Store Caesar Salad Dressing in an air-tight container or mason jar with a lid in the fridge for up to 1 week.Tips and Tricks
- Food processor or blender. You can add all the ingredients into a food processor or blender if you want a smoother and more pourable consistency. In this case, you might need to add 2 – 3 tablespoons of neutral-tasting oil to make a thinner, pourable dressing.
- Make it egg-free – Use a vegan mayonnaise.
- Make it gluten-free – Use a certified gluten-free Worcestershire sauce.
- Make it vegan – Use a vegan mayonnaise and a vegan Worcestershire sauce.
- Garlic – Don’t substitute with granulated garlic or garlic powder, you really want the strong flavor from fresh garlic in this recipe.
- Mayo – I have made this recipe with several different types of mayos and some of them are thicker or looser than others. The flavor was still amazing but keep in mind that the consistency may be different as a result.
Nutrition
All nutrition information is automatically generated and should be only used as a rough estimate. This recipe card may contain affiliate links.