Easy Healthy Caesar Salad Dressing

Did you know store bought Caesar dressings are often made with seed oils processed with chemicals like hexane? Plus, many other ingredients you may want to consider phasing out of your pantry?

Ingredients in Ultra Processed Foods Like Kraft Caesar Dressing

You can make an easy, healthy, creamy Caesar dressing at home in just a few minutes with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.

Instagram Tutorial – How to Make Healthy Caesar Salad Dressing

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Some ingredients to look out for in store bought salad dressings and processed foods:

Seed Oils – Seed oils are typically extracted with chemicals like hexane, which is a solvent much like the gasoline we put in our cars. It’s estimated that small amounts of hexane residuals remain in the processed oils. While the Environmental Protection Agency recognizes potential nervous system side effects of inhaling hexane as it is used in the chemicals industry, the FDA, at this time, does not monitor amounts, or set limits on these residues in seed oils. Best advice is to limit these oils until we have further information

Sugar, Corn Syrup, and Other Sweeteners: Sweeteners, regardless of form, really have no place in salad dressings. Sugars are diffused throughout the food supply in places that you might not expect like dressings, crackers, yogurt, and jarred foods like tomato sauce and condiments. It’s inflammatory and associated with chronic disease, plus having even small amounts of sugars in everyday foods can prime your palate to expect everything to be sweet, and make naturally sweet foods like whole fruits taste bland. It doesn’t matter what form, so don’t be fooled by marketing gimmicks by brands that use supposed “healthy” sweeteners like agave or organic coconut sugar. Sugar is sugar is sugar.

Xanthan Gum – In small amounts, this emulsifier is safe. For people who are sensitive, it can cause GI upset. Emulsifiers to avoid include carrageenan, which is a potential carcinogen, and polysorbate-80, which can damage the intestinal lining, causing leaky gut and inflammation

Modified Food Starch – While considered safe, this thickener is highly processed and found in junk food. It may be derived from wheat, so if you have a gluten sensitivity or celiac, avoid this emulsifier

Caramel Coloring – According to the World Health Organization, there is a chemical in caramel coloring that is possibly carcinogenic to humans. In fact, the State of California has signed a caramel coloring limits law to protect consumers. Caramel coloring is found in soda, condiments like BBQ sauces, baked goods like cakes and donuts, and some bottled salad dressings

Natural Flavors – This term doesn’t mean the ingredients called natural flavors are unprocessed. There can be preservatives, solvents, or other chemicals. Some can potentially contain gluten, so if you are sensitive to gluten, or have celiac, or have other general concerns, contact the manufacturer to discuss the ingredients

EDTA –  Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid is a chemical that preserves flavors and colors. It can be very inflammatory to the gut, and may be associated with colon cancer, and aggravate irritable bowel symptoms in animal studies

Besides the ingredients in store bought, oftentimes restaurants use store bought dressings, and are not making them in house. They tend to overdress salads, when they really need just a little drizzle to bring out the flavors of the greens

Are Croutons Healthy?

Store bought croutons often have a lot of the same additives as the dressings listed above like sugar, natural flavors, and preservatives. The good new is it is so very easy, healthier, and tastier to make your own. Cut cubes of good quality bread, like sourdough or a sprouted grain bread like Ezekiel into crouton sized cubes, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil on a parchment lined roasting pan, and sprinkle with salt, a pinch of garlic powder, and a dried Italian seasoning blend. Pop into a 350 degree F preheated oven for about 15 minutes. The croutons will crisp up more after they cool, so it’s best not to roast them beyond being toasted. Allow about four or five crouton pieces per side salad, and more if the Caesar salad is served as a main.

How Caesar Salad Dressing is Made

This recipe is made using egg yolk, olive oil, mustard, lemon, garlic, anchovy filets, Worcestershire sauce, and parmesan cheese. The ingredients are emulsified using a food processor, blender, or immersion blender. If you do not have any of these, you can use a whisk – It will take a little extra time to get creamy, but electronic kitchen appliances are not necessary. Some Caesar dressing recipes call for mayo instead of egg yolk and olive oil, but most brands of mayonnaise are predominantly soybean oil, plus they contain sugar and other additives. Using egg yolk and olive oil will make a much tastier and healthier dressing.

What Can I Substitute for Anchovy Filets

You can use a small amount of white miso in place of anchovy filets if you do not like the taste of anchovies, or want to make this dressing vegetarian. If you do not want to include any animal product, replace the Worcestershire sauce with tamari or soy sauce, since Worcestershire typically contains anchovy. There are also vegan brands of Worcestershire sauce you can explore

How to Make a Caesar Salad

The base is crisp fresh romaine. I like to buy romaine hearts and tear them into bite size pieces. Tearing instead of cutting results in less breakdown of the cell walls and less browning of the lettuce leaves

Top with croutons, drizzle with Caesar Dressing, add salt and pepper, if desired

If you don’t overdress the salad with dressing, you can store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to one day