This avocado caesar dressing is mayo-free and the creamiest Caesar salad dressing you’ll ever taste! Perfect on a classic Caesar salad with extra avocado.
Crazy salad lady is back with another crazy salad!
Avocado Caesar Salad Dressing. Yup. You read that right.
Basically, I came to a realization: avocados are really just a deliciously creamy blank canvas…they can go in so many dishes to add a dose of creaminess…smoothies (not that I’ve tried that one, to be honest I’m grossed out by green smoothies), pesto (which I’m still dreaming about), and even chicken salad sandwiches (and thank-you, Danielle for inspiring this recipe)! Now we can add avocado Caesar salad dressing to the list because it really, really works!
I have been pretty adamant in my past salad posts that there is just no place for lettuce in my salads. I normally prefer something that actually adds some nutritional value like spinach or kale. The only exception I make is for Caesar salad…because nothing beats the crispiness that romaine brings to caesar salad!
This salad is all about the crunchy romaine, and the tangy, creamy avocado Caesar salad dressing. And the bacon doesn’t hurt either 😉
To make the dressing, I combined one whole avocado, fresh lemon juice, some Parmesan cheese, olive oil, a smudge of dijon, and a clove of garlic (which I totttally forgot when I took the photos, oops!). And that unappetizing looking brown stuff, that’s the magic: anchovy paste! Anchovy paste brings the salty, and kind of pungent flavor to the dressing…it doesn’t actually taste like fish in the dressing, but really brings the flavor punch.
I almost made this salad vegan…but that would have meant no anchovy paste in the dressing…no Parmesan…and no bacon! So I went the opposite direction and piled all of that stuff on instead.
Even so, you can at least rest-assured that there are no scary raw eggs hiding in there, and no hugely unhealthy globs of mayo, either.
If you serve it as a meal-sized salad, you will get around 4 full servings, however if you choose to serve it as a side, you will get 8 or so servings.
Ben and I enjoyed ours with some grilled chicken and a slice of garlic toast as a week-night meal…and it was definitely the highlight of dinners last week!
I hope I’ve convinced you: avocados + Caesar salad = a very, very good combination 😉
Avocado Caesar Salad Dressing
A fun, egg-less and mayo-free twist on the Caesar salad! Romaine lettuce is tossed in a creamy avocado Caesar dressing and topped with bacon, croutons, and more avocado!
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1 ripe avocado
- Juice from half a lemon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic
Salad
- 1 head of romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
- 4 slices of bacon, cooked, cooled, and sliced into pieces
- 1 avocado, cut into small cubes
- 1 cup croutons
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated
Instructions
Dressing:
- In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine all dressing ingredients.
- Blend for 30 seconds on high.
- Scrape down the sides with a spatula and blend for another 30 seconds - 1 minute, until dressing is creamy (as pictured above).
Salad
- Wash and dry lettuce, and tear into bite-sized pieces.
- Toss the lettuce with the dressing until completely coated and evenly distributed.
- Serve with the bacon, avocado, croutons, and additional Parmesan cheese.
Recipe Notes
Products used in this recipe:
Denise, this salad is just BEYOND gorgeous, girl! I am pretty much flipping out over the fact that you used avocados instead of mayo in the dressing. Um, prettiest AND healthiest caesar salad ever right here! Pinned. 🙂
Thanks so much, Sarah! And thanks for pinning!
Avocado caesar dressing…my mind is blown. What a wonderful idea, Denise. I’m a huge salad-lover myself. Romaine is my go-to, but I’m all about arugula and spinach as well.
Thanks, Erin! I haven’t eaten that much arugula, but I will have to give it a try this spring…nice and fresh and peppery!
This is amazing! I love your avocado dressing! Isn’t it amazing how versatile avocados are?! I just made dark chocolate avocado cookies the other day and they were amazing! Yay for avocado love! 🙂
Thanks, Cailee! Avocados are definitely versatile!
You are officially my hero! I love avocado and I love caesar salad, but I have never but them together before! I am making this pronto!
Thanks, Annie! I wondered if I was crazy thinking these flavors would go together, but they really did! Hope you like it!
I love that you used avocado in the dressing! That is so smart. Don’t you just love avocados? I buy a big bag of them at costco every week and keep them in my fridge. I have ripe and ready avocados at all times : )
I love avocados!!!! My problem is by the time they ripen I forget about them and then they go mushy. At least this dressing can use up the mushy ones 🙂
I love a good caesar salad and adding a double dose of avocado just ups the yum factor, Denise. I’ll have to think of a swap for the bacon…maybe crispy tofu would be good.
Thanks, Geraldine! I’m not sure what a vegetarian anchovy paste substitute would be…let me know if you know the answer!
Hey. . .it’s A-Okay to be a crazy salad lady. There are worse things that we could be eating. I love a good Caesar salad and I love that you are making the dressing healthier with those avocados.
I love how creative this salad is, Denise! Such a great idea to add in avocados for creaminess! I’m obsessed with them, so this salad is right up my alley! Delish!
Yay! A new way to use avocado! And the anchovy paste… sounds very interesting, have to admit I’ve avoided anchovies my whole life, but I may need to rethink it 🙂
I agree completely — I normally like lettuce with more nutrition but Caesars are all about romaine! And adding salty bacon and parmesan is even better. Very creative making an avocado dressing for this! Pinned.
ah! I love avocados! This salad looks so fresh and Spring-like. Love it. And you’re right about avocados, they are so creamy and rich you really don’t need anything else. Pinning 🙂
If I had to eat one meal and one meal only for a very long time, I may well choose something like this! Mmm … I can taste it now. I especially love that there’s a double dose of avocado in there!
Yessss yes yes. I’m a little finicky with eggs/mayo, so the fact that this delish salad is made with avocado is music to my ears! Plus parmesan and bacon… <3
Caesar salad is a classic favorite. I love adding avocados to anything and everything! The dressing sounds amazing!
This salad looks amazing, Denise! I love that you used avocado in the dressing, such a great idea! I adore avocados so I can’t wait to try this!
I would LOVE to eat this! Especially for work lunches – yum. Gorgeous photography as always!
Thank you wonderful crazy salad lady for another wonderful salad!!!
Ha ha, anytime, Kathy 🙂
This is such a great idea! I bet the avocado makes the dressing SO creamy. Even though I’ve made homemade Caesar with raw eggs before, I know it creeps some people out, so this is such a perfect alternative! Love!
I love crazy salad lady 🙂 I feel like I’ve been being one lately too! I also love avocado and how you can use it in so many dishes! I just made some cookies using avocado that are surprisingly good! That dressing sounds like the type of dressing I would pour over everything!!
Ok I’m obsessed with this salad and that dressing! This is just genius! I’m adding this to my list of recipes to try, plus I’ll find any reason to eat avocados. Thanks for linking back to my chicken salad too, that made my day 🙂
Your chicken salad sandwich totally inspired this recipe, Danielle! Now I’m wondering how else to use avocado…the possibilities are endless 😉
Delicious salad with avocado, Love to try it, Pinning.