Caesar dressing turned 100 last year and somehow seems to be more popular than ever. Shouldn’t we all be so lucky? Bon Appétit has no shortage of recipes, from classic Caesar Dressing to Shilpa’s Black Garlic Caesar Salad. But for those nights when you don’t want to painstakingly emulsify oil into an egg yolk—this happens, even to us—there is a supermarket full of bottles to save your Wednesday. The only question is: Which ones are worth your romaine and which aren’t?
Cesare Cardini (in some circles, Caesar or César) developed the original recipe for Caesar dressing in 1924 at his restaurant Caesar’s in Tijuana, Mexico. In 1947 the New York Times ran its first recipe for Caesar salad, a year before Cardini Foods trademarked the dressing Cardini had invented.
These days there are many brands and styles to pick from—some are shelf-stable, others refrigerated, some creamy, others vinaigrette-style, some with cheese and anchovies, others vegan. So how do you pick? That was the challenge of our latest taste test: to find the best store-bought Caesar dressing.
How we picked the products
We began our search by asking the Bon Appétit staff for their favorite bottles. There were several shoutouts for Ken’s, Newman’s Own, and Briannas, as well as votes for Marzetti and Girard’s. Once we had our preliminary list, we reviewed other taste tests to get a sense of which brands get a lot of attention and which may have been overlooked.
We cast a wide net in our Caesar search—delicious dressings can take many forms. We included refrigerated and shelf-stable brands, as well as vegan and non-vegan dressings. However, we did rule out anything packaged as Caesar “vinaigrette,” such as California Olive Ranch, which tends to be runnier than traditional creamy styles.
How we set up our taste test
To keep our taste test blind, we decanted an equal portion of each dressing into a series of numbered identical bowls. Tasters sampled each dressing on its own, after which we compared notes and narrowed the list to our top eight. Next, tasters dipped chopped romaine leaves into the dressing to mimic the Caesar salad eating experience. Ultimately, our panel settled on their three favorite Caesar dressings, plus one honorable mention.
How our editors evaluated
A great Caesar dressing needs to pack a punch. Our panel wanted some bite from garlic and pepper, acidity from lemon or vinegar, and umami depth from aged cheese, anchovies, or another source, all built on a creamy foundation. And that foundation couldn’t be totally smooth. The best Caesar dressing gets textural interest from cracks of peppercorn and nubs of Parmesan cheese. It needs to toe the line of viscosity, being neither too thick nor too thin. Caesar dressing should coat lettuce in a salad without weighing down the leaves. We took points off for dressings that were gloppy or heavy. We’re looking for dressing, our tasters emphasized, not dip.
The punchy champ: Marzetti Supreme Caesar Salad Dressing
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Stevie Stewart, Prop Styling by Gerri Williams