This Super-Easy Caesar Salad Recipe Is the Perfect Fit for a Lazy Day

Caesar salad is a classic. The simple dish can take on many variations — whether it’s adapted to breakfast, pasta, or even potatoes, it’s cheesy and peppery with a touch of umami. The most perfect Caesar in my opinion, however, will always be the salad. Lettuce layered with croutons, cheese, and that delicious dressing is always satisfying. 

This Lazy Day Caesar Salad recipe makes a modification to the classic version: While most traditional Caesar salad recipes incorporate anchovy fillets in some sense, this one uses fish sauce. This recipe also switches out the whole egg emulsion and uses mayonnaise and is a time-saver for, well, a Caesar salad on a lazy day.

“Not everyone has anchovy fillets on hand to chop up for the dressing. And when you don’t chop them finely enough, they can hit your palate with their fishy, briny bite. On the other hand, fish sauce, being a liquid, easily commingles with the dressing ingredients,” says chef and cookbook author Andrea Nguyen on her website about the recipe.

To make this salad, start with the croutons. Those will take the longest to prepare. The rest is rather fast. Remove the crust from bread and cut it into cubes (the recipe calls for ciabatta, but use what you have as long as it’s nice and crusty). Toss those bread cubes in a bowl with kosher salt and some olive oil and place on a rimmed baking sheet before baking for about 15 minutes. The result should be golden and crispy, like croutons.

Next up is the dressing, which is very straightforward. Add garlic, a pinch of pepper, fish sauce, lemon juice, and mustard to a bowl and whisk well. Then, stir in mayo and drizzle in oil until the dressing is the right consistency for your taste. 

Building the salad is as easy as laying out the lettuce leaves. These can be romaine leaves left whole or cut crosswise. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and black pepper, and toss gently with the dressing, before dividing onto salad plates. And don’t forget to add your perfect croutons!

The thing I like most about this recipe is that it can be modified in all sorts of ways, from the type of bread in the croutons and the variety of lettuce to how much pepper and fish sauce is used in the dressing. Now matter how you customize it, though, the end result will be a quick and easy Caesar salad perfect for a weeknight dinner.

Check out the full recipe for Lazy Day Caesar Salad here.