Skinnytaste > Salad Dressing > Greek Yogurt Caesar Salad Dressing

Greek Yogurt Caesar Salad Dressing

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Creamy Greek Yogurt Caesar Salad Dressing is made with classic ingredients like Parmesan cheese, lemon and anchovies, lightened up with Greek yogurt.

Caesar Salad Dressing
Healthy Caesar Salad Dressing

Perfect to make your favorite Caesar Salad from scratch with real ingredients, no artificial add ins you’d find on most store bought salad dressings. You can serve this with romaine lettuce and grilled chicken for a fabulous light summer salad. You can also use this dressing recipe to make my Shrimp Scampi Tacos with Caesar Slaw. I also have a Vegan Caesar Salad made dairy free using raw cashews.

Caesar Salad Dressing lightened up.

Serve this over romaine lettuce with croutons to make it a Caesar salad, and your favorite protein to make it a meal.

I’ve been using Anne Burrell’s Eggless Caesar Dressing recipe for a long time, it’s restaurant quality and you don’t miss the egg. I took a chance and replaced the olive oil with Greek yogurt and I was surprised how well it turned out. Good cheese is a must, I only use Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, that powdered stuff that comes in a plastic container just doesn’t cut it!

How to add more protein to salad:

This Caesar salad dressing uses yogurt which adds some protein. To add even more protein to your salad try this:

  • Add grilled chicken to your salad
  • Grilled salmon or shrimp also make a wonderful addition to caesar salad
  • To keep it meatless add hard boiled eggs and chickpeas

How to Sub Anchovy Paste for Anchovies

If you prefer to use anchovy paste, here’s a good rule of thumb: 1 anchovy fillet = 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste.

For those of you who don’t like anchovies, sure you can leave it out, but I think they make the dressing.  Your choice!

lemons and anchoviescaesar dressing in the food processor.caesar dressing in the food processor.Caesar Dressing with yogurt.

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Greek Yogurt Caesar Salad Dressing

4.76 from 37 votes
1
Cals:91
Protein:6
Carbs:2.5
Fat:6.5
Creamy Greek Yogurt Caesar Salad Dressing is made with classic ingredients like Parmesan cheese, lemon and anchovies, lightened up with Greek yogurt.
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Caesar Salad Dressing
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 0 minutes
Total: 5 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Serving Size: 3 tbsp

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In the bowl of a food processor add the cheese, the lemon juice, garlic clove, mustard and the anchovies.
  • Turn the machine on and let it run for 15 to 20 seconds.
  • Add the oil and yogurt and let the machine run for another 15 seconds.

Last Step:

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Notes

Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
If you prefer to use anchovy paste here, a good rule of thumb is 1 anchovy fillet = 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste.
And for those of you who don't like anchovies, sure you can leave it out, but I think they make the dressing.  Your choice!

Nutrition

Serving: 3 tbsp, Calories: 91 kcal, Carbohydrates: 2.5 g, Protein: 6 g, Fat: 6.5 g, Saturated Fat: 2.5 g, Cholesterol: 10 mg, Sodium: 278 mg, Fiber: 0.5 g, Sugar: 1 g

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139 comments on “Greek Yogurt Caesar Salad Dressing”

  1. I LOVE this recipe. This was actually my first Skinnytaste recipe a couple years ago. I have made this multiple times, it’s a great addition for a large family/holiday dinner. I follow recipe as is, but use the oil from anchovies instead of olive oil & add extra garlic + fresh ground pepper. I blend in food processor then taste and adjust Parmesan cheese, lemon, etc as needed.

  2. Mine didn’t come out as a pourable, more spoonable, ha! But the flavor was awesome! Used Kalamata olives instead of anchovies, as suggested in comments. Will make again! Better than store bought.

  3. Flavorful, light and satisfying who could ask for anything more. Oh and WW friendly too. Thanks Gina for all your wonderful recipes and helping us eat healthy.

  4. I made 2 batches. The second batch I replaced the olive oil with 1/4 avocado and just as delicious. Awesome recipe!!

  5. I don’t have a food processor, but I do have a blender. Will this work? How long would I blend for? Thanks!

  6. Avatar photo
    Stefanie Winborne

    Great alternative to full fat dressing. Very tasty. Will definitely make again. Suggest going lightly with lemon juice-1/4 cup made it almost too lemony. I love lemon, so I was fine with it, but if you prefer a more traditional version, maybe start with half the recommended amount. Delish!

  7. I thought I read someone used Worcestershire sauce in place of the anchovy – how much Worcestershire sauce should I use?

  8. Avatar photo
    Kara Schumacher

    This is my favorite salad dressing of all time! It’s perfect in every way. Tip: unless you’re going to make a double batch every time or have it regularly get anchovy  paste, otherwise you’ll end up throwing out a can of anchovies every week. Worcestershire sauce also works. 

    1. You can transfer the anchovies into a container and poor olive oil on them, enough to cover,it will preserve them.

  9. This is now my go to dressing. I make it every week. I use 1 tsp anchovy paste.
    It’s about 3 servings for me. Love it!!

  10. Avatar photo
    Marie A Fero

    It was awesome! Was the serving size of 3 Tbsp correct? To serve 4 you’d need 12 tbsp, and the amount wouldn’t be enough.

  11. I love this lightened up version of my favourite dressing! Fantastic on a Kale Caesar with some chicken and homemade sourdough croutons. 

  12. I made this dressing tonight & it was really delicious. I used a little squeeze of anchovy paste instead of the filets. This one is definitely a keeper! Thanks, Gina🥰👏👏👏

  13. This was fantastic, I didn’t have anchovies so I used a tablespoon of fish sauce as replacement and it turned out really nice!

  14. Avatar photo
    Kerri Gilmore

    This was delicious! I added extra lemon juice because my lemon had more, and usually enjoy more lemon in everything. Next time (and there will be a next time!), I will only use the amount you called for, as mine was definitely tart. But that’s my own fault, not the recipe. I don’t like fish of any kind but I still added anchovy paste as I know it’s in Caesar Dressing. And it was perfect-not “fishy” at all.

  15. Silly question, but can you make without anchovies or is there an alternative? I love Ceasar dressing but the thought of dealing with anchovies is not to my liking. 

    1. Loved the ease and consistency of his dressing! Found it a bit too tart so will cut back on the lemon juice next time! I’m loving the Skinnytaste recipes and meal plans, thanks so much Gina!

  16. So good! I love all your recipes. I had some worried about the anchovies and it tasting too fishy but it’s so yummy and fresh with the lemon juice! 

  17. This is delicious! I had bought rolled anchovies with capers in the middle and it added a nice flavor. I used the oil they were packed in as the oil in the recipe.

  18. First of all, I love so many of your recipes! But this one tasted pretty bad to me. I did it in a Ninja blender. Do you think that is what ruined it? I am going to try to doctor it up but it tasted a little sour to me…

    1. I went into the WW app and check how many points 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan was (5). Then I checked how many grams would also be 5 points, which worked out to be 34g. Worth checking!

  19. Avatar photo
    Marsha Millikin

    This recipe is a game changer. I love salmon and chicken caesar salads but avoided them due to the dressing. Thanks!!!

  20. I have been using this recipe for decades. It was first put in Gourmet Magazine, I think back in the early ’80s. I’m glad you posted it again, because I had lost track of it.

    It is really good!

  21. Can you make this and store in for future use? If so, do you know approximately how long would it last in the fridge?

  22. This dressing is wonderful!  I followed the recipe exactly except for subbing 1/2 tsp anchovy paste for the anchovies – could probably use a little more if you love the flavor it adds.  It’s a little thinner than restaurant dressings, which is a good thing because it distributes more easily over the lettuce so you can use less.  I used good Parmesan Reggiano, which gave it a lot of flavor and I found I could cut back on the grated cheese over the top.  Oh yes, I sprinkled some capers over the top of the salad for the finishing touch.  

  23. Gina, my husband is allergic to all seafood and can not usually eat Cesar Dressing but I love it! Do you think adding capers, like you do in your vegan version, would replace some of the flavor the anchovies provide? I know I can just leave them out but they really add to the overall flavor!

  24. I love this dressing! So easy to make and so delicious. How long will it store before having to toss it?

  25. Perfectly delicious exactly as written. On a side salad tonight, and can’t wait to add it to a chicken Caesar tomorrow using leftover air fryer Chicken Milanese, also from Gina. Thanks for your excellent recipes!

  26. Avatar photo
    Aspen Cupcake

    My clients asked for a “Light Caesar Dressing” so I thought I would try this. I like using Greek yogurt to make it creamy in place of raw egg and all of that oil.

    Five Stars for a great jumping off point. Had to add more tons more (like triple the amount of recipe) garlic, fresh parmesan, black pepper, anchovies, and Maldon Sea Salt to make it taste like Caesar Dressing as base has no taste.

    It was scrumptious after I tripled other ingredients to taste. 

  27. I’m so impressed with this recipe. It’s as good as the full fat recipe I used in the past. I love this site. I’ve been using your recipes over the past few months and have lost over 28 lbs. Your recipes made it so much more manageable. Thank you!

  28. Avatar photo
    Colleen Anderson

    Is this still possible to make without a food processor? If so, what would you recommend? Thanks! 

  29. This is my second time making this dressing. The first time it was good but a little too much lemon taste for my liking. The second time I made it I reduced the lemon juice to 1/3 cup and some water to make up for it. I also doubled the garlic. I used a little over 1/2 tsp of anchovy paste. It was refreshing and so yummy. I couldn’t stop sampling the remaining dressing in the food processor. Can’t wait to add it to the Shrimp Scampi Caesar Tacos!

  30. Hi,
    Love your recipes!!! Quick questions. I only have anchovy paste. How much would you recommend using to equal 2 anchovies?

  31. Pretty good. I may get crazy and add a raw (pasteurized) egg next time. This dressing came together quickly using my immersion blender. It’s a nice, flavorful dressing.

  32. This is phenomenal!!! I used it for the Shrimp and Caesar Slaw Tacos as well as for a salad with spring mix, spinach, avocado, pulled roasted chicken and halved grape tomatoes. What a great recipe that’s whole, low cal and absolutely delicious!!! A must try! There will be no disappointment!!!

  33. I’ve made many, many Caesar dressings over the years and hands down this is THE best – healthy or full fat. Thanks so much, Gina. We’ve been eating your recipes since end of September, and I reached my goal weight and maintaining (two (very challenging!) weeks, but no gain, one day at time), and my hubby’s almost at his goal. Your recipes are fantastic and do not taste diet-y. We can and will eat this way forever. 

  34. Pingback: Skinnytaste Meal Plan (April 16-April 22) – My Blog

  35. I love Caesar salad dressing but not the calories. I will try this today, I always have a tube of squeezable anchovy paste on hand so I’ll sub that for the 2 filets. Yum!

  36. This was delicious! Made a quick and light casesar for lunch, and the whole salad came together in the time it took to boil the egg. The yoghurt makes the dressing tangier than usual, but I really enjoyed the flavour. 😀

      1. I used 1 and it gave a slight pungy taste. Maybe next time I will be more risky! Thanks a lot, Gina, for another awesome recipe!

  37. This is so delicious and I don’t miss the egg. This has been a life-saver during my pregnancy!

  38. Pingback: Thursday, 26 May | georgiainoz

  39. I made this dressing yesterday and just got to eat it now for lunch with my salad topped with baked salmon. Ooooh boy it was so delicious! Thank you for this recipe. I thought it was perfect as-written.

  40. Avatar photo
    Grandma Chrissy

    Here's an idea…..what do you think of subbing the anchovies with a can of tuna? The water-based is healthier, but the oil-based has more flavor. If using this, maybe reducing the EVOO? I'm thinking some of the fishy taste is better none.
    What do you think?

  41. I don't have a food processor. Can I use a blender or a magic bullet? The bullet is small and would be about the right size I think.

  42. I made this today, and knew the amount of lemon juice would be too much for us, so I almost doubled the yogurt, using a heaping 1/2 cup, and left everything else the same, except the cheese- I increased that by one tablespoon. This dressing was delicious and I can't wait to eat more salad tomorrow!!!

  43. Avatar photo
    Erica Bracken

    Made it and loved it! I only had plain no-fat yogurt (not Greek) on hand and it turned out perfectly.

  44. Do you think this would still taste good without the garlic. I need to give it up due to intolerance. 🙁

  45. made this today for dinner… but could not resist so here I am eating salad for an afternoon snack (and only need 1 Tbsp) . This tastes amazing (left out anchovies.. as did not have will try with next time)!

  46. I have been making my own caesar salad dressing for years & I'm always asked to make a jar to bring to parties when the host is serving a salad. I can't wait to take this next time instead of mine which is 5x the calories & fat & tastes almost exactly the same, without all that olive oil & eggs it's amazing!! The only thing I did change was added a bit more dijon to get rid of the yogurt taste & I used 1/2 a tube of anchovy paste because it's what i had in the frig. Thank you so much for this recipe. I can now have caesar every night & no desire to ever order it in any restaurant knowing how many calories I can save having it at home. I wish I had searched your dressings months ago. Again, Thank you!!

  47. Wow! GREAT recipe! Thank u, Gina!:-) Made it tonight for our salad w/ turkey/veggie meatballs, big pot of homemade sauce (that I snuck more veggies into for the kids!) & whole wheat pasta. It was the PERFECT compliment to the meal! I don't think you'd realize it was as "skinny" at all!! Excited to try all your other dressings! I've made your recipes for dinner every night this week! Thanks for inspiring me!!! (PS that Picadillo was DELISH!!!!) THANKS!

  48. Magic.
    I don't like to have processed, full of sugar, and fat dressings.
    But I Lov ceasar salad and this recipe is just do yummy and healthy. Ur an angel. Tku

  49. Avatar photo
    Tracy Damiano

    This dressing is astonishingly delicious. Definitely don't miss the egg yolks and extra oil. I only had pecorino romano in the fridge so I used that instead of parmesan, which made for a more pungent dressing. Incredibly flavorful, and so yummy that it made me want another plate of Caesar's salad the next morning for breakfast!

  50. I grew up on caesar salad, with the loads of oil and raw egg and still eat it once a week. I just made this dressing and was very happy with it. I saved some for tomorrow too (something I could never do with the traditional kind) so we'll see how it holds up. Thank you so much! You have saved me loads of fat and calories from a household staple. It just stinks throwing away almost an entire tin of anchovies – I've always hated that about caesar salad.

  51. Just made this dressing….it was sooo good. Thanks for the recipe Gina…I am a huge fan of yours!

  52. Just made this it is really good. I have to agree with LeeAnne that next time I'd put just a tad less lemon juice! Other than that perfect 🙂

  53. This recipe is amazing. I've made it twice so far and I plan to always have it in the fridge. I made it exactly as written and I think it is perfect. Now if i can figure out how to make the chicken that I want to put this on for a chicken ceasar salad I'd be very happy. Thanks Gina. Great Job!

  54. I just made this dressing and it was good. I think I will cut back on the lemon juice next time though because it was a little too tart, especially with Greek yogurt being a little tart itself. I will probably add more garlic and more anchovies. Anchovies are what make caesar dressing!! If you like caesar dressing, you have to like anchovies because you can't have true caesar dressing without them! Thanks Gina for great recipes and making losing weight enjoyable!

    1. Actually, the original caesar dressings didn't have anchovies…. it's just hard to find a good Caesar dressing now days without it.

  55. We had grilled chicken caesar salads with this dressing on Saturday. Added in some crusty WW bread and a glass of wine and this was a perfect dinner.

    I used 5 cloves of garlic (one is not nearly enough) crushed and soaked for a few hours in the olive oil. Added a dash of worcestershire sauce. Really good!

    1. I wasn't sure where to post this….you say to use 1/3 cup cheese – how many ounces is this? Thank you so much!

  56. Making this time with grilled chicken breasts and of course lettuce! 🙂 You're awesome Gina. You've helped me lose over 40 lbs so far. Keep up the great work! Can't wait for small fall recipes.

  57. Gina, how long can this be kept in the fridge? I know fresh dressings don't last as long as their preservative-filled counterparts, but I'm not sure how much shorter their life-span is.

    1. Avatar photo
      Gina @ Skinnytaste

      I'm thinking as long as the date on the yogurt container which is why I made a small batch.

  58. You are 100% a mind reader… today on my way in to work i was thinking "i'd like to make a skinny ceaser salad tonight, i'll have to see if Gina has ever done a version, if not i don't want to make it because i don't trust anyone else to lighten up a dressing and not ruin it with some wierd ingredient"… then i check my email and voila! Love you…. you are the number one reason i've lost 35 pounds!

  59. Avatar photo
    Stefanie @ Sarcastic Cooking

    I love anchovies. I don't think this dressing would be the same without it. Sometimes I add a little splash of white wine to my dressing to switch it up a bit.

  60. You can put leftover anchovies with oil in a plastic Tupperware type dish and save in refrigerator. Much like the glass jar

  61. Hi Gina – love your blog!

    You might have covered this before, but I'm wondering about lids for Ball jars. Do you use the 2-piece canning lids or one-piece lids? If it's the one-piece lids, are they plastic or metal, and could you share where you got them? I would like to use them for storage, not canning. thanks!

  62. I don't like the taste of anchovies. Do you think it would taste just as good? Or do you have a suggestion of a replacement?

    1. Avatar photo
      Gina @ Skinnytaste

      There really isn't a replacement for them, I would leave them out and adjust the ingredients to taste.

    2. A restaurant we go to that does tableside Caesar salads puts a little Worcestershire sauce in their dressing. That might add a little of the salty oomph that the anchovies have.

  63. Avatar photo
    Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers

    Awesome recipe! Now this is a Caesar dressing I would be proud to serve to my family!!

  64. Avatar photo
    Raven Blackmane

    Love it! I'm so glad for an egg-less recipe because it was on my "do not eat" preggo list because of the egg. Now I can eat it, and eat I will!

  65. You could always get a side of anchovies from a pizza place , even if you don't order anything else . They'll usually charge you like 50 cents to a dollar, but if you only need 2 fillets for the dressing there is no need for a whole jar 🙂

  66. I ALWAYS have a batch of your skinny blue cheese dressing in the frig. Will have to give this caesar a try. If it's anywhere close to your blue cheese recipe, I'll be keeping a batch of each from now on!

  67. 3 TBSP!! FOR A SERVING! You're my hero. My favorite dressing is about $4-5/jar and it's 2 pts+ for 2 tbsp.

    How long does the dressing last in the fridge (seeing as I may want to triple the batch or something?)

    1. Avatar photo
      Gina @ Skinnytaste

      I would say it should last as long as your yogurt is good, so check the date and use fresh yogurt.

  68. I looked around and 1/2 tsp paste equals two anchovy fillets. Thanks for the recipe – I love caesar salad but rarely eat it because of the dressing.

    Kristina

  69. I LOVE CEASAR DRESSING! Can't wait to try this! Do you have any suggestions on how to use the leftover anchovies? I have never bought anchovies but would assume you would need to use them fairly quickly after opening a pack/container/jar?? See, I don't even know what they come in!!

  70. I would also like to know how much paste to use. My husband's family has an age old recipe that involves soaking 5 crushed cloves in 1/2 cup olive oil for 4 hours. Oh my lord, that salad is so good yet so terrible for you.

    Ill still soak the garlic before hand.

    1. Avatar photo
      Gina @ Skinnytaste

      Olive oil is good for you, just not for your hips 😉

      I think an inch is equivalent to one anchovy, it should say on the tube.

  71. I'll definitely have to try this. I rarely buy anchovy fillets since they dry out or turn gross before I can use them all. However, I do have a tube of anchovy paste in the fridge. Do you think that would be an ok substitution, and how much do you think I should use?

    1. Avatar photo
      Gina @ Skinnytaste

      They sell anchovies in little glass jars, I like to use those. Anchovy paste would work too, but I still prefer using them whole.

    2. I buy canned anchovies then freeze them in small baggies, a couple fillets in each baggie then take them out as I need them

    3. yes to the paste…I make my own Caesar with olive oil and use the paste – it takes a LOT though. I am so looking forward to trying this with the yogurt.