Fast and easy to make, this Keto Caesar Salad features crisp romaine with toasted almonds, fresh parmesan and salty capers, tossed in a lemony-garlic caesar dressing.
This post was originally published on April 2, 2019, and has been updated with a fresh recipe and images, plus we’ve added a video!
Caesar salad is one of my most favourite salads of all time. I mean, who doesn’t love it?! To make it Keto friendly, we simply swap the croutons for toasted almonds, and use a delicious homemade caesar dressing. This Keto caesar salad will not disappoint!
Ingredients
Capers – I absolutely love capers in my Keto Caesar Salad because they bring an addicting salty flair. If you don’t have any/ don’t want to try them, you could use crumbled crisp bacon instead!
Lemon – We use fresh lemon zest and juice in the dressing for a lovely lemony flavour. If you don’t like lemon flavour as much, skip the zest in the dressing.
Parmesan – I highly recommend using fresh parmesan in the dressing and salad – the flavour is completely incomparable! I use either grana padana or parmigiano reggiano.
Almonds – I like to use sliced almonds in this Keto caesar salad, but slivered would work great too.
How to make Keto Caesar Salad
Prep
Heat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with a non stick baking mat or parchment paper. Zest the lemon until you have 1/4 tsp lemon zest, then mince it finely. Squeeze 1 tbsp lemon juice from the lemon and then grate 3/4 cup parmesan cheese.
Peel the garlic and press it through a garlic press. *If you do not have a garlic press, you’ll need to mince the garlic finely and then blend the dressing using a blender or immersion blender.
The dressing
Grab a medium bowl and combine mayonnaise with the garlic, dijon, red wine vinegar, worcestershire, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan. Whisk the ingredients together until fully combined, then refrigerate until ready to serve the Keto caesar salad.
Roasted almonds
Spread the almonds evenly around the prepared baking sheet and then bake for 5-7 minutes, until the almonds are golden and fragrant. Cool completely before serving.
Serve the Keto Caesar Salad
Wash the romaine and then chop into bite sized pieces and place inside a large mixing bowl. Pour 1/2 cup dressing over top and then 1/2 cup grated parmesan, the toasted almonds and capers. Toss to coat the whole salad, adding more dressing if necessary. *the dressing is very rich – be careful not to add too much!
Serve with extra parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- I like to use a garlic press so that the garlic is so finely pulverized, you will only need to whisk the dressing to combine. If you don’t have a garlic press, the dressing can be pureed using a blender, magic bullet or immersion blender so that you can be sure there are no chunks of garlic in the dressing.
- If you don’t like a lemony caesar dressing, skip the lemon zest.
- Be careful when roasting the almonds. Set a timer so that they do not get forgotten – they burn very quickly!
- Don’t have any capers? Try bacon instead! Fry up a few slices until crisp, cool, then crumble into the salad when it’s time to serve.
- Caesar salad isn’t the best leftover, so only dress how much you think will get eaten in one sitting.
- Store any leftover dressing in the refrigerator for up to 7 days, in an air tight container.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Caesar dressing is Keto friendly?
A lot of the store bought caesar dressings are going to have unhealthy ingredients such as sugar and preservatives. This is why it’s best to make your own!
Besides, the caesar dressing for this Keto Caesar Salad is way tastier than any store bought dressing you’d find, and it comes together in just a few minutes!
What salad can I eat on a Keto diet?
There are quite a few Keto friendly salads you can enjoy besides this Keto Caesar Salad. Broccoli Salad with Bacon & Cheddar is a family favourite, along with Antipasto Salad, Asian Slaw, Cauliflower ‘Potato’ Salad, Cobb Salad and Cauliflower Bacon Ranch.
Can I make a Keto Caesar Salad ahead of time?
This salad can be prepped ahead of time, as long as the dressing does not get mixed in until you are ready to serve. The almonds can be toasted, romaine can be washed and chopped, dressing can be made and parmesan cheese can be grated. Then simply toss it all together when it’s time to serve!
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Keto Caesar Salad
Ingredients
- 1 head romaine
- ⅓ cup sliced almonds *see note 1
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese *see note 2
- 1 tbsp capers *see note 3
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tsp dijon
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp worcestershire
- 1 tbsp lemon juice *see note 4
- ¼ tsp lemon zest
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 10-15 grinds black pepper
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Prep
- Heat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with a non stick baking mat or parchment paper. Zest the lemon until you have 1/4 tsp lemon zest, then mince it finely. Squeeze 1 tbsp lemon juice from the lemon and then grate 3/4 cup parmesan cheese.
- Peel the garlic and press it through a garlic press *see note 5.
The dressing
- Grab a medium bowl and combine mayonnaise with the garlic, dijon, red wine vinegar, worcestershire, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan. Whisk the ingredients together until fully combined, then refrigerate until ready to serve the Keto caesar salad.
Roasted almonds
- Spread the almonds evenly around the prepared baking sheet and then bake for 5-7 minutes, until the almonds are golden and fragrant *see note 6. Cool completely before serving.
Serve the Keto Caesar Salad
- Wash the romaine and then chop into bite sized pieces and place inside a large mixing bowl. Pour 1/2 cup dressing over top and then 1/2 cup grated parmesan, the toasted almonds and capers. Toss to coat the whole salad, adding more dressing if necessary. * the dressing is very rich – be careful not to add too much!
- Serve with extra parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- I like to use sliced almonds in this Keto caesar salad, but slivered would work great too.
- I highly recommend using fresh parmesan – the flavour is completely incomparable! I use either grana padana or parmigiano reggiano.
- I absolutely love capers in my Keto Caesar Salad because they bring an addicting salty flair. If you don’t have any/ don’t want to try them, you could use crumbled crisp bacon instead!
- We use fresh lemon zest and juice in the dressing for a lovely lemony flavour. If you don’t like lemon flavour as much, skip the zest in the dressing.
- Use a garlic press so that the garlic is so finely pulverized, you will only need to whisk the dressing to combine. If you don’t have a garlic press, the dressing can be pureed using a blender or immersion blender so that you can be sure there are no chunks of garlic in the dressing (Unless you’re into that).
- Be careful when roasting the almonds. Set a timer so that they do not get forgotten – they burn very quickly!
- Caesar salad isn’t the best leftover, so only dress how much you think will get eaten in one sitting.
- Store any leftover dressing in the refrigerator for up to 7 days, in an air tight container.
Nutrition
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