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Home » Recipes » Appetizers

Beautiful Steakhouse Caesar Salad (+ Styling Steps)

September 28, 2023 by Suzie J. Leave a Comment

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This show-stopping steakhouse Caesar salad is a surefire winner for an impressive dinner side dish or appetizer. Buttery and crunchy smashed croutons adorn wedges of romaine hearts, torn radicchio leaves, and shaved carrots. Then, it is topped with shaved parmesan and dressed with garlicky Caesar dressing. This salad is sure to be a new entertaining favorite for dinner parites!

Romaine lettuce with carrots, croutons, breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. Served on a platter with caesar dressing. this …

This Caesar salad is fun to eat because it requires a fork and knife, just like you would get at a fancy, high-end steakhouse! It is easy to prepare and makes a stunning presentation for any special occasion (or just a fancy date night).

I've been making this salad for years, and it's always a hit. I'm excited to share this dressed-up version (and how I styled the salad) with you so that you can easily impress your guests at your next dinner party.

Jump to:
  • What to serve with this salad
  • Ingredients You'll Need
  • Substitutions and Variations
  • How to make this Steakhouse Caesar Salad
  • Assemble and style the salad
  • Top tips
  • Storage
  • More Steakhouse-Inspired Recipes
  • Recipe
  • More Salads You May Enjoy

What to serve with this salad

Serve this Caesar salad with steak, potatoes, and Brussels sprouts or loaded poblano and potato soup and focaccia bread for some delicious meals!

Ingredients You'll Need

  • Romaine lettuce: use the hearts and not the leafy romaine lettuce.
  • Radicchio: Radicchio is a type of leafy vegetable that is often used in salads and other dishes. It belongs to the chicory family and is known for its distinctive, slightly bitter taste and vibrant reddish-purple leaves. If you're not a fan of radicchio, you can substitute it with shredded purple cabbage.
  • Carrots: get the long carrots, not the baby carrots so that you can shave them into long strips.
  • Sliced sourdough bread, sandwich style.
  • Olive oil
  • Garlic powder
  • Italian seasoning
  • Parmesan Reggiano: get the wedge from the fancy cheese counter if available, it tastes much better! If you can't find that, and you want to style your salad like the photo, then use shaved parmesan, not grated or shredded.
  • Flaky sea salt
  • Fresh, cracked black pepper
  • Homemade caesar dressing or store-bought dressing

Substitutions and Variations

  • Parmesan Cheese: use asiago or grana padano cheese. Both cheeses are similar to parmesan and are available at Trader Joe's.
  • Carrots: Add some good-quality olives or tomatoes instead of carrots. But I love how the strips of carrots look in this salad.
  • Make it gluten-free or low-carb; replace the smashed croutons with crumbled parmesan cheese crisps.
  • Spicy: sprinkle a pinch of cayenne or Calabrian chili powder over the salad to add a touch of heat.
  • Steak or chicken Caesar: add strips of chicken or steak to make this salad a main dish.
  • Shrimp Caesar: finish this salad with some pan-seared shrimp (my favorite).

How to make this Steakhouse Caesar Salad

Make the dressing

  • Make the dressing 4 hours and up to 24 hours before serving this salad to get the best flavor.
  • See the full Caesar dressing recipe here.

Make the smashed croutons

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
  2. Slice the sourdough bread into ½" cubes and add them to a baking sheet.
  3. Drizzle the croutons with olive oil, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.
  4. With clean hands, massage the oil and spices into the croutons. Take the time to cover all the bread pieces with the oil.
  5. Break up half of the bread pieces into breadcrumbs and spread them in an even layer on the baking sheet.
  6. Bake the croutons for 5 minutes on the center rack.
  7. After 5 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for another 5 minutes.
  8. Stir the croutons up and rearrange in an even layer.
  9. Repeat steps 6–8, 2-3 more times, or until the croutons are golden and crispy.

Of course, you can use store-bought croutons and smash them up a bit, BUT if you want to take your salad to the next level, definitely make your own.

A sheet pan full of a mixture of croutons and breadcrumbs ready to be baked.

Prep the lettuce

Wash and dry the romaine hearts and radicchio.

Toss the lettuce with the dressing (optional)

Toss the romaine and radicchio with the Caesar dressing (if desired).

You can also drizzle the dressing over the romaine and radicchio (see next step).

Or, you can serve the dressing on the side.

Assemble and style the salad

Leaves of romaine and radicchio on a sheet pan with strips of carrots.

Present this salad however you want! If you'd like to present this caesar salad how I did in the photo, then follow the steps below:

  1. Using a large platter, lay the romaine hearts out in a decorative manner. Alternate to stems and the head of the romaine to create a balanced look. Place the smaller romaine hearts on top of the larger leaves.
  2. Tear the radicchio into chunks and scatter them around the romaine. Tuck a few pieces underneath, but peaking out from the romaine to create some depth.
  3. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the carrot lengthwise to create some carrot strips. Distribute the strips over the romaine and the radicchio.
  4. If you want to drizzle the dressing over the salad, this is the layer to do it.
  5. Add the smashed croutons. Be sure to get a good combo of both croutons and breadcrumbs on the salad.
  6. Shave the parmesan cheese with a vegetable peeler and sprinkle it on top of the smashed croutons.
  7. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and cracked black pepper, if desired.

Then your finished salad will look like this:

Romaine lettuce with carrots, croutons, breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. Served on a platter with caesar dressing.

Top tips

  • Make the Caesar dressing 4–24 hours before serving the salad to get the most flavor out of the dressing.
  • The smashed croutons can be made in advance, up to 3 days before serving.
  • Use a wedge of Parmesan Reggiano cheese for the best cheese flavor. Shave or grate the cheese right before serving.
  • Use a large platter or even a sheet pan (for a crowd) to serve this salad. Have fun with the presentation and get creative!
  • Smash the bread with your hands when making the croutons. The textural contrast between the toasted breadcrumbs and the bigger crouton pieces is one of the reasons why this salad is so good.

Storage

Store the wet ingredients (lettuce, radicchio, carrot) separately from the cheese in the fridge until ready for use for up to 3 days.

Store the dressing in an air-tight container, until ready to use for up to 5 days in the fridge.

The smashed croutons should be stored in an air-tight container, in the pantry for up to 1 week.

More Steakhouse-Inspired Recipes

  • Creamy soup topped with bacon, cheddar and green onions in a black bowl.
    The Best Loaded Poblano and Potato Soup
  • Flat iron steak on cutting board
    How to Cook the Perfect Flat Iron Steak in Cast Iron
  • Crispy Smashed Potatoes
    The Best, Crispy Smashed Fingerling Potatoes
  • Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing
    The Ultimate Steakhouse Blue Cheese Dressing Recipe

Did you try this recipe? Did you enjoy the styling and assembling tips for the salad? If so, would you like to see more recipes like this? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments! Happy cooking! Suzie

Recipe

Romaine lettuce with carrots, croutons, breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. Served on a platter with caesar dressing.

Beautiful Steakhouse Caesar Salad

Recreate the upscale steakhouse Caesar salad in the comfort of your own kitchen! With simple-to-follow steps and styling tips, you'll whip up a restaurant-quality Caesar salad at home without breaking the bank!
5 from 5 votes

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*Easily adjust serving size to your liking by clicking the number under servings or with the boxes below in the ingredients section.

Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people, as a side dish
Calories 575 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup Caesar Dressing homemade or store-bought
  • 1 medium or large Romaine Hearts
  • 4 leaves Radicchio
  • ½ medium Carrot
  • 5 slices Sourdough Bread sandwich style
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning
  • ⅓ cup Olive Oil
  • ⅓ cup Parmesan Reggiano Cheese freshly shaved
  • ½ teaspoon Flaky Sea Salt for serving, or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper fresh cracked
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Instructions
 

For the smashed croutons

  • Preheat the oven to 425F.
  • Slice the sourdough bread into ½" cubes and add to a baking sheet.
  • Drizzle the croutons with olive oil, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. With clean hands, massage the oil and spices into the croutons. Take the time to cover all the bread pieces with the oil. Break up half of the bread pieces into breadcrumbs, and spread in an even layer on the baking sheet.
  • Bake the croutons for 5 minutes on the center rack.
  • After 5 mins, remove from the oven an allow to cool on the baking sheet for another 5 minutes.
    Stir the croutons up and rearrange in an even layer.
  • Repeat the last 2 steps 2-3 more times, or until the croutons are golden and crispy.

For the salad

  • Cut the root end off of the romaine and carefully break the leaves apart, leaving the romaine leaf whole.
  • Carefully remove the leaves of the radicchio from the head, leaving the leaf whole.
  • Wash and dry the romaine hearts and radicchio. Lay the leaves out on a clean kitchen towel and carefully pat the leaves dry. (Make sure the leaves are nice and dry so the salad isn't watery).
  • If you want to toss the dressing with the leaves, grab a large bowl, using clean hands (or food-safe gloves), and gently toss the leaves with the dressing.
  • Using a large platter, lay the romaine hearts out in a decorative manner. Alternate to stems and the head of the romaine to create a balanced look. Place the smaller romaine hearts on top of the larger leaves.
  • Tear the radicchio into chunks and scatter them around the romaine. Tuck a few pieces underneath, but peaking out from the romaine to create some depth.
  • Using a vegetable peeler, shave the carrot lengthwise to create some carrot strips. Distribute the strips over the romaine and the radicchio.
  • This is the layer to do it if you want to drizzle the dressing over the salad.
  • Add the smashed croutons. Be sure to get a good combo of both croutons and breadcrumbs on the salad.
  • Shave the parmesan cheese and sprinkle it on top of the smashed croutons.
  • Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and cracked black pepper, if desired.

Notes

  • Make the Caesar dressing 4–24 hours before serving the salad to get the most flavor out of the dressing.
  • The smashed croutons can be made in advance, up to 3 days before serving.
  • Use a wedge of Parmesan Reggiano cheese for the best cheese flavor. Shave or grate the cheese right before serving.
  • Use a large platter or even a sheet pan (for a crowd) to serve this salad. Have fun with the presentation and get creative!
  • Smash the bread with your hands when making the croutons. The textural contrast between the toasted breadcrumbs and the bigger crouton pieces is one of the reasons why this salad is so good.

Nutrition

Calories: 575kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 13gFat: 39gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 12gMonounsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 1268mgPotassium: 152mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1376IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 163mgIron: 4mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Hi, I'm Suzie!

I'm the recipe creator, photographer, and official taste tester here! I create everyday recipes inspired by dishes I've had from my favorite restaurants around Sonoma, Napa, and beyond.

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