Behind The Seasoning: Caesar Seasoning

The first Caesar salad is said to have been made at Caesar’s restaurant in Tijuana in the 1920s by an Italian chef named Cesare Cardini. The restaurant was so popular that it frequently ran out of food, and on one such occasion chef Cardini instructed his cooks to mix up romaine lettuce, Parmesan cheese, cubes of bread, and other ingredients that would become ubiquitous to the Caesar salad. These salads were originally assembled tableside as a bit of interactive showmanship, and soon enough the salad travelled across the United States.

What is Caesar Seasoning?

We developed our plant-based Caesar Seasoning to deliver on the zesty, cheesy, fishy flavor of a classic Caesar salad in an approachable, multi-use spice blend. Caesar Seasoning gets its savory and cheesy base from a generous helping of nutritional yeast, a hint of acidity from vinegar powder, warmth from black pepper and mustard powder, and familiar aromatic sweetness from garlic, onion, and mushrooms. 

But how to deliver on the fishy, oceanic element of anchovy in a classic Caesar that can’t be ignored? We called on our friend nori, a Japanese seaweed that you’ll often find wrapped around sushi rolls. With its natural umami and straight-from-the-sea saltiness, it gives an impression of anchovies and brings the whole blend together.

What does Caesar Seasoning taste like?

According to our product testers and everyone we’ve fed at Savory Spice headquarters, it tastes like Caesar dressing. More specifically, it’s savory, lemony, salty, and garlicky. The flavor is familiar as Caesar salad, and the complexities in the spice blend will have you taking more and more bites to find what other flavors you can discover. 

What other flavors pair well with Caesar Seasoning?

We love a big Caesar salad as an entrée, but it makes a fantastic side dish paired with a number of other dishes as well. Try on the side of our Eggplant Enchilado recipe–a twist on classic eggplant parmesan. It’s also a great addition to Shrimp Scampi or Black Garlic Flatbreads. If a Caesar salad is the main on the menu tonight, top it with Parmesan Crisps seasoned to your taste. 

How to use Caesar Seasoning?

Whip up a plant-based version of a classic Caesar dressing, season croutons, shake over crispy roasted potatoes, or bake onto fresh salmon. We think anything can be Caesar-ified.

Of course it makes multiple components for a delightful Caesar salad, especially as a dressing, but its use extends beyond the veggie bowl. Try as a seasoning for any number of roasted vegetables, as a crust for baked protein like fish or chicken, or mixed into butter for a compound butter sauce for steak. Use as a popcorn seasoning with a little butter for a cheesy, umami movie treat. We took “Caesar Everything” to heart and even tried a buttermilk Caesar ice cream riff on our No-Churn Buttermilk Vanilla Ice Cream–the results were weird, but honestly not bad. 

Where & How to Buy Caesar Seasoning?

Caesar Seasoning is available in three sizes for all your spice-cabinet needs: our classic medium jar, a half-cup bag, and a 1-cup bag. Check out the product page here to buy online, or head to your local Savory Spice store to chat with Spice Merchants and hear how they love to use Caesar Seasoning.

Recipes using Caesar Seasoning?

If you haven’t figured it out already, we love a Caesar salad, and we’ve got that base covered with our Strawberry Caesar Salad recipe, featuring a Plant-Based Caesar Dressing and homemade Caesar Croutons. But we Caesar-ed everything we could find in the test kitchen and came up with a few more Caesar-rific recipes. 

For a quick and tasty weeknight protein, try Caesar Salmon, a quick baked salmon with a zingy Caesar crust. Headed to a picnic? Whip up Caesar Pasta Salad to wow your guests with unique flavor and wow yourself with how quick it comes together. One of our favorite ways to taste a new blend is to throw it on some potatoes and roast them up, and we liked that result so much we made an Air Fryer Caesar Smashed Potatoes recipe. Nothing beats a crispy potato, except one that tastes like Caesar. 

We’re not done Caesar-ing everything yet, and want to hear how you use Caesar Seasoning!

Share your Caesar creations and tag us on Instagram (@savoryspiceshop). For even more must-haves, shop our collection of Dips & Dressings.