The nutrition of a Caesar salad varies with ingredients and quantities.
Traditional Caesar salad ingredients focus primarily around romaine lettuce, Parmesan cheese, croutons and the dressing. The nutrition will vary depending on the nutrition information for the croutons and dressing, and the amount of cheese added.
Romaine Lettuce
Romaine lettuce contains relatively few calories, at about one calorie per 6-gram leaf. A cup of chopped romaine will yield roughly eight to 10 calories, while also providing an average of one gram of fiber and one gram of protein. With regard to vitamins, a one-cup serving of chopped romaine also provides approximately 82% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin A and 19% of Vitamin C, with 2% and 3% of Calcium and Iron, respectively.
Parmesan Cheese
Parmesan cheese provides about 22 calories for a one-tablespoon serving, along with one gram of fat and two grams of protein. As a dairy product, Parmesan also provides some calcium, about 6% of the recommended daily value in a one-tablespoon serving. The more Parmesan that is added to the salad, the faster the calories and fat will increase, but not nearly as fast as from the dressing.
Croutons
Crouton nutritional values change from brand to brand, including those made at home. The average, store-bought plain croutons provide about 30 calories per 1/4 cup serving, with one gram of protein. If the croutons are seasoned, the average calories is around 45 per 1/4-cup serving. When making croutons from scratch, the calories and nutrient values of the bread and other ingredients will combine to form the nutrition of the homemade croutons.
Dressing
The average store-bought Caesar salad dressing provides roughly 80 calories per one-tablespoon serving. In addition to the calories, there is an average of eight grams of fat. If the salad is prepared in a restaurant, they often toss the lettuce and dressing together to coat every leaf, which can provide well more than 1/4 cup of dressing per plate-full, or according to this average calorie value, more than 320 calories just from the dressing.
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