The Best Vegan Caesar Salad Recipe! Made with crispy romaine, crunchy croutons, and an incredible creamy, garlicky 5 minute Caesar Dressing. Nut free and easily gluten free.
I am a caesar salad addict and so is my husband!! So when I want a Caesar salad it has to be good - really good!!
So this Vegan Caesar Salad was one of the first recipes I veganized when I first started eating a more plant based diet (no meat, no eggs, no dairy)
I thought I would have my work cut out for me making my beloved Caesar dressing vegan. I didn’t think the flavour would be up to snuff without the parmesan and anchovy paste.
--Well was I wrong! Swapping out the parmesan for nutritional yeast and miso, and anchovies for capers worked like a charm and with a few other tweaks, you can Say hello to the Best Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing ever!! And I don’t say that lightly! It really is top notch.
No need to run to Whole Foods for store bought dressing! This is homemade and 100% better!? There is no tofu or cashews, it is made with vegan mayonnaise (I use vegenaise brand).
A Classic Caesar salad is a must for everyone, and vegans shouldn’t have to miss out!!
This salad is delicious served with garlic bread and pasta, like Vegan Bolognese or Lasagna. It's also the perfect accompaniment to a serve along side a Hearty Chili or Vegan Burger at a potluck or Bbq.
Or add protein right to the salad and make it a meal in itself. Add in chickpeas, crispy tofu or your favourite seitan chicken strips! Yum!
How to make a Vegan Caesar Salad:
For the croutons: Preheat oven to 350°, lightly butter two pieces of bread on both sides. Sprinkle one side of each piece of bread with a little salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Cut the bread into slices then into 3/4-1 inch cubes. Spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes, stirring halfway. Remove from oven and cool completely on baking sheet.
For the dressing: Finely chop the garlic. Finely chop and or smash the capers with a fork. Add both to a small bowl with the rest of dressing ingredients. Whisk to combine and set aside in the fridge until needed.
For the Romaine lettuce: chop into bite size pieces, add to a bowl of cold water to rinse. Drain and dry the lettuce in a salad spinner, and add to a large salad bowl and refrigerate until needed.
To assemble the Caesar salad: Pour the dressing evenly over the romaine. Add the croutons and toss the salad with tongs. Garnish with some fresh cracked pepper (optional). Serve immediately! Enjoy
For full recipe ingredients and instructions see recipe card below.
Tips for a perfect Caesar salad:
- Don’t over dress your salad!
- Make sure the romaine is cold, crispy and dry
- Must have crunchy croutons!
- Fresh garlic in your dressing
- Dress the salad just before serving ( nobody wants a soggy salad)
- Season the salad with Freshly cracked pepper before serving
Ok let's make a Vegan Caesar Salad, it's:
super satisfying
the perfect side salad
crispy and crunchy
delicious as a meal with added protein!
creamy and garlicky
addicting!
easy to make
easily gluten free
kid friendly
Enjoy guys! Happy day to you? feel free to leave a comment and a rating below. I would love to hear from you.
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Want more tasty Vegan Side Salads and Dressings? Check these out:
- Best & Easiest Vegan Broccoli Salad
- Classic Vegan Coleslaw
- Wickedly Good Vegan Potato Salad
- Mediterranean Orzo Salad with Greek Salad Dressing
- 5 Minute Vegan Ranch Dressing
Vegan Caesar Salad (Best Caesar Dressing)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 Servings 1x
Description
The Best Vegan Caesar Salad Recipe! Made with crispy romaine, crunchy croutons, and an incredible creamy, garlicky 5 minute Caesar Dressing. Nut free and easily gluten free.
Ingredients
- 1 large head of romaine lettuce
For Croutons:
- 2 slices of bread, regular or gluten free
- vegan butter for spreading
- pinch of salt and pepper
- pinch of granulated garlic
For Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon garlic, slightly heaped and finely chopped (approximately 2-3 cloves of garlic)
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained and finely chopped and or smashed with a fork
- 1/2 cup of vegan mayonnaise (I use Veganaise)
- 1 tablespoon white miso (I use Shiro Miso)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce or 1 teaspoon brine from jar of capers
- 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
To make Caesar Salad: (step by step photos above if needed)
- For the croutons: Preheat oven to 350°, lightly butter two pieces of bread on both sides. Sprinkle one side of each piece of bread with a little salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Cut the bread into slices then into 3/4-1 inch cubes. Spread onto a parchment lined baking sheetand bake for 12-14 minutes, stirring halfway. Remove from oven and cool completely on baking sheet.
- For the vegan caesar dressing: Finely chop the garlic. Finely chop and or smash the capers with a fork. Add both to a small bowl with the rest of dressing ingredients. Whisk to combine and set aside in the fridge until needed (dressing is even better the next day!).
- For the Romaine lettuce: chop into bite size pieces, add to a bowl of cold water to rinse. Drain and dry the lettuce in a salad spinner, and add to a large salad bowl, refrigerate until needed.
- To assemble the Caesar salad: Pour the dressing evenly over the lettuce. Add the croutons and toss the salad with tongs. Garnish with some fresh cracked pepper (optional).
- Serve immediately! Enjoy
Notes
- Watch croutons carefully towards the end of cooking time so they don't burn. You want them crunchy not chewy. Oven times may vary depending on how thick your bread i
- dressing will keep in fridge for 7 days
Tips for a perfect Caesar salad:
- Don't over dress your salad!
- Make sure the romaine is cold, crispy and dry
- Must have crunchy croutons!
- Fresh garlic in your dressing
- Dress the salad just before serving ( nobody wants a soggy salad)
- Season the salad with Freshly cracked pepper before serving
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 15 Minutes
- Category: Salads, Gluten free, Sauces & Dressings,
- Method: mixing bowl/oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: vegan caesar salad, vegan caesar salad dressing, caesar dressing, vegan, caesar salad,
This is an absolute staple at our house and even guests request it now.... and I'm the only vegan in the bunch! There's no going back to other Caesar dressings once you try this one.
★★★★★
What a nice compliment Allison thank you! I am so happy you're all loving it!! 🙂
I love this recipe! My husband requests it all the time so we are eating a lot of salads! Thank you!
★★★★★
Awesome!! Thanks so much for your feedback Abi thrilled you're all enjoying it
Excellent!
★★★★★
Thank you so much!!
Best vegan caesar dressing hands down!! actually beats any regular too!! Super impressed by this thank you SO much!
★★★★★
Oh wow thank you so much!
This dressing is amazing!! The most flavourful Cesar dressing I’ve ever made and I’ve tried a few good vegan ones. Thanks!
Thank you so much Jaime! What a nice compliment -you made my day!! Feel free to rate the recipe too
Hi Verna, making this dressing soon. Is the Miso essential to the dressing? I missed seeing it is a paste and I ended up buying Miso cubes (used for miso soup, like a bouillon) how would that work?
All of your recipes are sooo good!!
Hi Ted the miso paste adds a lot of flavour to the dressing, you could make it without but it wouldn't be as good. I have never used the cubes before so I cannot say what they would be like. Hope that helps!
This is such a good recipe. I don’t ever leave reviews, but it was necessary for this. It’s my new favorite dressing!
★★★★★
Thank you so much Kayleigh! glad you like it and so appreciate you taking the time to leave such lovely comment!
I am very picky about salad dressing, and after going vegan no vegan salad dressing came close... until this one! Hands down the best vegan dressing and rivals traditional dressing. My extended family didn't know it was vegan, and we have had ceaser salad everyday for weeks. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! An amazing dressing!
★★★★★
You are so welcome Hydie! I am thrilled you love the dressing! You just made my day! Thank you so much for your kind words xo
This is my families favourite vegan salad dressing recipe! We cannot seem to get enough of it! We made the Caesar Dressing as a dip the other day with French fries haha! So good!
★★★★★
Oh thank you Julia! you just made my day. super happy your family is enjoying it!
Oh thank you Julia! you just made my day. super happy your family is enjoying it!
This is good. I was skeptical as I was making it. My daughter's and I liked it. The pickiest one had two bowls. I had to use line juice instead of lemon soccer that is what I had. This is so nice to be able to have this again.
★★★★★
Thank you so much Beth! Thrilled your family enjoyed the salad!
I made this Caesar dressing tonight and tossed it in kale and romaine from my garden. This dressing is fantastic and I am so excited to have found it. I miss having Caesar salads in restaurants but now I can have them at home. It's really easy to make and it's the best one I've found. Pescatarian husband is a Caesar addict and he loved it too! Thanks!
★★★★★
Aww thank you so much Lisa! You made my day! Thrilled you guys love it!
I've tried a few vegan caesar dressings and this is by far the best Caesar Dressing! My family is hooked! thank you!
★★★★★
Yay!I'm thrilled Alexandra! Glad you're enjoying it!
Hi! will this recipe still work if i don't add the Worcestershire Sauce?
Hi Alyssa, If you don't have Worcestershire sauce I recommend subbing brine from the jar of capers as I state in the recipe. Enjoy the Caesar salad Alyssa!
This is great with your lasagna recipe.
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Yes that is definitely a great combo! thanks so much for your comment Mary, glad you enjoyed the caesar salad and lasagna!