This is the best Vegan Caesar Salad recipe! Dressed in a restaurant-worthy, nut free vegan Caesar salad dressing, every bite of this easy salad is irresistibly creamy, comforting, and garlicky.
This easy Vegan Caesar Salad recipe takes a classic side dish and veganizes it! Homemade croutons and vegan Caesar dressing are tossed with romaine, giving you a deliciously tangy, creamy, and comforting side dish you can serve next to anything. Grab a bowl quickly because it’s sure to be eaten up fast!
Let’s face it: the real star of this recipe is the salad dressing. Vegan Caesar dressing is creamy, smooth, garlicky, tangy, and just so darn delicious. It’s completely crave-worthy! The best part? You can use it for more than just salad, like as a dip with pizza, zucchini fries, or chips, drizzled over roasted vegetables, or even on a vegan burger.
I call this the best vegan Caesar salad recipe because it’s:
- Loaded with restaurant-quality flavors
- Dressed in a briny, garlicky, and nut free vegan Caesar dressing
- Easy to make ahead of time
- A classic side dish that everyone will love!
Jump to:
Vegan Caesar salad ingredients
- Vegan mayonnaise - This is the base of the vegan Caesar dressing. To make oil free dressing, use cashew cream (cashews blended with water) instead.
- White miso - Most Caesar dressings are made with anchovies. To replicate the same umami, salty flavors, you can use white miso instead.
- Garlic - A few fresh garlic cloves are the secret to making vegan Caesar dressing crave-worthy. If you want deeper flavors, swap the fresh garlic for roasted garlic.
- Capers - Traditional Caesar dressing is made with anchovies, which add a fishy, umami, salty, and briny taste. Capers (part of the olive family) are the next best option!
- Lemon juice - For balance, brightness, and to help break up the sharp, tangy flavors.
- Vegan Worcestershire sauce - If you can’t find Worcestershire sauce, use the brine from the jar of capers instead.
- Spices - You need nutritional yeast, granulated onion and garlic, and pepper.
- Croutons - Croutons are easy to make and a must on any Caesar salad recipe. If you want to make homemade croutons, all you need is bread, vegan butter or a drizzle of olive oil, granulated garlic, salt, and pepper. Looking for a low carb crouton instead? Oven roasted chickpeas are just as crunchy and flavorful, and have added protein.
- Romaine - Crispy, crunchy romaine lettuce is classic but you could also use kale or iceberg lettuce.
How to make vegan Caesar salad dressing
First, we’ll start with the dressing. Vegan Caesar dressing is creamy, garlicky, nut free, and easy to make. Keep an extra batch in your fridge at all times to use on more salads, to drizzle on pizza, or use as a dipping sauce for baked zucchini fries!
The flavors in the salad dressing get even better with time. For this reason, I recommend making it a few hours or days ahead of serving. Just keep it in the fridge and pull it out whenever you have a craving!
Here’s how it’s done:
- Prep the dressing ingredients: Chop the garlic and capers. Add them and the rest of the dressing ingredients to a bowl.
- Whisk the dressing: Whisk the Caesar salad dressing ingredients together until smooth.
- Store or serve: Drizzle the salad dressing over a vegan Caesar salad right away or store it in the fridge for later.
How to make the best vegan Caesar salad
Now it’s time to assemble the salad. Don’t forget the homemade croutons for plenty of crunch! If you like to load your vegan salads with plenty of toppings, keep scrolling for even more ideas.
Here’s how it’s done:
- Bake the croutons: Butter the bread slices and season with salt, pepper, and granulated garlic. Cut into cubes and spread them on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven until they’re golden brown and crisp.
- Prep the lettuce: Chop the romaine lettuce into bite size pieces and wash them well. Drain and dry the lettuce, then place it in a large salad bowl.
- Assemble the salad: Pour the dressing over the lettuce in the bowl. Add the croutons, then toss to combine. Garnish with freshly cracked black pepper and enjoy! For full ingredients and instructions see printable recipe card below
Tips for success
- If you like an extra smooth dressing, skip chopping the garlic and capers and blend all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor instead.
- Homemade croutons can be baked ahead of time and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- Don't over dress your salad and toss just before serving no one wants a soggy salad!
- make sure to use a salad spinner so lettuce is relatively dry
- Store the Caesar salad dressing in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 1 week. I don’t recommend freezing it.
What else can you put on Caesar salad?
There are a few extra toppings you could add to a vegan Caesar salad to make it even creamier, more filling, and delicious. Here’s what I recommend:
- Beans and vegetables: Mix in avocado, capers, cucumber, roasted garlic, white beans, or chickpeas.
- Vegan cheese: Vegan parmesan cheese, vegan blue cheese, shredded vegan mozzarella, or just nutritional yeast to keep it simple.
- Protein: Slice up vegan chicken, add crumbled tofu bacon or coconut bacon, or use soy curls to turn the salad into a meal.
Serving suggestions
Need an easy side dish you can serve with anything? Make it Caesar salad! This simple salad is especially great next to comfort food and Italian flavors, like garlic bread, vegan lasagna, and bolognese. For an easy, yet comforting meal, enjoy the salad with a bowl of minestrone soup and focaccia or artisan bread.
More easy vegan salad recipes
- Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad
- Curried Quinoa Salad
- Vegan Pasta Salad
- Easy Vegan Broccoli Salad
- Mediterranean Orzo Salad
Enjoy everyone! Happy Day! Please feel free to comment below and give this recipe a rating. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
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Print
Vegan Caesar Salad
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 Servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This is the best Vegan Caesar Salad recipe! Dressed in a restaurant-worthy, nut free vegan Caesar salad dressing, every bite of this easy salad is irresistibly creamy, comforting, and garlicky.
Ingredients
-
1 large head of romaine lettuce
For Croutons:
-
2 slices of bread, regular or gluten free
-
vegan butter
-
pinch of salt and pepper
-
pinch of granulated garlic
For Caesar Dressing:
-
½ cup of vegan mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon garlic, slightly heaped and finely chopped, about 2-3 cloves of garlic
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1 tablespoon capers, drained and finely chopped
-
1 tablespoon white miso, I use Shiro Miso
-
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
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1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce or 1 teaspoon brine from jar of capers
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2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
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¼ teaspoon onion powder
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¼ teaspoon granulated garlic (powder)
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¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- 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 ¾ to 1 inch cubes. Spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes until crispy, stirring halfway. Remove from oven and cool completely on baking sheet.
- For 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!).
- 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.
- Assemble salad: Pour the dressing evenly over the lettuce. Add the croutons and toss the salad with tongs. Garnish with some fresh cracked pepper and vegan parmesan if you like.
- Enjoy! Serve immediately and enjoy. For photos, Tips, suggestions and more see above post.
Notes
- To Store: Dressing will keep in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to a week. I don't recommend freezing it.
This post has been updated. It was originally published August 2019. the recipe itself is unchaged.
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Category: Salads
- Method: mixing bowl
- Cuisine: American, Canadian
Keywords: vegan caesar salad, vegan caesar dressing
Jaya
Well this floored us it was such a delicious dressing. You really managed achieve the perfect balance of flavor. We so appreciate your efforts thank you!
★★★★★
Verna
What a nice compliment, thank you so happy you all enjoyed it
Allison
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.
★★★★★
Verna
What a nice compliment Allison thank you! I am so happy you're all loving it!! 🙂
Abi
I love this recipe! My husband requests it all the time so we are eating a lot of salads! Thank you!
★★★★★
Verna
Awesome!! Thanks so much for your feedback Abi thrilled you're all enjoying it
Brie
Excellent!
★★★★★
Verna
Thank you so much!!
Nellie
Best vegan caesar dressing hands down!! actually beats any regular too!! Super impressed by this thank you SO much!
★★★★★
Verna
Oh wow thank you so much!
Jaime
This dressing is amazing!! The most flavourful Cesar dressing I’ve ever made and I’ve tried a few good vegan ones. Thanks!
Verna
Thank you so much Jaime! What a nice compliment -you made my day!! Feel free to rate the recipe too
Ted
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!!
Verna
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!
Kayleigh
This is such a good recipe. I don’t ever leave reviews, but it was necessary for this. It’s my new favorite dressing!
★★★★★
Verna
Thank you so much Kayleigh! glad you like it and so appreciate you taking the time to leave such lovely comment!
Hydie fulk
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!
★★★★★
Verna
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
Julia
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!
★★★★★
Verna
Oh thank you Julia! you just made my day. super happy your family is enjoying it!
Verna
Oh thank you Julia! you just made my day. super happy your family is enjoying it!
Beth
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.
★★★★★
Verna
Thank you so much Beth! Thrilled your family enjoyed the salad!
Lisa
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!
★★★★★
Verna
Aww thank you so much Lisa! You made my day! Thrilled you guys love it!
Alexandra
I've tried a few vegan caesar dressings and this is by far the best Caesar Dressing! My family is hooked! thank you!
★★★★★
Verna
Yay!I'm thrilled Alexandra! Glad you're enjoying it!
alyssa
Hi! will this recipe still work if i don't add the Worcestershire Sauce?
Verna
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!
Mary
This is great with your lasagna recipe.
★★★★★
Verna
Yes that is definitely a great combo! thanks so much for your comment Mary, glad you enjoyed the caesar salad and lasagna!