
My dad is coming to visit this week. This means two very important things are on my “what to make dad” menu. 1) Chili, always and 2) Caesar salad. Those are essential food groups for the guy. Anything else is icing on the cake. Plus, I always welcome the opportunity to use my huge bamboo salad bowl that we received as a wedding gift from our friends. When this bowl comes out, it’s something special!
Even though Caesar salad isn’t traditional holiday fare, I totally think you can serve it as part of a holiday menu. I love an unexpected twist on the table personally. Do you have any non-traditional dishes that are go-to’s for your family? My mother-in-law used to always serve Caesar salad as part of Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner and I swear it was one of the things that went the fastest, next to her famous croquettes. And my dad, well…let’s just say his famous Caesar salad and chili make an appearance at every Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve gathering.
I’ve made a couple vegan Caesar salad recipes over the years (one of which is in my cookbook), but I think this version is my best rendition yet. Recipes are always works in progress for me and I find each time I make it, I’m always trying new things. In addition to a new dressing, I also added roasted chickpea croutons and a nut and seed based parmesan cheese. I used a blend of traditional romaine lettuce with non-traditional Lacinato kale (destemmed of course). This way you have the classic flavour of romaine with the nutritional boost of the kale, without scaring anyone away (ahem, dad). I love the two tone greens in the bowl too. It’s a great make ahead salad because you can prep everything the day before (except for the roasted chickpeas) and then just mix it up the day of your event!
The first time I made this dressing, I actually used double the quantities you’ll see in the recipe below. However, I found that it made way too much (I had half leftover after mixing the salad), so I cut the dressing ingredients in half and it still worked out fine in the blender. I’m just mentioning this in case you are wondering about making a larger batch for a crowd – this dressing doubles beautifully!
I had a lot of fun with the photoshoot for this recipe, so I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking.
And in case I’m not back again this week, I’d like to wish my American readers a lovely Thanksgiving! Thank you for coming here each week and eagerly trying out so many of the recipes I share. If you’re looking for my favourite Thanksgiving recipes, you can find them here. Also check out my 3 Course Step-by-Step Vegan and Gluten-Free Holiday Menu.



Crowd-Pleasing Vegan Caesar Salad

Yield
6 small bowls
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This is a delicious, creamy vegan Caesar salad that will wow any crowd! Everyone who’s tried it goes absolutely nuts over it, and it’s my most popular salad recipe on the blog. To take it over the top, I garnish the salad with a generous amount of crunchy Roasted Chickpea Croutons and a delectable Nut and Seed Parmesan Cheese for the ultimate vegan Caesar salad. The dressing recipe easily doubles for a larger group and it’ll keep in the fridge in a sealed container for a few days so you can make it in advance. Dressing adapted from My Vega.
Ingredients
For the Roasted Chickpea Croutons:
- 1 (14-ounce/398 mL) can chickpeas (or 1 1/2 cups cooked), drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
For the Caesar Dressing (makes 3/4-1 cup):
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) water
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) lemon juice
- 1/2 tablespoon (7.5 mL) Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 small garlic clove (you can add another if you like it super potent)
- 1/2 tablespoon (7.5 mL) vegan Worcestershire sauce (I use Wizard's gluten-free brand)
- 2 teaspoons capers
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt and pepper, or to taste
For the Nut and Seed Parmesan Cheese:
- 1/3 cup raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons hulled hemp seeds
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- fine grain sea salt, to taste
For the lettuce:
- 1 small/medium bunch lacinato kale, destemmed (5 cups chopped)
- 2 small heads romaine lettuce (10 cups chopped)
Directions
- Soak cashews in a bowl of water overnight, or for at least a few hours. Drain and rinse.
- Roast chickpea croutons: Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Drain and rinse chickpeas. Place chickpeas in a tea towel and rub dry (it's okay if some skins fall off). Place onto large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle on oil and roll around to coat. Sprinkle on the garlic powder, salt, and optional cayenne. Toss to coat. Roast for 20 minutes at 400°F (200°C), then gently roll the chickpeas around in the baking sheet. Roast for another 10 to 20 minutes, until lightly golden. They will firm up as they cool.
- Prepare the dressing: Add the cashews and all other dressing ingredients (except salt) into a high-speed blender, and blend on high until the dressing is super smooth. You can add a splash of water if necessary to get it blending. Add salt to taste and adjust other seasonings, if desired. Set aside.
- Prepare the Parmesan cheese: Add cashews and garlic into a mini food processor and process until finely chopped. Now add in the rest of the ingredients and pulse until the mixture is combined. Salt to taste.
- Prepare the lettuce: Destem the kale and then finely chop the leaves. Wash and dry in a salad spinner. Place into extra large bowl. Chop up the romaine into bite-sized pieces. Rinse and then spin dry. Place into bowl along with kale. You should have roughly 5 cups chopped kale and 10 cups chopped romaine.
- Assemble: Add dressing onto lettuce and toss until fully coated. Season with a pinch of salt and mix again. Now sprinkle on the roasted chickpeas and the Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
Tip:
- Be sure to check the label to ensure your Worcestershire Sauce is gluten-free (if necessary) as not many are. I use Wizard`s Gluten-Free Organic Worcestershire Sauce.
- The dressing thickens when chilled, so be sure to leave it at room temperature to soften before using.
Love the use of chickpeas as croutons! I know some die-hard caesar salad lovers, so this would be great for them!
Really nice recipe en lovely pictures. Makes me hungry!
This looks wonderful and so tasty as well as filling!
Chickpea croutons are such a brilliant idea! This salad looks amazing. I can’t wait to try it!
YUMMMM!!!! My dad is also a caesar salad fanatic, and this would be a great recipe to get him to eat more nutritionally packed veggies in a way that he enjoys. I’ll have to save this for our Thanksgiving meal this week! Thanks!
Oh my! The kale mixed into the romaine, the roasted chickpeas, and the gorgeous bamboo bowl – I love them all! This sounds awesome Ange. We tend to keep dishes pretty traditional around the holidays, and whenever I have anything to do with it, the meal is very heavy on the roasted veggies and salads! Now I’ll need to add yours to the mix too. ;)
This looks super yummy, making me very hungry haha!! The chickpea croutons look amazing!
Roasted chickpea croutons!?! You are a genius! A genius, I say. I don’t have Caesar salad very often as a vegetarian, so I love having this lovely alternative. :] // ▲ itsCarmen.com ▲
Any suggestion on what seed would be best to replace the cashews for a nut free version if possible?
I love this! i love the chickpea use instead of croutons!
I made this for dinner tonight and added tempeh sauted in coconut oil. I couldn’t stop sampling the dressing, it is so good. The chickpea croutons and the cashew Parmesan all work so well together. I’ll definitley make this recipe again!
This looks absolutely amazing! Definitely want to use this to impress my non-vegan friends and family :)
Wow Angela, this looks so delicious. I love it!
Hi there,
do you think instead of cashews you could use leftover almond pulp for the vegan parmesan cheese? Other than that this recipe looks amazing. Can’t wait to try it! Also, could you use avocado for the dressing as a nut-free alternative?
Thanks!
Beautiful photography (as usual)! I am making your raw pumpkin pie for thanksgiving this year. first time making it. can’t wait to give it a try.
I am completely obsessed with the nut and seed cheese on this salad. Making this asap! Pinned!
This looks so delicious! I have one question – I can’t tolerate garlic and it does appear in this recipe three times, so do you think it would suffer a lot from the omission of the garlic?
You did an amazing job with this photo shoot. All the colors. I love your countertops! What a great place to take photos… someday! I am living in Asia, and most kitchens here are not meant for family cooking. They are meant as a space for the maid to work, so are very untilitarian, and rarely have light. We did renovate our kitchen to make it a nicer space, but there wasn’t much we could do about the lack of lighting.
I can’t wait to move back to the States and have a big America kitchen again! But– we’re on the 5 year plan. It’s hard to leave the careers we have here– more opportunity!
Oh gosh; this look fantastic! I could see this being a staple salad around our house. Can’t wait to try it.
I’m all over this – stunning, healthy, and soooooo yummy looking! Easy too….love!