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.
My daughter made this for a family dinner and I think I now prefer it to a traditional Caesar salad. so good!
Looks amazing. Is there a suggested sub for oil?
Hey Jaymee, I’m sorry I don’t have a swap to recommend for the oil! If you try anything let me know how it goes :)
Plain unsweetened soy Greek yogurt worked a treat
I swap the oil with 1/2 wine vinegar and half water
This is hands down the best vegan Caesar recipe I’ve ever found. Better than any vegan restaurant Caesar I’ve tried and I’ve tried a lot. Great for vegans and non vegans alike. This recipe and my versions of it with whatever I have on hand is absolutely a staple in my house. You can do a lazy version and just make the dressing by itself and it’s still amazing, but with all the toppings it’s really flavorful and worth the effort as well.
This is amazing!!! I did cut back on the oil and I didn’t have Worcestershire sauce but the salad ? was still soooo good!
I’ve made this a couple of times and plan to add it to my regular recipes. If you haven’t tried it you MUST so good! Only thing I still need to do is figure out how much garlic to add in the dressing I added 2 cloves and LOVED it but others found it to be too strong. Put one clove in and others loved it but I felt it wasn’t strong. So this is more of a person issue rather than the recipe haha. I think I plan to try 1 &1/2 cloves and see how it pans out. Also I omited capers just because I dont have much uses for them in other recipes, if you have a substitute for them or if I could use a seasoning that would be lovely to know :)
Any sub ideas for the Worcestershire sauce? I have a soy allergy (and wheat allergy). Thank you!
@Karla, you could probably use coconut aminos, because I believe that is gluten and soy free.
I use a mix of coconut aminos and vegemite or marmite and they work great!
This salad was delicious! The dressing is creamy and a little sweet.
I didn’t make the parmesan, because I don’t have any hemp seeds on hand. Is there a good substitute, chia or flax? I also love the pecan parmesan that is in your cookbook!
I used pumpkin and sunflower seeds and it was great!
I used ground flax instead and it was fine.
Moat nuts or seeds except chia and flax. They definitely don’t have the right texture a d maybe not walnuts or pecans. Think almonds, Brazil Nuts, pine nuts, possibly macadamia but might be too strong of a flavor. Sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
I loved your recipe! I was wondering how long the dressing would last in the fridge?
For any fellow pescetarians out there, subbing the capers with canned anchovies or anchovy paste takes the dressing from great to excellent!
Eww.
Great tip!
So good.
any sub for the capers?
I have been making this recipe for probably every holiday and an occasional weekend for almost 2-3 years now. Me and my husband are obsessed. Airfried tofu instead of chickpeas sometimes is bomb as well. But it is literally PERFECT the way it is. Thank you so much for this!❤️
I absolutely adore this salad. This is my second time making it, and the first time I made it I missed the step of adding oil to the Parmesan cheese and I much prefer that method. It gives you something shakeable versus spreadable. I remade this batch and will use the version with olive oil on toast or veggies. Thank you!
This salad was so good! I made a few changes… I omitted the oil in all steps although next time when I drain the chickpeas I will save some to replace the oil in the dressing. The chickpeas maybe weren’t as crisp without it but still delicious. I added some sliced, peeled cucumber because I had some on hand. I didn’t put fresh garlic in the parmesan just because I’m sensitive to garlic and what is in the dressing seemed like enough. Finally, I only had curly kale so I massaged it with some of the dressing to soften it and then added the romaine and everything else. I will definitely be making this again!
I made the recipe as is for the first time yesterday. I love your suggestion of leaving out the oil! I am definitely trying that next time, thanks for the tip!
Get you a blog, girl. Cause that’s YOUR recipe and really has nothing to do with this one anymore. LOL
Did anyones parm crumble come out too wet!?
Yes!!!
The dressing is da bomb!!!! Delicious. Thank you!
I am really really really really REALLY obsessed with this salad!!! I LOVE IT!!!
Perfect vegan Caesar dressing. Thanks for the recipe!
So AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS!!!!!
How long can I keep this dressing in the fridge?