Vegan Caesar Salad Recipe

This Vegan Caesar Salad is made with both romaine lettuce and kale and topped off with a creamy and flavorful vegan tahini caesar dressing!  It’s also topped with homemade croutons and crispy baked chickpeas.

 Did anyone see this Vegan Caesar Salad recipe coming after I posted my homemade croutons and vegan caesar dressing recipes?!  I love Caesar salad, but most recipes aren’t even vegetarian due to the anchovies in the dressing.  I wanted to make my own version of a vegan Caesar salad and it turned out so good!

Caesar salad is filling and creamy but also super refreshing.  It’s one of my favorite type of side salad to make and we eat this version a lot around here!

What Is In A Traditional Caesar Salad?

A traditional Caesar salad is made with romaine lettuce, croutons, parmesan cheese and a caesar dressing.  What really makes this salad unique is the dressing.  It is traditionally made with raw egg yolks and anchovies, as well as garlic, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, dijon mustard, black pepper and oil.  The raw egg yolk is what makes the dressing super creamy and paired with the anchovies, it gives it a really nice umami flavor.

Vegan Caesar Salad Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions 

• Romaine Lettuce – Romaine lettuce is the type of lettuce that is traditionally used in a Caesar salad.  It’s great because it doesn’t have too strong of a flavor and it’s really nice and crunchy.
• Kale – These days you see a lot of kale Caesar salad recipes.  I decided to mix the kale and romaine for this recipe because I love them both so much.  I used Dino kale, or Italian kale, instead of regular curly kale, but either will work!  You can also skip the kale and just add extra romaine.
• Caesar Dressing – I used my homemade caesar dressing that I shared last week.  It has a tahini base and so much flavor.  It works perfectly for this vegan Caesar salad!  I’ve also seen a few store-bought vegan Caesar salad dressings that you can easily buy.
• Roasted Chickpeas – I love when a salad is filling enough to be a whole meal so I added some roasted chickpeas for a little extra protein.  I roasted them in some olive oil, salt, garlic and paprika.
• Croutons – I used my super easy homemade crouton recipe that I posted the other week.  You can definitely just use store-bought though to make things a little easier if you like.  Croutons are really important in Caesar salads though, so don’t skip them!
• Parmesan Cheese – I’ve been loving the big chunk of vegan parmesan from Violife.  It’s perfect for grating big chunks to add to the top of your salad.  If you can’t find it, you can  skip the extra parmesan though.

How To Make The Best Vegan Caesar Salad

1. If you’re making your dressing and croutons from scratch, prepare those first.  The croutons take a little while to bake but the dressing comes together really quickly.
2. Next, roast your chickpeas.  Drain and rinse the chickpeas and then pat them dry.  Place them on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil and spices.  Bake until chickpeas are nice and crispy.  Let cool a little bit before you add them to the salad.
3. Start assembling the salad by thoroughly washing your lettuce and kale and ripping it or chopping it up into bite size pieces.  Traditionally Caesar salad uses whole leaves of lettuce but you could also do a chopped version if you like.  I like to cut the kale pretty thinly since it is a little tougher than the romaine lettuce.
4. Add your lettuce and kale to a large bowl.  Pour your dressing over and then use a wooden spoon, or your hands, to mix well.  You want to make sure that all the lettuce and kale is equally coated with the dressing.  Some salads I just pour the dressing right on top at the end but with a Caesar salad it’s important to make sure the dressing is completely incorporated into the salad.
5. Add in the croutons, chickpeas and parmesan cheese and gently toss everything together.  I like to serve mine with a little extra cracked black pepper on top and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
6. You could also put a serving of lettuce into a bowl and then top with desired amount of croutons and chickpeas.

Caesar Salad Frequently Asked Questions

• Is this recipe vegan?  Yes!  As long as you use my vegan caesar dressing, or a vegan store-bought version, and vegan parmesan cheese.
• Is this recipe gluten free?  It is if you use gluten free bread to make your croutons, or gluten free pre-made croutons.
• Does this vegan Caesar salad keep well in the refrigerator?  Romaine and kale hold up pretty well in the refrigerator with the dressing on since they are both hearty.  The salad, when dressed, will probably last about 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
• Can I make this salad ahead of time?  I would suggest preparing all components separately and then putting everything together right before serving.

Have a question that I didn’t answer?  Ask me in the comment section below and I will get back to you ASAP!

Looking For More Vegan Salad Recipes?

Sunshine Kale Salad

Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Kale Salad

Quinoa Salad with Broccoli and Chickpeas

Sesame Crunch Salad with Rice and Tofu

Cucumber Tomato Salad

Vegan Caesar Salad Recipe

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• Author: She Likes Food
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 6 1x
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

This Vegan Caesar Salad has all the great flavors of a Caesar salad but is completely vegan!  It’s so delicious and great for a side salad or light lunch!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 cups torn or diced romaine lettuce leaves
• 2 cups thinly sliced Dino kale
• 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups croutons, homemade or storebought
• 1/2 cup parmesan shards, I used vegan parmesan

Vegan Caesar Dressing:

• 3/4 cups tahini
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 3 cloves garlic
• Juice of 1 large lemon
• Scant 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 2 teaspoons juice from capers jar
• 3 teaspoons light yellow miso paste
• 1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, I like to use cracked black pepper

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Instructions

1. Make your croutons, or you can use store-bought croutons!
2. Prepare your vegan caesar dressing by adding all the dressing ingredients to a blender and blending until a creamy dressing has formed.
3. Next, roast your chickpeas.  Drain and rinse the chickpeas and then pat them dry.  Place them on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil and spices.  Bake until chickpeas are nice and crispy, 15-20 minutes.  Let cool a little bit before you add them to the salad.
4. Start assembling the salad by thoroughly washing your lettuce and kale and ripping it or chopping it up into bite size pieces.  Traditionally Caesar salad uses whole leaves of lettuce but you could also do a chopped version if you like.  I like to cut the kale pretty thinly since it is a little tougher than the romaine lettuce.
5. Add your lettuce and kale to a large bowl.  Pour your dressing over and then use a wooden spoon, or your hands, to mix well.  You want to make sure that all the lettuce and kale is equally coated with the dressing.  Some salads I just pour the dressing right on top at the end but with a Caesar salad it’s important to make sure the dressing is completely incorporated into the salad.
6. Add in the croutons, chickpeas and parmesan cheese and gently toss everything together.  I like to serve mine with a little extra cracked black pepper on top and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
7. You could also put a serving of lettuce into a bowl and then top with desired amount of croutons and chickpeas.

Notes

Dressing recipe makes more dressing than you will probably need for your salad.  I used about a cup but you can use more or less if you like.

• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins
• Category: Salad, Vegan
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American