Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe
Caesar salad, a restaurant menu favorite, is a simple combination of ingredients, typically consisting of Romaine lettuce, Parmesan cheese, croutons, and of course, Caesar dressing. The dressing enlivens these ingredients and turns the whole into a rich, creamy, salty, delicious dish. Traditional Caesar salad dressing is made from oil, lemon juice, garlic, anchovies, Parmesan, eggs, salt, and spices, but if you're following a vegan diet or reducing dairy or other animal products, you don't have to renounce this decadent dressing.
Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a recipe for a vegan Caesar salad dressing that won't make you miss the original. Cashew cream forms the base, which makes the dressing luxuriously creamy. The flavors of garlic, lemon juice, capers, Dijon, onion powder, salt, and pepper mix together with the rich cashews to mimic the cheesy, tangy, and salty flavor of the traditional version.
Soaking the cashews takes up most of the recipe preparation time, but it's passive resting time. Once they're soaked, the recipe comes together in only 5 minutes. Leftover dressing can keep in the fridge for up to a week to be enjoyed at your leisure, but it also freezes well if you want to take advantage of the convenience of whipping up a big batch to portion out for later. We think you'll love this irresistible dressing on Caesar salad, but don't miss out on other creative ways to serve it, for example as a dip or spread, drizzled on roasted veggies, and in creamy pasta salads.
Gather your vegan Caesar salad dressing ingredients
For this recipe, you will need unsalted raw cashews.You will also need garlic, lemon juice, Dijon, and capers for flavor. Finally, grab some onion powder, salt, and black pepper for seasoning and have water on hand for blending.
Step 1: Boil the water
Bring a small pot of water to a boil, and then remove it from the heat.
Step 2: Soak the cashews
Add the cashews and let them soak in the hot water for 30 to 40 minutes.
Step 3: Place the cashews in the blender
Drain the cashews and place them in a blender.
Step 4: Add the other ingredients
Add the garlic, lemon juice, Dijon, capers, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and water to the blender.
Step 5: Blend the dressing
Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender if necessary. You can add more water 1 tablespoon at a time if you prefer a thinner dressing. Taste and adjust for salt or other seasonings.
Step 6: Serve the vegan Caesar salad dressing
Serve the dressing immediately over Romaine lettuce and croutons, or refrigerate for up to 1 week to serve later.
Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe
This Caesar dressing recipe captures all of that classic, creamy, savory goodness as the original, but in vegan form.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon
- 4 teaspoons capers
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ cup water
Directions
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil, and then remove it from the heat.
- Add the cashews and let them soak in the hot water for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Drain the cashews and place them in a blender.
- Add the garlic, lemon juice, Dijon, capers, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and water to the blender.
- Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender if necessary. You can add more water 1 tablespoon at a time if you prefer a thinner dressing. Taste and adjust for salt or other seasonings.
- Serve the dressing immediately over Romaine lettuce and croutons, or refrigerate for up to 1 week to serve later.
Nutrition
Calories per Serving | 81 |
Total Fat | 6.2 g |
Saturated Fat | 1.1 g |
Trans Fat | 0.0 g |
Cholesterol | 0.0 mg |
Total Carbohydrates | 5.0 g |
Dietary Fiber | 0.6 g |
Total Sugars | 1.0 g |
Sodium | 92.6 mg |
Protein | 2.7 g |
What is cashew cream and how can I use it?
Cashew cream, a mixture of blended cashews and water, is a magic ingredient in dairy-free cooking because it can make recipes thick, creamy, and rich without dairy cream. It can also replace coconut milk or sour cream. In the case of the latter you'll need to add acidic ingredients like lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Cashew cream is pretty straightforward to make. Make sure you use raw, unsalted cashews. They must be soaked first to soften them and make them easier to blend until smooth. To do so, cover them with water in a bowl and let them soak for 8 to 12 hours before draining and rinsing them. If you're short on time, you can pour boiling water on the cashews and let then soak for at least 30 to 40 minutes but up to 1 to 2 hours, depending on the speed of your blender and how many cashews you're soaking. Then drain, rinse, and blend them with a little water until smooth.
This versatile ingredient can be used in many ways to make dishes decadently creamy. We've used it to make vegan Caesar dressing creamy and rich in this recipe. You can add flavorings to plain cashew cream to adapt it to certain recipes. For example, the vegan nacho sauce in this vegan refried lentil nacho recipe calls for garlic, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and salt. Other ways to use cashew cream include thickening sauces and soups; making curries, mashed potatoes, and pasta sauces creamy; enhancing smoothies; and enriching desserts like pies and plant-based cheesecakes.
What other ways can I serve vegan Caesar salad dressing?
Caesar salad dressing is best known as the condiment that brings Caesar salad together, but you don't need to limit using this delicious and creamy dressing to just that use. It's versatile and can make a variety of recipes extra delicious. A simple way to serve it is as a dip. Dip raw vegetables like cucumber, carrots, celery, and broccoli, or scoop it up with pita chips or tortilla chips. You can even use it as dip for plant-based slices of pizza, French fries (including sweet potato fries or butternut squash fries), and crispy air fried cauliflower bites. It would also be delicious as a spread on a plant-based burger, a veggie wrap, or a sandwich.
This creamy cashew dressing is also delicious drizzled over roasted or grilled vegetables like eggplant, zucchini, peppers, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes, and it can give plain steamed vegetables a little pizzazz. It's a good choice for spooning over grain bowls or Buddha bowls full of healthy ingredients like quinoa, rice, vegetables, legumes, tofu, seeds, and herbs. Sub this vegan dressing in dishes that normally call for a mayo or dairy-based creamy dressing like potato salad, coleslaw, pasta salad, or chickpea salad, which is a delicious alternative to chicken salad. Last but not least, mix it into any kind of salad, not just Caesar.