This vegan Caesar salad is made with crisp romaine lettuce, garlicky baked croutons and to-die-for rich and creamy cashew-based dressing. Rich, indulgent, and full of flavor!
You probably already knew that Caesar salads aren't vegan. Obviously that creamy dressing is loaded with dairy, and often eggs as well.
But they're usually not even vegetarian! The Caesar dressing is typically made with Anchovies, and the Parmesan cheese that gets sprinkled on top could be made with animal rennet.
So I'm guessing there are lots and lots of folks out there who really could use a good vegan Caesar salad recipe. I'm here to help!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Olive oil.
- Garlic.
- Baguette. Feel free to substitute another type of crusty bread here, like Italian or sourdough. This is a great way to use up bread that's a day or more old.
- Salt & pepper.
- Raw cashews. They absolutely must be raw in order for the dressing to have the right texture and flavor. We'll also be soaking them in water for a few hours to soften them up for blending.
- White miso paste. This adds salty, savory flavor to the dressing. Look for it in the international foods section of your supermarket.
- Lemon juice. Use freshly squeezed juice for the best flavor.
- Vegan Worcestershire sauce. Not all Worcestershire sauce is vegan, so make sure you use a brand that is, like Annie's or Edward & sons. You can also make homemade vegan Worcestershire sauce.
- Dijon mustard.
- Water.
- Romaine lettuce.
- Fresh parsley.
- Vegan Parmesan cheese. Use homemade vegan Parmesan cheese, or your favorite store-bought variety.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Make the Croutons
Do this first, so you can whip up the dressing while they bake.
- Cut or tear your bread into small pieces, then add them to a bowl with olive oil and minced garlic. Toss everything to evenly coat the bread pieces.
- Arrange your bread pieces on a baking sheet, sprinkle them with salt, and pop them into the oven until the turn golden brown and crisp up a bit.
Make the Dressing
- Place all of your dressing ingredients into a food processor or blender: cashews, garlic, miso paste, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, salt, and water.
- Blend the mixture it's until smooth, give it a taste test and adjust any seasonings to suit your taste. You can also thin the dressing with some extra water at this point.
Does the dressing recipe look familiar? That's because I already shared my vegan Caesar dressing recipe in an earlier post. Check it out if you want some pro tips on how to make it.
Assemble the Salad
- Tear or roughly chop your lettuce into bite-sized pieces and place them into a large salad bowl.
- Add your croutons, drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with Parm. Give everything a toss, and you're ready to serve your vegan Caesar salad.
Leftovers & Storage
The fully assembled salad is best served immediately, as the croutons and lettuce will get soggy as they sit in the dressing.
If you think you'll have leftovers, I recommend only assembling as much salad as you'll need so you can store the components separately.
The dressing will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 5 days or in the freezer for about 3 months.
The croutons will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
More Vegan Salads
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Classic Vegan Caesar Salad
Ingredients
For the Croutons
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- About half of a baguette, torn or cut into bite-sized pieces (6 cups)
- ¼ teaspoon Salt, plus more to taste
For the Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours, rinsed, and drained
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons white miso paste
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ¾ cup water, plus more as needed
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
For the Vegan Caesar Salad
- 2 medium heads romaine lettuce, cleaned and torn into bite-sized pieces
- Finely chopped fresh parsley
- Vegan Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Make the Croutons
- Preheat oven to 400°F.Â
- Place the bread pieces into a large bowl and add the olive oil and garlic. Toss to coat the bread pieces
- Arrange the bread pieces on a baking sheet and sprinkle them with salt.
- Bake until the bread pieces begin to brown and crisp-up, 10 to 12 minutes.Â
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack to cool.
Make the Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing
- While croutons bake, place all of the dressing ingredients into a blender or food processor bowl. (Note 1)
- Blend the mixture to a smooth paste, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
- Thin with additional water until the dressing reaches your desired thickness.
- Season the dressing with additional salt to taste and adjust any other seasonings to your liking.
Make the Vegan Caesar Salad
- Place the lettuce and croutons into a large bowl. Drizzle in the dressing (as much as you like), a bit at a time. Sprinkle with parsley and vegan Parmesan cheese. Toss.
- Divide onto plates and serve.
Notes
- If your blending device isn't high-powered, I recommend starting with only ¼ cup of water. Blend the ingredients to a paste, the add the remaining water and blend again.
- This recipe makes a large batch of dressing (about 1 ½ cups), and probably more than you will need! I don't recommend scaling down the batch size unless you have a very small blending device. Save the leftovers for future salads, use as a dip, or stick it in an airtight container and freeze.
- The nutrition information assumes a serving includes one sixth of the greens and croutons, 2 tablespoons of dressing, and 1 tablespoon of vegan Parmesan cheese.
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I made the salad for an Easter gathering with my in-laws who seem to be allergic to all veg- my word, I saw them go up for seconds!
I added some made it exactly but added some raw walnuts and apples chunks. And later, I added some butter beans tossed in balsamic vinegar.
Each rendition was Truly delightful and I would make this for home and feast again!
Tastes so good I want to lick the blender. OMG.
Probably the best Caesar dressing I’ve made in my 10 years of being plant based. Love this dressing!
So yummy! Added extra garlic and lemon and used it on our kale caeser. Fantastic recipe.
My husband and I love this recipe so much, having made it multiple times already. Its hard to keep him from eating the croutons. The dressing is delish.
Loved this! I had a vegan Caesar salad at a restaurant a month ago and I'd been wanting one again. This was perfect!!
Yay! Glad it hit the spot! Thanks Megan!
Such a great dressing. I can't stop eating it and love it as a dip for veggies also. The Worcestershire sauce really kicks it up and I love that it's not mayonnaise based and contains healthy miso. My 10-year-old daughter and her friend think it's amazing too!
I'm so happy to hear that it's a hit!! Thanks so much Heidi!
Caesar salad was my favorite before going vegan. Im so glad I finally found a vegan version! This is delicious!
This was fantastic!!! Thanks for sharing:)
Glad you liked it! Thanks Emily!
I can't find Miso paste in any store near me. Is there anything I can use to substitute for it?
You could try some soy sauce. The flavors are a bit different, but it will add some savory/saltiness. You might just need to cut back on the amount of liquid in the recipe. :)
Hi Alissa, how much cashew butter would you use when subbing that for the raw cashews? Thanks!
I'd start with about a half cup, and increase by a few tablespoons if it seems like it needs more. One thing I should mention though - it'll probably have a much nuttier taste if you go with cashew butter, because most cashew butter is made from cashews that are roasted. I'm curious as to how it will taste though, so please let me know if you make it with the cashew butter. My other Caesar dressings use tahini and I really enjoy that, so maybe it will be similar. :)