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Vegan Caesar Salad with dressing being drizzled over it.
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5 from 8 votes

Classic Vegan Caesar Salad

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!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Soak Time4 hours
Total Time4 hours 30 minutes
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American, Italian
Servings: 6
Calories: 351kcal
Author: Alissa

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
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Croutons

  • Preheat oven to 400°F. 
  • 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. 
  • 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 351kcal | Carbohydrates: 37.8g | Protein: 14.1g | Fat: 18.3g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 784mg | Potassium: 811mg | Fiber: 3.5g | Sugar: 4.1g | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 2.3mg