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!
- 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
- 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
- 2 medium heads romaine lettuce, cleaned and torn into bite-sized pieces
- Finely chopped fresh parsley
- Vegan Parmesan cheese
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
- 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.