Caesar Salad is one of my favorites, so I knew I had to create a vegan, plant-based version! This Vegan Kale Caesar Salad is so delicious and even better, so easy to make!
Vegan Kale Caesar Salad
Whether you’re dairy-free, vegan or just trying to eat more plant-based, caesar salad probably isn’t on your go-to list of meals, but now it can be! This dressing recipe is SO creamy and addictive, I promise you’ll love it. Caesar salad is one of my favorites and this recipe totally does it justice. I’ve been making it for weeks now and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon – it’s that good!
Okay, enough rambling from me! Let’s go right to the recipe because obviously that’s what you’re here for…
What You Need to Make Vegan Caesar Salad
As long as you’re stocked up on the right ingredients, this Vegan Kale Caesar Salad is super easy and quick to make! I like to make a big batch of the dressing and chickpea croutons at the beginning of the week to use on salads throughout the week. It makes workday lunches so much less stressful!!
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make the chickpea croutons and vegan caesar dressing, but if you don’t have everything feel free switch it up!
The Croutons…
- Chickpeas
- Nutritional Yeast
- Paprika
- Italian Seasoning
The Dressing…
- Raw cashews
- White Miso Paste
- Dijon Mustard
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Lemon Juice
- Garlic
How to Make This Recipe
First thing’s first, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Then we’re going to soak the cashews to prep the dressing! Most people will recommend soaking cashews a few hours (or even overnight), but honestly I just use warm/hot water and it makes the process so much faster!
While your cashews are soaking, toss the chickpeas with the olive oil and spices, and place them in the oven for about 30 minutes or until nice and crispy (like a crouton)! Then you can prep your lettuce and kale or whichever greens you prefer to use.
Last up is the dressing! All you have to do is drain the cashews and transfer them to a blender or food processor with the rest of the dressing ingredients and some water. Blend until smooth and then put it all together into a delicious creamy caesar salad!
Vegan Kale Caesar Salad
Ingredients
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 head romaine
- 1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 1 tbsp white miso paste
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic
- salt & pepper to taste
Directions
- To prep, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Next, add cashews to a bowl with hot water and cover.
- Add chickpeas to a bowl with olive oil, Italian seasoning, nutritional yeast and paprika. Toss to coat then transfer to the baking sheet and bake for about 20-30 minutest or until golden and crispy.
- While chickpeas are baking, wash and chop lettuce, and transfer to a salad bowl.
- Drain and rinse cashews, and transfer to a blender or food processor. Add about a half cup of cold water along with the white miso paste, dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth.
- To assemble salad, toss greens with dressing and top with chickpeas and any other favorite add-ons (I added tomatoes avocado and vegan parmesan cheese). Enjoy!
Looking for more vegan recipes? Check out some of my favorites here…
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