Vegan Caesar Dressing

No salad is quite as satisfying as a Caesar salad, with its creamy texture and umami-packed, bold flavor. But if you’re vegan or on a restricted diet, Caesar is probably the last salad dressing you reach for. Traditional recipes call for egg, anchovies, parmesan cheese and often Worcestershire sauce, none of which suit a vegan diet.

This dressing makes some clever twists so you can enjoy the flavors of Caesar dressing without the eggs, dairy, or fish. It’s satisfyingly creamy, cheesy, garlicky, and tart. Regardless of whether you follow a vegan diet or not, you will enjoy it immensely.

It’s fast too. Peel some garlic, squeeze a lemon, puree with the remaining ingredients, done!

What makes this dressing vegan?

There’s no need to soak cashews or look for hard-to-find ingredients to make this vegan dressing. It mimics the classic with simple ingredients you’ll likely find at your local supermarket.

Traditional Caesar dressing uses an egg-based emulsion to add creaminess, similar to homemade mayonnaise. Here, Replace the eggs with tahini, a naturally thick and creamy sesame paste. It adds a slightly nutty flavor to the dressing without overwhelming it.

Nutritional yeast effortlessly stands in for Parmesan cheese, and soy sauce stands in for Worcestershire sauce, which contains anchovies. Or, if you can find it, use vegan Worcestershire.

You can find tahini in most grocery stores, with a larger selection of brands in Middle Eastern markets. You can also order it online. If you look at the label, sesame seeds should be the only ingredient.

Similar to natural peanut butter, tahini tends to separate when it sits. Give a new jar a good stir, really incorporating the oil into the paste, and give it a quick stir before each use.

Also like peanut butter, when a liquid is added to tahini, it thickens rather than thins. That’s because tahini is mostly carbohydrates, and when some liquid is added, the molecules are attracted and form clumps. Enough liquid must be added to pass a threshold, causing the tahini to loosen and thin out.

Gradually add warm water to the dressing until you reach the desired consistency. You may need to add a splash of warm water to the leftover dressing as it can thicken in the fridge. Luckily, it’s a very stable dressing that stays creamy — you can always add water without breaking the emulsion.

The secret ingredient: nutritional yeast

Nutritional yeast is a popular ingredient in many vegan homes. While I’m not vegan at every meal, I love the stuff and always have some in my pantry. Although it looks like fish food, the flakes are incredibly nutritious and smell and taste very similar to parmesan cheese.

In this recipe, nutritional yeast adds umami and cheese, which are key to the Caesar dressing. If you’re making a Caesar salad, I recommend sprinkling some on top as well before serving.

You can find nutritional yeast in a few different sections of the grocery store, either near the breadcrumbs and spices, in the health food section, or in a storage bin.

Equally delicious variations

This dressing is easily tweaked to suit your tastes by adding more or less lemon or vinegar, more or less garlic, and anything else you want to experiment with. Here are a few variations that are also incredibly delicious.

• Roasted Garlic: Swap out the garlic cloves for a whole clove of garlic. Squeeze the roasted garlic into the blender. This is my favorite variation – it gives the dressing a slightly milder, stronger garlic flavor.
• Spicy: Add up to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon Calabrian chili paste, or several dashes of hot sauce to give the dressing a kick.
• capers: Add a spoonful of capers. It doesn’t get quite as creamy, but it has a nice salty flavor.

Ideas for using vegan Caesar dressing

The obvious use for Caesar dressing is in salads, but it certainly doesn’t end there. Use as a dip for crudité or spread on sandwiches and wraps. Replace the dressing or spread with vegan Caesar dressing in these recipes:

• Caesar salad
• Kale Caesar Salad with Creamy Parmesan Dressing
• Grape and walnut side salad with blue cheese dressing
• Avocado Lettuce Tomato Sandwich (OLD)
• Portobello Mushroom Burger
• Cauliflower Steak Sandwiches with Pepper Aioli