This easy Vegan Caesar Salad is extra special with creamy cashew dressing, grilled lettuce and homemade herb croutons. It's simple to make and perfect as a main meal or side dish.
It’s easy to whiz up this creamy vegan Caesar salad dressing in a blender.
With just a handful of ingredients and a decadent base of soaked cashews, it becomes whirled into a dreamy, intense dressing that goes well over the smokey grilled lettuces.
You could do this on a barbecue, a griddle pan on the hob or skip the step altogether. Though I’d definitely recommend you try it!
Herby croutons are a great way to use up slightly stale bread. You could cut the pieces of bread, but I like to tear it so the uneven surfaces char in the frying pan, adding more smokey flavours to the dish.
You will have lots of leftover dressing, so store it in the fridge. It’s also nice as a dip for raw vegetables.
Gardening
Try as I might, I’m not a gardener. I have visions of myself wafting about the garden, pruning with wild abandon, having some sort of idea what needs to be done. But truth be told, I am a serial plant killer.
I forget to water things; weeding is a necessity that I can’t be bothered with. I don’t completely blame myself though. It’s the little beasties that nibble everything that I plant that cause me such discouragement. I can’t seem to grow food for my table, and instead I grow buffets for slugs and snails. I’m nice to them like that.
I don’t have the stomach to pick them off and move them to another part of the garden, and I certainly wouldn’t want to hurt them, so I’ve resorted to asking them nicely to leave my kale alone. Here’s a gardening tip: slugs don’t understand gentle persuasion and reasoning.
Windowsill Harvest
There’s one place, however, where I can garden with a little more confidence (and a lot less talking to slugs): my kitchen windowsill.
Herbs are very easy to take care of, so I always have a few varieties on my windowsill, waiting to pep up meals. It’s hard to forget to water them when I’m so often at the sink getting water or filling the kettle anyway. I also like to grow lettuce. It’s fast-growing and you can cut it and it will quickly grow back. It’s easy gardening and a level that I can definitely handle. Plus, the slugs and snails can’t get to it.
Lettuce is one of those windowsill crops that is both simple and rewarding. It’s lovely to have a steady supply of salad leaves that couldn’t be any fresher. It also cuts down on wasteful packaging and saves a trip to the shops. There’s no long wait for harvest and not a lot of effort involved. It’s lazy gardening, and that’s just my sort.
Tips to Reduce Food Waste
- Keep the root end of little gem and romaine lettuce, place it in a dish with a little water in a windowsill and it will regrow.
- If your windowsill herbs are growing too big, chop some up and save them in ice cube trays with a little water or olive oil, perfect for soups and other meals.
- If you’re trying to cut carbs, large lettuce leaves are a great substitute for bread rolls and wraps for burgers or falafels.
- Add lettuce to soups; it will wilt and bring extra flavour and goodness.
More Salad Recipes:
I love easy salads for a healthy dinner, lunch or side dish. Hearty salads, vegan salads, garden salad, tossed salad – you name it, I adore an easy salad.
Try some of these salad recipes:
Apple Beetroot Salad with Tahini Dressing
Strawberry Spinach Salad
Apple Walnut Salad with Walnut Pesto
Shredded Brussels Sprout Salad
Pea Salad
Broccoli Salad
Brazilian Gaucho Potato Salad
Vegan Caesar Salad
Mexican Grilled Chipotle Salad in Tortilla Bowls
Sauteed Butter Bean Salad
Green salad with pepita dressing
Get the recipe!
If you make this easy vegan caesar salad recipe, please tag it with #veggiedesserts on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. I LOVE seeing your recreations of my recipes!
Also, pop down to the comment and let me know how you got on with the recipe. It’s always great to hear from my readers. Your support allows me write this food blog and bring you vegetable cake recipes as well as vegan desserts, plus savoury vegetarian and vegan recipes and breakfasts and drinks.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Caesar Salad with Grilled Lettuce and Herby Croutons
Ingredients
- 50 g cashews raw unsalted, soaked overnight
- 4 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon capers
- 1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
- ½ teaspoon garlic crushed
- Sea salt and black pepper
For the herby croutons
- 2 large slices of bread slightly stale rustic loaf works best
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoon mixed herbs
To serve
- 2 little gem lettuces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 teaspoon nutritional yeast optional
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in a bowl of water overnight (or for at least 4 hours). Drain and rinse well.
- In a high speed blender, blitz the drained cashews, water, oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic and capers until smooth and creamy. If necessary, add a little more water, sparingly, to make it a thick drizzling consistency. Season with the salt and pepper.
For the herby croutons
- Tear the bread into bite-sized pieces, then toss in a bowl with the olive oil and herbs to coat.
- Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and pan fry the bread pieces until crispy.
To serve:
- Heat a grill pan until hot.
- Meanwhile, slice the little gem lettuces into quarters lengthways. Drizzle with the olive oil and use your hands to coat it thoroughly.
- Place the lettuce quarters onto the hot grill pan and sear to create char lines.
- Divide the lettuces onto plates, drizzle with the dressing and top with the croutons. Sprinkle with the nutritional yeast and enjoy immediately.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors, so is not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietician for special diet advice.
Martin Hanson
i made this yesterday. really nice. lots of cesar dressing left over so we are having it again tonight. We had it with chicken because we arent vegan but my wife is alergic to eggs and milk.
Catherine
While I love caesar salad, I never felt comfortable with the raw egg in the dressing so this vegan option is right up my alley!
Jessica Fishman Levinson
What a great lunch or dinner for a busy week! Love that creamy cashew dressing!
Lisa Bynum
I love that you grilled the lettuce. The char adds such an amazing flavor!
Brandi Crawford
I love cesar salad! I'm so glad there is a vegan version. Those croutons look amazing.
Denisse | Le Petit Eats
Those herby croutons would be amazing in any salad!
Lorna Gavinson
This is so good! I grilled big romaine lettuces on the barbecue and added the yummy dressing. No croutons as I'm gluten-free but really good without.
Choclette
Gardening is by no means easy. On top of the slugs, pigeons, voles and mice last year, we also had dear - very disheartening. This looks totally scrummy and the sort of salad I'd actually look forward to eating.
Elizabeth
I'm a big fan of caesar salad, and I am sure this vegan version would not disappoint! Gorgeous photos! Off to buy some nutritional yeast now! Thank you for sharing with the #nowastefoodchallenge 🙂
Margot
Thank you for sharing with IR link-up. Caesar salad is one of those dishes that remind me of working on the cruise ship, I have never heard of it before. Your vegan version sounds delicious.
Pebble Soup
This looks so good, it's one of my favourite salad too thanks for participating in Inheritance Recipes we love you there
Katie Bryson
This sounds and looks DIVINE!!!!! I need to try making this dressing as you have totally sold it to me - dreamy and intense... sounds like Tom Hardy! Thanks for hooking up with this month's round of Simple and in Season.
Pebble Soup
This makes lovely pictures and I am sure an even lovelier dish. Thank you for linking to #Inheritancerecipes. I think this is our very first vegan recipe on the challenge and certainly one to pass down to our health conscious teenagers.
Michelle @ Greedy Gourmet
You're an even better gardener than me! I won't even remember to water the windowsill plants either. I love plants and seeing them grow but have resorted to money plants because they are very forgiving. The rest can fend for themselves outside! Would love to try this creamy cashew sauce.
Nadia
The dressing sounds delicious and so do the herby croutons! 😀 Lovely vegan recipe 🙂
Janice
Caesar Salad is one of my favourites. What a clever way to make the classic dressing!
Tina Dawson | Love is in my Tummy
That is a delicious sauce! I love the no-waste tips too!!!
Brandi Crawford
This looks like the perfect salad. I love your tips!
Beth @ Binkysculinarycarnival.com
I always have herbs on my windowsill. I didn't have great luck with the romaine, though. I only got a few little baby leaves! Nice job!
Ali @ Home & Plate
I do grow herbs on the windowsill but keep the lettuces in my garden. This recipe sounds wonderful and would make for a perfect lunch. I've never tried a dressing with capers and cashews and am intrigued how it must taste delicious. I will give this recipe a try soon.
Amy
You've got some great tips here. With 3 teenagers in the house, I'm always looking for ways to make things stretch a little more, but I'm not really a gardener either. Those croutons look divine. Not sure they'd make it to the salad before they'd be all gone.