Vegan Tahini Caesar Salad

Easy Tahini Caesar Dressing is savory, creamy, rich, and quickly comes together in a bowl! For this vegan Caesar salad we pair it with crisp romaine, homemade croutons, and roasted chickpeas. Make a meal of this hearty salad or serve as a side dish. 

Of all the classic salad dressings, Caesar might be the one that's the least vegan.

Sure you have dairy-filled dressings like bleu cheese, but a Caesar salad contains not only Parmesan cheese, but eggs and anchovies, too! That's a lot of non-vegan stuff going on.

But thankfully, fat, salt, and garlic are VERY much accessible to vegans, and in my opinion these are the most important flavors in Caesar dressing.

There are a number of different ways to achieve a vegan Caesar, but one of my favorites is with a base of tahini. 

Tahini is so rich and earthy and nutty and fantastic. I understand that not everyone is a fan of the flavor of sesame seeds, though. And if that's you, no problem! You can also make this dressing with raw cashew butter or whole cashews or sunflower seeds. Though you'll need a blender if using whole nuts/seeds.

This tahini Caesar dressing couldn't be easier to prepare. Simply add the ingredients to a bowl and whisk together with a fork (hooray for minimal dirty dishes).

Ingredient Notes

Healthy salad dressing that can be made in less than 5 minutes, with only a fork and a bowl, is definitely one of my favorite things.

• tahini - this is simply toasted sesame seeds that have been ground into a paste. At the grocery store you'll usually find it near the nut butters.
• fresh garlic - garlic is critical for the best classic Caesar flavor.
• nutritional yeast - this is our vegan answer to the Parmesan cheese usually found in Caesar dressing.
• vegan worcestershire - there are a couple of brands out there that exclude anchovies; you'll find worcestershire near other sauces and condiments.
• prepared mustard - dijon or stoneground
• lemon juice
• kelp granules - this is a type of dried seaweed. I included dulse granules as a vegan sub for anchovies, just to get that "hint of the sea." But it's fine to omit this ingredient if you don't have access to it.

You can usually find dulse (kelp is another option) in specialty markets and health food stores. You can also order this Maine Coast Organic dulse online. 

Ways to Use Tahini Caesar Dressing

Think beyond the typical romaine salad, and use this tahini Caesar dressing as a:

• dip for raw veggies
• spread for sandwiches, wraps, and veggie burgers
• sauce for grain bowls
• and as a sauce for roasted and air fried vegetables - try it with air fryer green beans, cabbage, and zucchini!

If you're a fan of healthy dressings and sauces like I am, check out this collection of The Best Oil-Free Salad Dressings. Also, we're loving this new za'atar salad dressing, which is also made with tahini!

How To Make Vegan Croutons

Homemade croutons are seriously the best. If they're not something you make very often (or ever), I hope I can convince you to give them a try.

Sourdough is probably my favorite bread to use for croutons but really, you can make it work with most any sturdy bread.

Pictured are croutons made from whole-grain sandwich bread from a local bakery. It was pre-sliced which created thinner croutons.

The nice thing about buying a whole loaf is that you can cut the bread into any shape you want, thin squares, cubes, or even triangles or rectangles.

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Arrange the cubed bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle it with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt, dried thyme, and garlic powder. You can eyeball the amounts for these. Just go with your gut!
   If you're not sure about the level of seasoning, go ahead and taste a piece or two of bread after you've given everything a good toss. The hard part will be NOT eating the rest of the bread before it goes into the oven!
3. Bake the croutons for about 10 minutes or until golden and crispy.

If the bread was on the moist side, it may take a bit longer to reach that super crispy crouton stage. This is where taste-testing comes in handy again. 

Tips for Roasted Chickpeas

As for the roasted chickpeas, well, they're just for fun. You certainly don't need to add chickpeas to make a delicious vegan Caesar salad, but since you'll have the oven on for the croutons, it just makes sense to multitask!

If you've ever made "crunchy" roasted chickpeas before, you'll understand why I put quotes around that. But seriously, they ARE crunchy for a short period of time, like right out of the oven, and they ARE nutritious and delicious.

I just hesitate to refer to them as "crunchy" or "crispy" because I don't want to get your hopes up. 

To help the chickpeas along on their journey to crunchiness, after rinsing, draining, and thoroughly drying them with a tea towel, roll them in spelt flour (you can also use whole-wheat or all-purpose; even brown rice flour works).

Then give the chickpeas a quick spray of oil and a sprinkle of salt. I like this trick because the flour absorbs some of the moisture, and the small amount of oil then helps the flour get crispy. 

Dress the Tahini Caesar Salad just before serving and top with those irresistible homemade croutons and roasted chickpeas.

I hope you enjoy this garlicky Tahini Caesar Salad as much as we do! If you try the recipe I would love to hear from you! Comment below to let us know.

You might like:

• Creamy Sunflower Seed Dressing
• Nut-Free Vegan Ranch Dressing
• Creamy Harissa Dressing
• Tahini Salad Dressing 5 Ways
• Black Lentil Salad
• Creamy Nut-Free Kale Salad
• Mediterranean Cucumber Salad

📖 Recipe