This is the best vegan Caesar dressing recipe! Rich and creamy it tastes just like a classic Caesar salad dressing but is made with cashews, capers, and nutritional yeast to give it the perfect flavour and keep it dairy free and oil free. Great for salads or as a dip for veggies you will also love how easy this dressing is to make.

Why you will love this recipe:
- Move over Oh She Glows and Trader Joes! This dairy free Caesar dressing has the most amazing flavour!
- It's easy to make and is ready in under 5 minutes.
- It's rich and creamy and tastes just like a classic Caesar dressing but is made with no dairy and no anchovies.
- This dress is oil free and made without mayonnaise and instead uses cashews and capers to give it that perfect flavour.
- It makes great leftovers and stores really well in the fridge.
- Besides being vegan this dressing is also dairy free, gluten free, paleo and Whole30 compliant.
- It's made without aquafaba, without eggs, without tahini, without tofu and without mayo.
- This caesar dressing is plant based and safe for raw food diets.
- It's so thick and creamy!
Key ingredients and substitutions:
- Raw Cashews - these are the base of this vegan salad dressing and help give it that rich, creamy texture while keeping it dairy free. You could swap these for pine nuts instead.
- Capers - for that perfect Unami flavour! Capers are a great replacement for the anchovies that are normally used for Caesar salad dressings.
- Coconut milk - to help give this dressing a rich and creamy texture. I recommend using full fat coconut milk. You could also replace this with another dairy free milk such as cashew milk or almond milk.
- Dijon mustard - this helps add some delicious flavour to this dressing.
- Apple cider vinegar - to add that perfect tang to this dressing. You could swap this for lemon juice.
- Nutritional yeast - to give it a little cheesy flavour, without the dairy and without cheese.
- Aromatics and spices: garlic, salt and pepper are all you need to complete this delicious dressing recipe.
How to make this recipe:
Step one:
First, place all the ingredients into your high speed blender.
Step two:
Then blend everything until it’s smooth. Now serve and enjoy!
Chef's tips
- This dressing will thicken in the fridge - simply add a bit of water and stir it into the dressing to thin it out before using.
- Feel free to double or triple this recipe if you are serving a crowd.
Variations and add ins:
- If you don’t like garlic feel free to omit it.
- If you like a thinner dressing add a bit more water.
- Instead of coconut milk you could use also a different dairy free milk such as almond milk, cashew milk or oat milk.
- Instead of cashews you could use pine nuts.
How to store:
This dressing stores well in the fridge in an air-tight container or jar for up to a week.
Frequently asked questions:
You can still make this dressing, but you will have to soak the cashews for 1-2 hours to soften them before blending. You could also use a food processor instead of a blender.
I would use pine nuts instead.
Hellman’s caesar dressing is not vegan. It is made with cheese, eggs and anchovies, all of which cannot be eaten by vegans.
Instead of eggs, caesar dressing can be made with ingredients such as cashews, mayo, tofu, aquafaba or tahini to give it a similar creamy texture.
Other vegan recipes you will love:
- Dairy free mascarpone
- Vegan peanut butter cookies
- Dairy free sun-dried tomato pasta
- Vegan cream of mushroom soup
Since you made it this far we are basically best friends so be sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok and Facebook where I share even more recipes and healthy living tips! And don’t forget to leave this recipe a star review before you go!
Vegan Caesar Dressing
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw cashews
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon capers plus juice
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients into your Vitamix or other high speed blender and blend well until smooth.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Store this dressing in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.
- This dressing thickens in the fridge - simply stir in a bit of water to thin it out before using.
- This recipe makes a large batch of dressing so feel free to cut the recipe in half if you want a smaller amount.
Nutrition
Kristie
Delicious!!