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    Home » Course » Sauces and Dips

    Vegan Caesar Dressing

    Published: May 2, 2021 · Modified: Sep 11, 2023 by Erin Carter · This post may contain affiliate links · 1 Comment

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    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.

    A bowl of vegan Caesar dressing with a spoon in it and surrounded by a lemon wedge and fresh parsley.

    What is caesar dressing?

    Classic caesar salad dressing is usually made with anchovies, raw egg yolk, garlic, mustard, lemon juice and parmesan cheese. When blended together the ingredients make a thick and creamy dressing that is zesty, garlicky and savoury.

    However, if you are dairy free or vegan, you won't be able to eat traditional Caesar salad dressing because of the cheese and anchovies. Hence why I created this vegan version! It tastes just as good as the classic dressing you know and love, but is made with no anchovies and no dairy.

    Why you will love this recipe: 

    • Move over Oh She Glows and Trader Joes! This is the best dairy free Caesar dressing recipe!
    • It's quick and easy to make and is ready in under 5 minutes.
    • This simple homemade dressing 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 so it's perfect for meal prep.
    • Besides being vegan this dressing is also healthy, dairy free, gluten free, egg free, sugar free, paleo and Whole30 compliant.
    • It's made without aquafaba, without eggs, without tahini, without tofu, without hummus, without yogurt and without mayo. 
    • This caesar dressing is plant based and safe for raw food diets. 
    • It's so thick and creamy!
    • It tastes just as good, if not even better than most store bought dressings.

    If you love homemade salad dressings you will also love my walnut dressing.

    Taste and texture:

    This dressing is smooth, thick and creamy. It is a little zesty, a little garlicky and loaded with flavour. Even though it is cheese free it also has slightly cheesey taste from the nutritional yeast.

    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. 

    A blender filled with nutritional yeast, coconut milk, capers, water and spices.

    Step two:

    Then blend everything until it’s smooth. Now serve and enjoy!

    A Caesar salad dressing a bowl surrounded by fresh parsley.

    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 again 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 serve:

    You can use this dressing in so many ways. Of course you can use it to make Caesar salad, but it also makes a delicious dip for raw veggies, crackers or chips. You can also use it as a sauce to top sandwiches, burgers, or wraps.

    You can also use this dressing as a marinade for meat or fish dishes, to drizzle over roasted vegetables, or to give other salads such as potato salad, broccoli salad or egg salad a different flavour.

    How to store:

    This dressing stores well in the fridge in an air-tight container or jar for up to a week.

    A bowl of vegan caesar dressing with a spoon in it and surrounded by a lemon wedge, fresh parsley and capers.

    Frequently asked questions:

    What if I don't have a high speed blender?

    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.

    What if I'm allergic to cashews?

    I would use pine nuts instead.

    Is Hellman’s caesar dressing vegan?

    Hellman’s caesar dressing is not vegan. It is made with cheese, eggs and anchovies, all of which cannot be eaten by vegans. 

    How do you make caesar dressing without eggs?

    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!

    A bowl of vegan caesar dressing with a spoon in it and surrounded by a lemon wedge and fresh parsley.

    Vegan Caesar Dressing

    This is the best vegan Caesar dressing! Made with cashews and capers it is rich and creamy and so easy to make. It's the perfect plant based dressing or dip.
    5 from 6 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: condiment, dips, sauces
    Cuisine: American, Italian
    Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan, Vegetarian
    Prep Time: 2 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 3 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Servings: 16
    Calories: 108kcal
    Author: Dr. Erin Carter

    Equipment

    • Vitamix blender

    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

    1. Store this dressing in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.
    2. This dressing thickens in the fridge - simply stir in a bit of water to thin it out before using. 
    3. This recipe makes a large batch of dressing so feel free to cut the recipe in half if you want a smaller amount.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 108kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 1811mg | Potassium: 139mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 4IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @pureandsimpleno or tag #pureandsimpleno!

     

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    DISCLAIMERS: The statements made on this website have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration or Health Canada. The information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. You assume full responsibility for how you use this information. Always consult with your physician or other health professionals before making any diet or lifestyle changes. This post may contain affiliate links whereby if you purchase these products I receive a small percentage of the sale price. This allows me to keep the blog running and I thank you for allowing me to do that!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kristie

      May 10, 2021 at 4:56 pm

      Delicious!!5 stars

      Reply

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