This is the best homemade 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.
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 traditional version you know and love, but is made with no anchovies and no dairy.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe:
- This is the best dairy free Caesar dressing recipe! It tastes just like the real thing.
- 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 without olive oil, and instead uses cashews and capers to give it that perfect flavour. It's great if you are following a plant-based diet.
- It makes great leftovers and stores really well in the fridge so it's perfect for meal prep.
- Besides being vegan this plant-based dressing is also healthy, dairy free, gluten free, egg free, sugar free, paleo and Whole30 compliant.
If you love homemade salad dressings you will also love my walnut dressing.
Key ingredients and substitutions:
For the exact measurements refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- 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. Be sure to use raw cashews and not roasted cashews for making this dairy-free caesar dressing recipe.
- Capers - capers are the secret ingredient used to give this healthy dressing that perfect umami flavor or briny flavor! Capers are a great replacement for the anchovies that are normally used in classic Caesar dressing recipes.
- 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.
- Lemon juice - fresh lemon juice helps add the perfect tangy flavour to this delicious vegan caesar salad dressing recipe.
- Nutritional yeast - to give it a little cheesy flavour, without the dairy and without cheese.
- Aromatics and spices: garlic, sea salt and black 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 or high powered 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 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.
- If you like a sweeter dressing add 1-2 tablespoons of maple syrup.
How to serve:
You can use this dressing in so many ways. You can use it to make a vegan Caesar salad recipe or kale caesar salad, but it also makes a great dip for raw veggies, crackers or chips. It also makes a great sauce for sandwiches, wraps and burgers.
How to store:
This dressing stores well in the fridge in an airtight 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!
Recipe
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!!