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This recipe for vegan Caesar salad dressing is egg-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and anchovy-free. But it's still every bit delicious as authentic caesar dressing! It is also soy-free, unlike many store-bought vegan salad dressing alternatives.
Creamy Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing
My love for caesar salad runs deep - it's definitely my salad of choice when we go out for a restaurant, and I frequently make it home for dinner because my husband loves it, too. Our son also loves it - but only the homemade croutons and dressing - ha! Toddlers.
You can find a couple of brands of vegan caesar salad dressing at higher end healthy food stores like Whole Foods, but if that's not accessible to you or outside of your budget, it is VERY easy to make.
This vegan caesar salad dressing recipe is:
- dairy-free, egg-free, anchovy-free and soy-free
- healthy
- super creamy
- made completely in a blender
- and seriously scrumptious
How to Make Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing
The recipe calls for vegan mayo, and I can confidently say that not all vegan mayos are made the same. Many contain soy, which is something I try to avoid, or just do not taste like authentic mayo at all.
Good news, though! Just Mayo is a brand of vegan mayo that is soy-free, non-GMO, and doesn't contain any artificial flavors. And it tastes amazing. Score! (It's also amazing to make potato salad with.)
Dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar help this vegan caesar salad dressing taste more authentic, along with the nutritional yeast which gives it a parmesan cheese-y flavor.
Your initial step to this recipe will be to soak the cashews. You can do this overnight in a bowl of water. If you're in a time crunch, boil some water, and pour it over the cashews in a bowl - let soak for 45 minutes to an hour and you're good to go.
...and blend it!
All of the ingredients can then be thrown into a blender and blended until creamy. If you don't have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix, no worries. I have a basic Ninja blender and it still comes out super smooth.
I personally don't add any additional salt - though, you can definitely do that if you feel like this recipe needs it. But I do typically add extra pepper, though! Yum.
Ingredients
- 1 cup soaked cashews
- ⅔ cup vegan mayo - - Just Mayo brand is plant based
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2-3 cloves garlic - peeled
- ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Blend together all ingredients until totally smooth. Add salt if desired.
- Drizzle over a vegan caesar salad.
- Store in the fridge for up to a week.
kiersten brien says
Oh my goodness, this was amazing!!!! I made it along with your chickpea Caesar salad for my dairy loving husband and he couldn't believe how great it tasted. Thank you!
Karissa says
Excellent! Thank you for leaving a comment!
Lex says
For anyone thinking about making this - I make it without vegan mayo, extra garlic and Dijon and LOVE it!! I’ve even taken it to omni potlucks, didn’t tell anyone it was vegan and everyone loved it!
Nina says
Hi greetings from the UK this looks fabulous. I have just stumbled across your blog... looks brilliant. Question.... when the recipe reads 2/3 rd cups. Water does it mean I fill a 1/3 rd cup up twice? OR does it mean that I fill a 1/3rd. cup to 2/3rds? Excuse my ignorance, but I am not familiar with cup measirements
Karissa says
Hi Nina! 2/3 cups is two 1/3 cups. Hope that helps.
Lauree says
I am allergic to hummus as well as nuts and peanuts. Any further suggestions?
Jules says
My sister is allergic to nuts. Is there something I can use instead of cashews? I really want to try this!
Karissa says
Hmmm, you could try substituting 1 cup of plain hummus for the cashews. I think it would be really good!
Teja says
Holy CRAP! I just made this and WOW!!! It’s epic. I will NEVER buy a vegan dressing again. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Karissa says
YAY!
Hope says
Do I drain cashews before blending or does the liquid go in there too?
Karissa says
Drain first 🙂