It’s almost grilling season, and you know what that means for the Ambitious Kitchen fam: it’s time to bust out all of our best salad recipes and salad dressings to make flavorful, nourishing sides.
One recipe I’ve been LOVING lately is for my vegan caesar dressing. I’m trying my best to incorporate more plant based recipes on the site and since I make this dressing so often, I figured that I’d better put it on the site! It’s made with 5 core ingredients and super easy to throw together for a yummy weeknight salad (or maybe even in a chickpea salad wrap?).
Either way I hope you love it as much as we do. Oh, and my biggest tip for this one? Don’t forget to properly season the dressing with a generous amount of salt and pepper. It helps bring it all together! Enjoy.
What is caesar dressing?
Traditional caesar salad dressing is often made with anchovies, raw egg yolk, raw garlic, mustard, lemon juice and parmesan cheese. The result is a super zesty, garlicky and savory dressing that pairs really will with fresh, simple salads.
In this vegan caesar dressing recipe I created an equally as flavorful, zesty and creamy dressing but without any eggs, dairy or anchovies! In fact, it’s completely vegan so everyone can enjoy it.
Everything you’ll need to make this vegan caesar dressing
This easy vegan caesar dressing recipe has just 5 core ingredients, plus a little water, salt & pepper to create a deliciously creamy dressing you’ll want to put on everything. The base is made out of tahini to keep this dressing dairy free, nut free and egg free! Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Tahini: as I mentioned, we’re using creamy tahini as the base of this vegan caesar salad dressing. I always use Soom Tahini!
- Lemon juice: every good dressing has a little acidity to it. In this one we’re using fresh lemon juice.
- Garlic: fresh garlic is a must for a good caesar dressing.
- Capers: we’re using both diced capers and the caper brine (from the jar) to give the dressing that savory element that anchovies usually does.
- Mustard: I love using a grainy dijon mustard for that tangy flavor.
- Water: you’ll also need a little water to thin the dressing to your liking.
- Seasonings: top it off with salt and pepper to taste.
Wait, what are capers?
Capers are actually small, unripened flower buds from a plant called Flinders rose. The plant creates pretty white and pink flowers — Abra and I actually saw them when we were in Southern France a few years ago! The little buds are picked and pickled in brine to give them a salty, earthy flavor.
Capers are used in a lot of Mediterranean cuisines and pack a big flavor punch. In this vegan caesar dressing recipe, you’ll dice up a few of the little capers themselves and use some of the brine that they come in to add a boost of salty savory flavor to the dressing. If you don’t have any capers a little bit of olives & olive brine could work as well.
How to make vegan caesar salad dressing
You’re just about 5 minutes away from an incredible salad dressing!
- Mix it. In a small bowl until smooth: tahini, fresh lemon juice, garlic, diced capers, caper brine, dijon mustard, warm water and freshly ground black pepper.
- Thin it. Feel free to add a little more warm water to the dressing to thin it to your liking.
- Adjust & serve. Taste the dressing and add more salt and pepper if you’d like. Enjoy!
Ways to use vegan caesar dressing
This caesar dressing goes beyond caesar salad. Try it on tons of fresh salad recipes, veggie-packed bowls, or even use it as a veggie dip!
- Use it as a marinade for baked or grilled chicken.
- Drizzle it on a sheet pan of vegetables for the perfect side dish.
- Use it as a dressing for a fresh salad, or branch out to a delicious potato salad or pasta salad!
- Add it to your fav sandwiches, a wrap or even top a vegan burger or regular burger. YUM.
Storing tips
Store this creamy vegan caesar dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If the sauce appears too thick for your liking when you take it out of the fridge, simply add a bit of water and mix it well.
More dressings & sauces to try
Get all of our flavorful dressings and sauces here!
I hope you love this easy vegan caesar dressing recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment & a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
The best vegan caesar dressing recipes you’ll ever make! This easy, creamy vegan caesar salad dressing is nut free thanks to tahini and filled with delicious flavor from fresh lemon juice, capers and a little dijon mustard. Add it to salads, veggies bowls and more!
- 1/4 cup drippy tahini (we use Soom tahini)
- Juice from ½ large lemon (about 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice)
- 1 clove garlic, grated or finely minced
- 1 teaspoon very finely diced capers
- 2 teaspoons caper brine (from the jar of capers)
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard (we love a grainy dijon!)
- 1-3 tablespoons warm water, to thin out dressing a bit to your liking
- Freshly ground salt and black pepper, to taste.
Mix the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth: tahini, fresh lemon juice, garlic, diced capers, caper brine, dijon mustard, warm water and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add a pinch of salt, if necessary.
Please note that most caesar dressings are pretty heavy on the salt and that’s also important in this recipe to bring out the flavor and make it taste like a true Caesar salad dressing. Be generous with your salt and pepper!
Nutrition
Servings: 4 servings
Serving size: 2 tablespoons
Calories: 93kcal
Fat: 8.1g
Saturated fat: 1.1g
Carbohydrates: 4g
Fiber: 1.5g
Sugar: 0.2g
Protein: 2.7g
