Vegan Caesar Dressing (Nut-Free)
This is seriously the best vegan Caesar dressing that you will ever taste! This nut-free, rich, and creamy dressing tastes like the real deal! Pour it over crisp romaine lettuce topped with croutons or tofu and it may be the most delicious vegan salad that you will ever eat! My kids fight over the salad when I make this dressing – it’s seriously that good!
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Why you’ll love this recipe
- It’s quick and easy to make.
- It is dairy-free, gluten-free, and nut-free, so everyone can enjoy it.
- Vegan Caesar that tastes incredibly close in a taste of traditional Caesar, yet made without dairy, eggs, and anchovies.
- This dressing is simply delicious and completely addictive.
I made this last night and daughter and I stuffed 3 bowls down and that was dinner in its entirety. This was THE most delicious dressing ever.
—Patricia
Is Caesar dressing vegan?
Traditional Caesar dressing is not vegan! Ceasar is made with eggs, cheese, and even anchovies, so it’s not even vegetarian. However, I have figured out how to make a truly authentic-tasting Caesar that is completely vegan!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Oil – this is the base of the dressing. It gives it a rich creamy flavor and makes it tastes like a real Caesar. I think canola oil has the best flavor, but you can use another neutral-tasting oil. I would not recommend olive oil or any other oil with a strong flavor.
- Soy Milk – to make the dressing thick and creamy. You can use other plant-based milk but try to use one with high protein content.
- Nutritional Yeast – to replace the cheese in traditional Caesar dressing. The protein in the nutritional yeast also helps thicken the dressing.
- Kelp Flakes – to replace the anchovies in traditional Caesar. (optional) This is simply ground seaweed to give it that fishy flavor.
- Bragg’s Liquid Aminos – to replace the Warchestechire sauce in traditional Caesar. They do make vegan Worcestershire sauce if you would like to use that instead of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, however, just note that it is not gluten-free.
- Garlic – for flavor (optional)
- Apple Cider Vinegar – for acidity will give your dressing the right flavor and make the protein thicken.
- Lemon Juice – also for acidity and flavor and to help thicken the dressing.
- Salt – for flavor
- Pepper – for flavor. Fresh ground pepper tastes best. A little more sprinkled on your salad is delicious too!
- Dijon Mustard – for flavor (optional).
Helpful tools
- A blender or immersion blender to mix up the Caesar dressing until it’s creamy.
How to make vegan Caesar dressing
A full printable version of this recipe with ingredient measurements is available at the bottom of this post.
Step 1 – Put all the ingredients except water into a blender or immersion blender container
Step 2 – Blend until creamy.
Step 3 – Add a small amount of water if needed to thin the dressing.
It’s seriously that easy!
How to achieve an authentic flavor
Non-vegan Caesar usually has anchovies, Worcestershire sauce, and cheese. It is easy to replace those flavors with some kelp flakes, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, and nutritional yeast.
Once blended with soy milk, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar, it magically turns creamy and tastes like classic Caesar dressing! The kelp flakes give it a slightly fishy flavor as anchovies would. If you don’t like that, simply leave it out.
How to make a vegan Caesar salad
- Start with fresh crisp Romaine lettuce.
- Wash it and pat dry with a paper towel, then cut or break it up into bite-sized pieces.
- Top with some croutons and the vegan Caesar salad dressing and toss.
- You can also add some vegan Parmesan cheese shreds if you would like or make your own using my vegan Parmesan cheese recipe. I like it with some cherry tomatoes and olives as well to give it a little extra color and flavor.
Tip: If you need gluten-free vegan croutons, they are hard to find in the store, but they are easy to make your own. This is the method that I use. I also love to use my crispy chickpea croutons instead of traditional ones.
Add-ins
This salad is so good that my family eats it for dinner about once a week. Any night that I want a super quick and easy dinner that the whole family will agree on, I make a huge bowl of this Caesar salad.
I like to make this salad more of a meal and turn it into a vegan chicken Caesar salad. To do this I usually add some vegan chicken, vegan shredded chicken, fried tofu, or vegan popcorn chicken, or fry up some vegan chicken strips or Butler Soy Curls to add some filling protein.
This dressing is also perfect for making vegan Caesar chicken wraps!
Pro Tips
- The amount of water needed will depend on the type of soy milk that you use.
- The protein in the soy milk gives the dressing a creamy texture. If you choose to use a different type of non-dairy milk, it will not be as thick, so you can omit the water.
- Make sure to use plain soy milk and not vanilla!
- If you don’t want a slightly fishy flavor, omit the kelp flakes.
- Top the salad with grilled vegan “chicken” strips like my homemade vegan chicken or the Beyond Meat brand to make a vegan chicken Caesar salad.
- If you want an oil-free recipe, try my tahini Caesar dressing.
Storage
Store your dressing in a glass jar with a good seal in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. I like to use an old glass dressing container that I have washed out to store my dressing.
More creamy vegan dressings
You have to try my unbelievable onion dressing or vegan blue cheese dressing and crumbles! Also, my vegan ranch dressing tastes just like a classic ranch, but without dairy!
More recipes using kelp flakes
Make authentic-tasting vegan “tuna” salad or a vegan tuna melt! This vegan linguini with clam sauce, vegan scallops, vegan shrimp, vegan lobster, and vegan fish will amaze you too!
Vegan Caesar dressing recipe
The Best Vegan Caesar Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/4 cup soy milk, or ripple pea milk
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoon Bragg's Liquid Aminos, or vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 small clove garlic, or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kelp flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1-4 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, (optional – my family prefers to leave it out)
Equipment
- blender or immersion blender
Instructions
For the vegan caesar dressing:
- Put all of the above ingredients, except for the water, into a blender and blend until thick and creamy.
- Add the water a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Notes
- The amount of water needed will depend on the type of soy milk that you use.
- The protein in the soy milk gives the dressing a creamy texture. If you choose to use a different type of non-dairy milk, it will not be as thick, so you can omit the water.
- Make sure to use plain soy milk and not vanilla!
- If you don’t want a slightly fishy flavor, omit the kelp flakes.
- Top the salad with grilled vegan “chicken” strips like my homemade vegan chicken or the Beyond Meat brand for a more filling meal.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
This was my favorite Caesar dressing! Now though I can no longer have soy or pea protein. The only milk I drink currently is oat milk which doesn’t have much protein in it. Do you have any ideas of what I can do or am I just out of luck and need to find a new recipe? =(
You can try using oat milk and adding a little extra nutritional yeast to it. Nutritional yeast has protein and will help it to thicken. It has worked for me before, but it has been a long time since I have tested it, so I can’t remember the exact amount that I used.
Thank you! I’ll definitely try that. 🙂
Perfect! I like the Dijon!
Thanks, I’m glad that you liked it.
Sounds amazing I want to make this but IMO wayyyy too much oil. Any way I can reduce the oil down quite a bit and it still taste good but be healthier? I love vegan food but do not understand taking healthy veggies and dumping a half gallon of oil on it lol. Just my opinion. Dr. Has me on a healthier eating lifestyle.
I can’t have soy, would coconut milk work?
No, coconut milk doesn’t have enough protein in it to thicken when you blend it. Ripple (pea milk) works well.
We really like. I do squirt in a little Dijon.
I’m glad that you like it, Elizabeth. 🙂
So good. I threw it on a salad with some cut up extra crispy gardein chik’n strips and it was amazing. How long would this last in the fridge I’d love to make a big batch.
It will last about 5 days in the fridge, Lauralyn. I’m so happy that you like it! 🙂
This dressing is so fantastic – thank you for sharing! We polished off an entire recipe within 24 hours between 2 people and no, I do not feel guilty! 🙂 It reminds me of the Hollyhock yeast dressing recipe, but better and more balanced. Again, thank you for sharing this so very easy and delicious recipe!!!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy that you like it! We make it all the time and it never lasts more than 24 hours! It’s good as a sandwich spread to use instead of mayo too! 🙂
Hello! Just wondering if I could sub a little tear of a nori sheet for the kelp flakes..? I have a good blender, so I’m sure it would blend up fine, but I’m not sure about the differences in taste of different seaweeds…?
Thank you!
Hi Pam, yes, you can use a nori sheet instead of the kelp flakes. Enjoy! 🙂
This dressing is terrific! I threw in a few soaked cashews for extra creaminess but I don’t think it was necessary. I also like the punch of a little more garlic and vinegar. Thanks for this recipe!!
Thanks, I’m so happy that you liked it, Maggie! 🙂
I made this last night and daughter and I stuffed 3 bowls down and that was dinner in its entirety. This was THE most delicious dressing ever.
Thanks!
You’re welcome! It is by far my kids’ favorite dressing! They will eat bowl after bowl of salad with this on it! 🙂
Hey, very excited to find your site. All your recipes sound amazing and I’m planing to try out many of them! 🤗
I have a question: In this recipe (and some other “fishy” ones) you use Kelp Klakes. Here in Germany I could only find Kelp Powder. Do you think this will work the same? Does the amount need to be adjusted as powder is denser than flakes? And will your recipes turn out different with powder as it will have a “different mouth feel”? Also have you tried out other alge types like Dulse? (I could find Dulse Flakes)
Thank you for your help and keep up the great work! ☺️
Thanks Johannes! The kelp flakes that I use are pretty close to a powder form, so I think that the flakes and powder would be fairly similar, but you would probably need to use a little less. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
I think this is the vegan Caesar recipe I’ve been waiting to find!!
Can I create the same affect with the oil if I use a regular blender? I don’t have an immersion blender 🙁
Thanks!
I’m so happy to hear that you like it Daphne! It is the favorite dressing in my house too. My kids ask for Caesar salad every few days! 🙂
I used the dried garlic and just shook it up in a dressing bottle. Super easy and delicious!
I’m so happy that you liked it, Kate! I just had some for lunch today too. It’s addicting! 🙂
Darn I dont have soy milk or the pea protein or aquafaba. Of course I didnt read until after I started the dressing. Is there anything else I can use to thicken?? Arrowroot powder??
You could possibly add some white beans to it and puree it. Any other type of thickener would need to be heated to activate the thickening abilities. (Extra nutritional yeast may also give it enough protein to thicken).
The best vegan Caesar dressing ever! I can’t get enough! Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome! So happy to hear this!
This dressing is amazing!!! Thanks for this recipe!