This vegan chicken Caesar salad recipe makes a quick and easy lunch or dinner that the whole family will love! Crisp Romaine lettuce mixed with creamy vegan Caesar dressing and topped with croutons and vegan chicken strips make the most delicious vegan salad ever!

A top view of a wooden salad bowl filled with Romain lettuce with vegan Caesar dressing, vegan chicken, and croutons on it.

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❤️ Why make this recipe

This plant-based chicken Ceasar salad is a staple in my house. Any time we want a super easy yet light meal, we make this salad. And if my husband or teen boys want a heartier meal they wrap it up in tortillas or pita bread and make a vegan chicken Caesar wrap.

🧾 Ingredients and substitutions

  • Vegan Chicken – To make it super easy, you can use vegan chicken patties, vegan chicken fingers, or vegan chicken nuggets and slice them into pieces. You can also make my homemade vegan chicken strips, vegan shredded chicken, or vegan chicken patties, or see all of my ideas for vegan chicken substitutes.
  • Romaine Lettuce – or any other crisp lettuce hearty lettuce.
  • Veggies – (optional) I like to toss a few sliced cherry tomatoes and sliced cucumber, but you can also add other veggies like sliced carrots or avocados.
  • Croutons – look for vegan croutons at the many major grocery stores by looking for plain varieties without cheese. You can also make homemade croutons or crispy chickpea croutons.
  • Black Pepper – fresh ground black pepper tastes great on this Caesar salad.
  • Vegan Parmesan Cheese – Optional, but adds a lot of flavor. You can use store-bought or make homemade vegan parmesan from hemp seed.

For the vegan Caesar dressing

  • 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 that light olive oil or canola oil has the best flavor, but you can use another neutral-tasting oil.  I would not recommend extra virgin olive oil or any other oil with a strong flavor. (For an oil-free vegan Caesar, make my tahini Caesar dressing instead.)
  • 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 Worcestershire 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

  • Serrated knife to cut the Romaine lettuce.
  • A large salad bowl.
  • Tongs or salad servers.
  • Use a blender or immersion blender to mix up the Caesar dressing until it’s creamy.

🥄 How to make vegan chicken Caesar salad

A full printable version of this recipe with ingredient measurements is available at the bottom of this post.

Make the vegan Caesar dressing

Step 1 – Measure all of the ingredients (except water) and put into a blender or immersion blender container

Step 2 – Blend for about 30 seconds, until creamy. Add a small amount of water if needed to thin the dressing if needed.

Cook the vegan chicken

Step 3 – Heat vegan chicken patties or chicken tenders according to package directions or make my homemade vegan breaded chicken. Then allow them to cool a little before slicing them into bite-sized pieces and putting them on top of the salad.

Step 4 – Wash and cut Romaine lettuce into bite-sized pieces. Add the lettuce to the salad bowl, top with 3/4 of the Caesar dressing and use tongs to mix the dressing and lettuce until it’s well coated in dressing.

Step 5 – Top with sliced vegan chicken, croutons, black pepper, and vegan parmesan cheese. (Add sliced tomatoes and or cucumbers if desired.) Drizzle the remaining 1/4 of the dressing on the top of the salad.

A top view of a wooded salad bowl filled with vegan chicken Caesar salad with dressing, faux chicken, and croutons on top.

🍲 What to serve with vegan Caesar salad

Soup – This salad goes great with soups like vegan Minestrone, vegan lemony orzo, vegan chicken and dumplings, or vegan Italian wedding soup.

Pasta – Serve this salad on the side of your favorite pasta dishes like vegan Alfredo, silken tofu pasta, vegan chicken piccata, sundried tomato pasta, vegan lasagna, or tofu stuffed shells.

Bread – You can also serve this salad with some bread or biscuits like vegan focaccia, vegan drop biscuits, Red Lobster biscuits, chickpea socca, or gluten-free vegan breadsticks.

👩🏻‍🍳 Pro Tips

  • Make these quick and easy by buying premade frozen vegan chicken patties or chicken tenders.
  • You can also buy premade vegan Caesar dressing if you want to save one more step. but I think that my recipe tastes better than any that I have found at the store.
  • Make these healthier by using my oil-free tahini dressing instead.
  • You can also add some sauteed chickpea croutons for a little crunch if you want.

❓ How to make it gluten-free?

This vegan chicken Caesar salad is gluten-free as long as you use a gluten-free faux chicken product like Gardin scallopini, Dr. Praeger’s Gametime Buffalo Chick’n Tenders, or simply use Butler soy curls rehydrated in vegan chicken broth then sauteed in a little oil.

A white plate filled with romaine lettuce, vegan chicken strips, with vegan Caesar dressing, and parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

🥡 Storage

Refrigerate: This vegan chicken Caesar salad will keep well in the fridge for 3 – 5 days if kept separately. Eat the salad within a few hours once the dressing has been added or it will get soggy.

A wooden salad bowl filled with vegan Caesar salad with vegan chicken strips, croutons, and vegan Caesar dressing on top.

🥗 More vegan salads

📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!

📋 Vegan chicken Caesar recipe

A vegan chicken Caesar salad with sliced vegan chicken strips and croutons on Romaine lettuce.
Diet
High Protein Icon
Nut Free Icon
Vegan Icon
5 from 4 rating

Vegan Chicken Caesar Salad

Yield: 4
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Author: Monica Davis
A vegan Caesar salad with vegan chicken for a light protein-packed meal.
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Ingredients

For the vegan chicken salad

  • 4 vegan chicken patties, (or 6 vegan chicken tenders)
  • 10 cups Romaine Lettuce, chopped (One package with 3 heads of Romaine)
  • 1 cup vegan croutons
  • 1/4 cup vegan parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

For the vegan Caesar dressing (or use store-bought)

  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 1/4 cup soy milk, (or Ripple 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, (optional)
  • 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 for the dressing

Instructions
 

Make the vegan Caesar dressing

  • Measure all of the ingredients (except water) and put into a blender or immersion blender container
  • Blend for about 30 seconds, until creamy. Add a small amount of water if needed to thin the dressing and blend again.

Cook the vegan chicken

  • Heat vegan chicken patties or chicken tenders according to package directions or make my homemade vegan breaded chicken. Then allow them to cool a little before slicing them into bite-sized pieces and putting them on top of the salad.

Assemble the salad

  • Wash and cut Romaine lettuce into bite-sized pieces. Add the lettuce to the salad bowl, top with 3/4 of the Caesar dressing and use tongs to mix the dressing and lettuce until it’s well coated in dressing.
  • Top with sliced vegan chicken, croutons, black pepper, and vegan parmesan cheese. (Add sliced tomatoes and or cucumbers if desired.) Drizzle the remaining 1/4 of the dressing on the top of the salad.

Notes

  • Make these quick and easy by buying the premade frozen vegan chicken patties.
  • You can also buy premade vegan Caesar dressing if you want to save one more step. but I think that my recipe tastes better than any that I have found at the store.
  • Make these healthier by using my oil-free tahini dressing instead.
  • You can also add some sauteed chickpea croutons for a little crunch if you want.
Tips about the dressing
  • 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. 
Serving: 4cups salad with dressing and chicken, Calories: 551kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 13g, Fat: 47g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 18g, Monounsaturated Fat: 22g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 1403mg, Potassium: 485mg, Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 10296IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 101mg, Iron: 4mg
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