I love Caesar salad. To me it is truly the perfect salad. There are so many flavor combinations, so much texture and I love it. I need a salad with bulk. This revamp of it features buffalo cauliflower and crispy chickpeas. I promise you are going to love it. The dressing is also nut, gluten, soy and dairy free!
I decided to use kale and romaine lettuce for this. I love kale but you need to massage it in order to love it. Kale is very crunchy and hard but after you massage it, it breaks down and becomes very tender. If you aren’t crazy about kale feel free to use spinach or stick to all romaine. Whatever route you choose to go will not leave you disappointed.
For the crispy chickpeas I like these in place of croutons. The trick to a good crispy chickpea is leaving them in there for a pretty long time about 35-40 minutes. They are very easy to make and really delicious. We all know chickpeas are good for us and this is a great way to include more of them in your diet.
The dressing I like to keep easy and fuss-free. I don’t want to have to whip out a blender every time I want Caesar salad. So this dressing is made by shaking it up in a jar and we get the creaminess from tahini! I love tahini and it really is amazing for making sauces and dressings. If you are skeptical just wait to see what happens when you add some water to it and thin it out a bit. The only gluten in this recipe comes from the light breading on the cauliflower. If you are gluten free, either leave it off and just roast the cauliflower or use gluten free breadcrumbs.
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Sharing direct links to recipes and pictures is highly encouraged, please do not copy and paste my recipes or share my pictures without permission. I work very hard on my blog and don’t want to see my recipes popping up anywhere. Thank you so much.
Incredible Vegan Caesar Salad
Ingredients
Crispy Chickpeas
- 1 15.5 oz can chickpeas drained and rinsed [270g]
- ½ tbsp olive oil [7g]
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- ⅛ tsp turmeric
- Salt to taste
Buffalo Cauliflower
- ½ medium head of cauliflower [710g]
- 3 tbsp fine breadcrumbs [30g]
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- ⅛ cup chickpea flour [15g]
- ¼ cup water
- 2-3 tbsp buffalo sauce
Caesar Dressing
- 3 tbsp tahini [48g]
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- 3 cups kale [85g]
- 1 head romaine [200g]
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F (218C).
- In a bowl add the chickpeas with the oil and spices. Toss to coat them well. Add to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 35-40 minutes until crispy.
- Cut the cauliflower into florets and wash it.
- In a bowl mix the chickpea flour and water together to make an egg replacer.
- Add the spices to the breadcrumbs and mix together.
- Take the cauliflower and add in into the chickpea “egg” and toss them to coat. Then add them to breadcrumbs and toss to coat. This is a light breading they do not be perfectly coated.
- Add them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 25 minutes.
- Prepare the dressing by adding all the ingredients into a jar. I like to add about half the water first and add more until I reach my desired consistency. Shake the jar up and add water in as needed.
- Once the cauliflower is done place it in a bowl and drizzle the buffalo sauce on top. Toss to coat, place them back in the turned off oven and keep them in there until you are ready to eat.
- Massage the kale for about 5-10 minutes with 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar. This helps to break the kale down and make it much more tender. It should reduce in size significantly and turn a very dark green.
- Add in chopped up romaine to the kale. Drizzle with about ⅓ of the dressing and toss to coat.
- Then add the crispy chickpeas, buffalo cauliflower and rest of the dressing on top.
Video
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