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this vegan caesar salad dressing is made with tofu! it is delicious, creamy, and so easy to make. no cashews!

image of vegan Caesar salad dressing on a salad

the inspiration

This vegan Caesar salad dressing is so delicious and you would never know there is tofu in it! A few weeks ago I did some recipes with sneaky tofu in it. Basically, just meaning you don’t explicitly know there is tofu in them. So, I thought it would be fun to do more.

You all seemed to enjoy these recipes so I wanted to do some more! When tofu is blended up it works so well to create a creamy base for our vegan Caesar salad dressing.

We also went to dinner the night before I made this recipe and I had a great vegan kale Caesar salad. So, it made me want to use some kale to pour the dressing over!

ingredients for vegan caesar salad dressing

the ingredients

Firm Tofu: the base of our dressing! Personally, I like the texture of firm tofu for creating a dressing recipe better than silken tofu. But if you would like to use silken tofu you can. The firm tofu I feel creates a thicker dressing and it also has more protein in it.
Apple Cider Vinegar: this will add a bit of tang to the recipe. You can also use lemon juice.
Vegan Parmesan Cheese: it will add umami and flavor to the vegan Caesar salad dressing.
Nutritional Yeast: I like doing both nutritional yeast and vegan parmesan for a more complex flavor. If you can’t have nutritional yeast you can leave it out or add in a little miso paste.
Capers: the capers work well to replace anchovies that is typically used in Caesar dressing.
Seasonings: I keep it pretty simple just garlic powder, black pepper, and salt.
Water: of course we need water to help blend everything.

ingredients for vegan caesar salad dressing in blender

how to make the vegan caesar salad dressing

To be honest this dressing couldn’t be any easier to make! All you need to do is add everything into a blender and blend!

I like to break the tofu up with my hands into big chunks. It just helps everything to be a little easier on the blender.

Also, you will want a strong blender for this so it breaks down and gets nice and creamy. I really like the Ninja Smoothie Maker. You need to blend for about a minute to break down the capers and tofu completely.

storing the vegan caesar salad dressing

Once the dressing is all done I like to pour it into a big jar. I do this so I can keep it on hand in the fridge. However, if you are making a salad right away you can just of course pour it right over top of your salad.

You can keep it stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. So, it is great to make this and enjoy Caesar salads with all week long!

image of vegan caesar salad dressing being poured

ways to enjoy the vegan caesar salad dressing

Of course the most obvious way to use a vegan Caesar salad dressing is to make a salad with it! There are so many Caesar salad variations now. For the vegan Caesar salad you see in these pictures I used:

Kale that I massaged. I like to use kale in place of romaine sometimes because it is a sturdier green.
Homemade croutons made from stale bread. Just cut the bread into chunks. Coat in 1 tbsp of olive oil along with some seasonings like garlic powder and paprika. Bake in the oven at 400°F for 10 minutes.
Hemp hearts for a little extra crunch and protein.
Vegan parmesan for extra flavor on top!

You can also make a vegan Caesar salad wrap, vegan Caesar salad pizza, or vegan Caesar pasta salad with it! It would be so fun to even make a Caesar sandwich. You can also drizzle it overtop a bowl with things like chickpeas, quinoa, avocado would be so yummy! The vegan Caesar salad dressing is also just very delicious so it really is great for putting on anything you want.

why you’ll love this vegan caesar salad dressing

When I first went vegan I thought I would never be able to enjoy a Caesar salad ever again. But I was wrong! With this vegan Caesar dressing you can have all the vegan Caesar salads you want!

This dressing is so creamy, dairy-free, nut-free, and delicious. It adds so much beautiful flavor to the very simple Caesar salad. I also love that we are sneaking in some extra nutrients and protein with using the tofu.

If you have been wanting to incorporate more tofu into your diet without just pan-frying or air-frying it, this is a great way to do it. It is truly the best vegan Caesar dressing!

vegan caesar salad dressing faq

Is this recipe gluten free? Yes.
Is this recipe nut free? Yes.
Is this recipe soy free? No, it uses tofu. However, you can check out my other vegan Caesar salad dressing recipe for a soy free recipe.
How long with this recipe last? Up to 5 days in the fridge. You can shake it before using.
Do you have more homemade salad dressing recipes? Yes, feel free to check them out here.
Can I add in more things to this dressing? If you would like to add in a about a teaspoon dijon mustard, vegan mayo, or vegan worcestershire sauce you definitely can. I personally like to keep things simple though.

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