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Vegan Kale Caesar Salad with a Cashew Caesar Dressing

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This vegan kale caesar salad is easy to make, so satisfying, and perfect for a crowd! This salad uses a mix of kale and romaine and is topped off with homemade croutons, vegan parmesan, and a creamy cashew caesar dressing.

Vegan Kale & Romaine Caesar salad topped with croutons and parmesan
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Before going vegan, I would order caesar salads all time, so I knew I had to veganize it ASAP. I love it because it the most basic salad ever yet so delicious! This salad comes together in just under 20 minutes and can be enjoyed as a side or your main meal.

Ingredients

Overall, this salad is super simple and only calls for 5 broad ingredients:

Ingredients: kale, romaine, croutons, parmesan, pepper, and caesar dressing
  • Kale: I know it's not in a classic caesar salad, but kale elevates it! Kale is a nutritional powerhouse and makes the salad much for satisfying.
  • Romaine: I just couldn't make this recipe without it! Kale is a bit of a softer texture and is darker in color, so the crispiness and lightness of romaine perfectly balances this salad out.
  • Homemade Croutons: These are so much tastier than store-bought croutons. Plus, it's much cheaper and healthier! We'll be using sourdough bread, olive oil, and a blend of spices to achieve the perfect homemade vegan croutons.
  • Vegan Parmesan Cheese: grate it, shred it, I don't care, just don't forget it! I personally love to get the Violife Parmesan because 1. I love how it tastes and 2. it comes in a block just like real parmesan, so you can choose how you'd like to prepare it.
  • Homemade Caesar Dressing: This dressing is truly spot on! It's super creamy without using any mayo. Instead, this vegan caesar dressing uses cashews along with olive oil, water, garlic, Worcestershire, capers, dijon mustard, lemon juice, s&p.

Variations & Substitutions

I love this recipe as is, but you can totally mix it up to your preference. Here are a few ideas that will be just as delicious:

  • Make it nut-free by replacing the cashews with hemp hearts! The hemp hearts will give you the same creaminess we're after with the vegan caesar dressing.
  • Swap out the croutons for crispy chickpeas! Toss chickpeas in oil, salt, pepper, and paprika and roast them for 20-30 minutes, or until crispy. This swap would also make this recipe gluten-free!
  • Hate kale? Just use all romaine. Same goes if you hate romaine, just use all kale!
  • Fatten it up (healthily) by adding an avocado!
  • If you don't have worcestershire sauce or don't want to buy it, you can used balsamic vinegar or soy sauce instead.

Instructions

I love all salads solely because of how easy they are to make. We're going to break down how to make the homemade croutons and the vegan caesar dressing because once those are ready, you're just going to toss everything together in a bowl!

I would highly recommend massaging the kale in a bit of olive oil, especially if you don't like it, to break down the texture and remove some of the bitterness before adding it to the salad.

How to make homemade croutons

With this homemade crouton recipe, there's truly no need to buy croutons ever again. It's easy, quick, perfectly crunchy, and delicious.

sourdough bread cubes in a bowl
sourdough bread cubes in a bowl with seasonings
Seasoned bread cubes in a bowl
seasoned bread on a baking sheet
homemade croutons on a baking sheet
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper.
  2. Cut bread into 1 inch cubes and toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and italian seasoning until evenly coated.
  3. Spread the coated bread cubes onto the prepared baking sheet in one, even layer and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Feel free to flip them halfway through, but you don't have to.

How to make vegan caesar dressing

This vegan caesar dressing is so fast and easy to make - thank you blenders!

Ingredients for Vegan Caesar Dressing
  1. Either soak cashews overnight, microwave them for 5 minutes in 1 cup of water, or boil them on the stove for 20 minutes. Drain.
  2. Add soaked cashews, oil, water, garlic cloves, worcestershire, dijon mustard, capers and lemon juice into a blender and blend until smooth (should only take a minute). For a thinner dressing, add more water or olive oil until desired consistency is reached.

To complete this recipe, combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss until combined.

Expert Tips

  • Make sure your cashews have soaked or boiled long enough! If they're too hard, they won't blend as smoothly and you'll end up with random chunky bits of cashew in your caesar dressing.
  • Be sure not to over oil the croutons. Doing so will increase their bake time and they might not get as toasted.
  • Use a sturdy bread, like sourdough as used here, to make the croutons.

Storage

This salad is best enjoyed fresh!! I would recommend serving this salad with the dressing on the side so that way if you do have left overs, the kale, romaine, and croutons won't get soggy.

The caesar dressing can be refrigerated for up to 1 week in an airtight container.

caesar salad made with kale, romaine, homemade croutons, vegan caesar dressing, and parmesan.

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📖 Recipe

Vegan Kale Caesar Salad

Lauren Casolaro
This vegan kale caesar salad is easy to make, so satisfying, and perfect for a crowd! This salad uses a mix of kale and romaine and is topped off with homemade croutons, vegan parmesan, and a creamy cashew caesar dressing.
5 from 3 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Appetizer, Main Dish
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4 Servings

Equipment

Ingredients
 

Salad

  • 1 bunch curly kale destemmed and chopped
  • 1 head romaine lettuce chopped
  • Vegan parmesan cheese sliced
  • Freshly ground pepper garnish

Homemade Croutons

  • 2-3 slices sourdough bread ~2 cups worth, cubed
  • 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 1-2 tablespoons italian seasoning

Vegan Caesar Dressing

  • ¾ cup soaked cashews
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2-3 garlic cloves chopped
  • 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire
  • 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons capers
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Make the Homemade Croutons

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper.
  • Cut bread into 1 inch cubes and toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and italian seasoning until evenly coated.
    2-3 slices sourdough bread, 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt, 1-2 tablespoons italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon pepper
  • Spread the coated bread cubes onto the prepared baking sheet in one, even layer and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Feel free to flip them halfway through, but you don't have to.

Make the Caesar Dressing

  • Either soak cashews overnight, microwave them for 5 minutes in 1 cup of water, or boil them on the stove for 20 minutes. Drain.
    ¾ cup soaked cashews
  • Add soaked cashews, oil, water, garlic cloves, worcestershire, dijon mustard, capers and lemon juice into a blender and blend until smooth (should only take a minute).
    ¼ cup olive oil, ¼ cup water, 2-3 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire, 2 teaspoons dijon mustard, 2 teaspoons capers, 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • If the dressing is too thick, add some more water until you've reached your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.
    salt and pepper

Assemble the Salad

  • In a large bowl, add chopped kale and romaine. Top with freshly shaved parmesan, freshly cracked pepper, the homemade croutons, and the vegan caesar dressing. Toss to combine and serve immediately. 
    1 bunch curly kale, 1 head romaine lettuce, Vegan parmesan cheese, Freshly ground pepper

Notes

This recipe can be made gluten-free by replacing the croutons with roasted chickpeas.
Make this recipe nut-free by replacing the cashews with hemp seeds.
Make sure your cashews have soaked or boiled long enough! If they're too hard, they won't blend as smoothly and you'll end up with random chunky bits of cashew in your caesar dressing.
Be sure not to over oil the croutons. Doing so will increase their bake time and they might not get as toasted.
Use a sturdy bread, like sourdough as used here, to make the croutons.
Nutritional values are estimates only. See our full nutrition disclosure here. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1CupCalories: 416kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 10.7gFat: 26.5gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 583mgFiber: 3.5gSugar: 4.1g

Disclaimer: Although apinchofparsley.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Apinchofparsley.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.

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Comments

    5 from 3 votes

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  1. Paige says

    5 stars
    I am not sure what I love more - the dressing or the homemade croutons!! I have a tree nut allergy and swapped the cashews for hemp hearts in the dressing. You honestly could not tell the difference. I found the dressing recipe to yield more than I needed for the salad so I ended up using the leftovers to dip with raw veggies or soy nuggets.

    Reply

    • Pinch of Parsley says

      Hi Paige! Thanks so much for your review, so happy to hear you love the vegan caesar dressing and are able to use the left overs for several other things!

      Reply

  2. Lauren says

    5 stars
    my favorite vegan caesar salad recipe ever. The caesar dressing is unreal

    Reply

  3. Mariann says

    5 stars
    These homemade croutons are amazing!!! Perfectly crunchy and seasoned. The vegan caesar dressing is spot on. I don't usually like kale but I do like it here since it's mixed with crunchy romaine.

    Reply

    • Pinch of Parsley says

      Thanks Mariann! So glad you enjoyed this. The homemade croutons are really great on any salad!

      Reply