This Vegan Kale Caesar Salad with a creamy tahini-based caesar dressing, avocado and crispy chickpeas is one of my favorite vegan salad recipes. So full of flavor, texture and tastes just like the real thing! It's also easy to make and just a few simple ingredients.
Why we love this recipe
- It's packed with flavor! Traditional caesar salad relies on anchovies, egg yolks and parmesan for flavor. This vegan version gets that same salty punch with tahini, capers and nutritional yeast.
- Easy to make: the dressing comes together quickly and the salad is made with just a few simple ingredients. Perfect for a make-ahead lunch or dinner.
- Allergy friendly: this recipe is 100% vegan, gluten free (we use crispy chickpeas in place of croutons) and can also be nut free with one simple swap.
- Delicious for any time of day and easy to add protein for a full meal!
Ingredients
Here are a few of the key ingredients you'll need to make this vegan kale caesar salad:
- Kale: we prefer lacinato, but curly kale works, too.
- Tahini: the smoother/creamier, the better.
- Cashews: raw and unsalted.
- Nutritional yeast: for a cheesy (vegan) flavor).
- Crispy chickpeas: for a crunchy topping in place of croutons.
- Avocado: optional, but so good in this salad!
Ingredient Notes
- Nut allergy? Substitute cashews with more tahini and reduce the amount of water by half.
- Make tahini from scratch with this recipe.
- Caper juice adds a salty, briny flavor you'd typically get from anchovies. A small amount goes a long way, so start with less and add more to taste.
- Sensitive to raw garlic? Try roasting it, or sub with ½ teaspoon of garlic powder.
- No apple cider vinegar? Sub with red or white wine vinegar.
- Crispy chickpeas: we use store-bought sea salt flavored roasted chickpeas, but you can also try this recipe if you want to make them homemade.
Instructions
This vegan kale caesar salad is quick and easy to make.
Vegan Tahini Caesar Salad Dressing
The only prep work required for this recipe is soaking the cashews. Soak raw, unsalted cashews in room temperature water for at least one hour. If you're short on time, use hot water and soak for 15-30 minutes.
Once the cashews have softened, drain and rinse. Then, add cashews to a blender with all remaining dressing ingredients.
Blend until super smooth and creamy.
That's it!
Salad assembly
Prep kale: To prep the kale for the salad, remove the leaves from the thick, woody stem. You won't want any of the stem in the salad – it's pretty tough and hard to chew.
Chop the kale into bite-sized pieces. If you don't want any huge pieces of kale (or if you're serving this to kids), chop the kale super small, almost like you would with herbs. This is a great and easy way to make kale a bit more palatable!
Toss the kale in dressing. You may want to start with less and add more as you go depending on how much dressing you like on your salad.
Top with sliced avocado, crispy chickpeas and (optional) vegan parmesan.
Expert Tips
- Don't forget to soak the cashews! This allows them to soften and break down so they can blend into a smooth, super creamy sauce.
- Make an extra batch of the dressing and use as a dip for raw vegetables, pita or in these chickpea salad stuffed avocados.
- For extra saltiness, we suggest topping the salad with vegan parmesan. So good!
- If you don't love the toughness of leafy or lacinato kale, try using baby kale instead. The same flavor, but a bit easier to chew!
- Tongs are my favorite tool for tossing a salad. Versatile and easy to use! If you don't have tongs, you can also use two large forks or even your (clean) hands to make sure the dressing evenly coats the kale.
FAQ's
This salad stores really well without the avocado and crispy chickpeas. If you're meal prepping this, we suggest storing the salad with just the kale and dressing (it actually tastes better the longer it sits and doesn't get soggy!).
Add the avocado just before serving to prevent browning. Same goes for the crispy chickpeas, which won't be crispy if stored with the salad.
This kale caesar salad would be a delicious base for a BLT-inspired salad with tofu bacon, tomatoes and croutons!
Other topping ideas include sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, marinated artichokes, chickpeas, white beans, pine nuts, or anything else your heart desires.
Yes, absolutely! Other options include romaine (for a classic version), little gem, baby kale or even arugula.
More favorite salad recipes
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Vegan Kale Caesar Salad
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4-6 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Vegan Kale Caesar Salad with a creamy tahini-based caesar dressing, avocado and crispy chickpeas is one of my favorite vegan salad recipes. So full of flavor, texture and tastes just like the real thing! It's also easy to make and just a few simple ingredients.
Ingredients
Vegan Tahini Caesar Dressing:
- ¼ cup raw cashews, soaked for 1-2 hours in warm water
- ¼ cup tahini
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 ½ tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 large clove minced garlic
- ¾ tsp dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- Pepper to taste
- Optional: ½ tablespoon brining liquid from can of capers
Salad:
- 1 large bunch lacinato kale, stems removed and torn into small pieces
- 1 avocado, diced
- ½ cup roasted sea salt chickpeas
- Optional: ¼ cup vegan parmesan cheese
Instructions
Dressing:
- Soak cashews in warm water for 1-2 hours. Drain and rinse.
- Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust as needed.
Salad:
- Wash kale and pat dry. Remove stems and tear into small pieces (or use knife).
- Add to large mixing bowl and toss with dressing. Top with chickpeas, diced avocado and vegan parmesan.
Notes
Nut allergy? Substitute cashews with more tahini and reduce the amount of water by half.
Make tahini from scratch with this recipe.
Caper juice adds a salty, briny flavor you'd typically get from anchovies. A small amount goes a long way, so start with less and add more to taste.
Sensitive to raw garlic? Try roasting it, or sub with ½ teaspoon of garlic powder.
No apple cider vinegar? Sub with red or white wine vinegar.
Crispy chickpeas: we use store-bought sea salt flavored roasted chickpeas, but you can also try this recipe if you want to make them homemade.
We suggest storing this salad without the avocado and crispy chickpeas so it stays fresh. Add both just before serving.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Salads
- Method: No cook
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Bowl
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 0.6 g
- Sodium: 324.6 mg
- Fat: 12.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 7.4 g
- Fiber: 1.3 g
- Protein: 4.6 g
Madison says
This recipe is PERFECT! I haven’t been able to eat true caesar dressing in a decade due to a dairy allergy, but this is exactly how I remember it tasting. Only change I made was adding 1/4 vegan parmesan to the dressing when blending. SO GOOD!
Lexi says
So glad to hear that!
Lori says
This salad dressing is fantastic! We put it on power greens (baby: spinach, kale and chard) or arugula. We are wfpb sos free, so I left out the salt. This is the first time I got a recipe from your blog. Thank you 😋
Lexi says
So glad you enjoyed – it's one of my favorites, too!
Nicole says
This sauce is divine! I’ll have to double it next time! I used shredded brussels along with the kale which tasted great and held up really well for lunch the next day (I just stored it tossed with the sauce overnight).
Erin says
I followed this recipe tonight and it was delicious! I did a little hack by using cashew kernels (basically just small pieces of cashew) and soaking them in equal parts boiled water for 20 minutes and it blended up beautifully! So smooth and creamy. Also "roasted" the garlic in a hot pan with the skin on to kind of cook it a bit to avoid the spicy raw garlic flavour. Definitely will be making again!
Lexi says
Great idea with the cashews and I love that you roasted the garlic! So glad you enjoyed!
Kathryn says
So fricking good. I have made this caesar dressing using the original cashew version and also tried blanched almonds, both are equally amazing. I usually just serve it with plain kale and its soooo goood. Also a great dipping sauce for tostones to serve along side the salad 🙂 Forever added into my meal rotation
Erin says
I make this salad dressing quite often. I find it really versatile - if I'm out of cashews I'll add ground walnuts or peanuts. We often just eat the salad dressing plain on a bed of kale, as a side for something else. My husband and I aren't vegan, but we try to have plant-based meals as often as possible as part of our healthy diet and to lower our carbon foot print. Thank you for your delicious recipes!
Lexi says
That's awesome, thank you so much for sharing! This is one of my favorite salad dressings, too. Love to hear that you and your husband are trying more plant-based meals!