This Healthy Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing is made by blending sunflowers seeds, nutritional yeast, and a few other key ingredients to make the creamiest, dreamiest, garlicky and slightly tangy caesar dressing that you’re going to want to eat by the spoonful! Plus, it’s dairy-free and we use no anchovies! It’s delicious on grain bowls, wraps or as a dip for veggies!

Jar labeled homemade vegan caesar dressing with caesar dressing inside and dressing being poured in.

Move over, store-bought salad dressings! This healthy vegan caesar dressing is about to knock your socks off, it’s that good.

And yes, I’m totally down for a store-bought salad dressing in a pinch, but it’s hard for me to get on board all the time when homemade ones are this quick and easy to make!

And did I mention how absolutely mouthwatering this creamy caesar dressing is?

We take sunflower seeds and blend them until they’re perfectly smooth with nutritional yeast for a slightly cheesy flavor, garlic, lemon juice, fresh pepper and a few other key ingredients to get that classic caesar dressing flavor, without the dairy or anchovies!

I’ve tested this caesar dressing so many times that I’ve lost count because I’ve been using it myself for years. That means that it’s ready to use on pretty much any salad recipe, but is also delicious as a dip for veggies, in a nourish bowl, or drizzled on a wrap!

If you’re skeptical of using sunflower seeds in a salad dressing, don’t be! I swear you can’t even taste them, but they make this dressing sooooo silky and creamy.

If you’re looking for the perfect salad to pair this healthy caesar salad dressing with, may I suggest my 20-Minute Dairy-Free Caesar Pasta Salad?! It’s the perfect healthy and filling weeknight meal!

Vegan caesar pasta salad with vegan caesar salad dressing jar in the background.

So What Makes This Caesar Salad Dressing Healthy?

As a Registered Dietitian, you know I’m no stranger to healthy salad dressings (like, hello, have you tried my Quick 5-Minute Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette?!), and this one is no exception! It’s healthy because:

  • We use sunflower seeds as the base, which are packed with protein, fiber and healthy fats!
  • Nutritional yeast acts as a substitute for cheese and has B vitamins in it.
  • Because it tastes so good, it means you’re actually going to want to eat more salads!

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Wondering What Kind of Sunflower Seeds to Use?

Great question! Raw, unsalted, and hulled sunflower seeds work best in this recipe.

I’ve tested it with roasted, salted sunflower seeds, and the taste is a little stronger on the sunflower-seed side, but they will work in a pinch!

If you don’t have any sunflower seeds on hand I’ve also tested this recipe with raw cashews and it turns out perfectly!

Let’s Blend Up Some Caesar Dressing!

The key to this blended salad dressing recipe is using a high-speed blender. If your blender isn’t super high-powered, you can soak the sunflower seeds for about 8 hours to soften them before making this recipe.

Blender container with sunflower seeds, water, nutritional yeast, pepper and garlic.
Step 1: Add all ingredients to a high speed blender
Jar labeled homemade vegan caesar dressing with caesar dressing inside.
Step 2: Blend until perfectly smooth!

Connect with Lauren

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! If you try it, let me know what you think by leaving a rating and a review in the comments below. You can also find 60 other delicious, easy plant-based recipes in my cookbook, The Simple Vegan Kitchen! 

Also, be sure to take a photo and tag me at @tastingtothrive_rd so I can re-share on my stories! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest so you never miss a new recipe or nutrition post.

Jar labeled homemade vegan caesar dressing with caesar dressing inside and a spoon.
Jar labeled homemade vegan caesar dressing with caesar dressing inside and dressing being poured in.
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Healthy Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing

Servings: 6
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Author: Lauren McNeill, RD
This Healthy Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing is made by blending sunflowers seeds, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and a few other key ingredients to make the creamiest, dreamiest, garlicky and slightly tangy caesar dressing that you're going to want to eat by the spoonful! Plus, it's dairy-free and we use no anchovies to make this homemade caesar dressing!
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Ingredients
 

  • 3/4 cup sunflower seeds, raw, hulled, unsalted
  • 3/4 cup water, plus more as needed
  • 3½ tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar,
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup, can sub with another sweetener
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until perfectly smooth, which usually takes about 3-4 minutes.

Notes

If you don’t have any maple syrup, honey or another sweetener also works well!
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Serving: 0.16of recipe, Calories: 120kcal, Carbohydrates: 7g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 8g, Sodium: 200mg, Fiber: 2g
Did you make this recipe?Don’t forget to leave a rating and review, it helps so much! And if you snap a photo, tag me @tastingtothrive_rd so I can see your delicious creation!

Did you try this recipe? Make sure to leave a review, take a photo and tag me at @tastingtothrive_rd so I can see!