The keys to a good plant-based caesar salad in my book are a garlicky, creamy, lemon dressing paired with fresh lettuce or kale and a delicious, salty vegan Parmesan — plus, a boost of protein from white beans! While this salad definitely isn’t a classic Caesar, it’s still wildly delicious and only takes 20 minutes to throw together!
Friends, as a plant-based Registered Dietitian, I know salads, and this vegan caesar salad recipe might be one of my favorites!
Okay, okay I know I say that all the time, BUT it was featured in my cookbook for a reason! It takes a classic and transforms it into something fully plant-based, lighter, fresher, and absolutely loaded with protein!
And where does the protein come from? Beans! Yup, this is a salad with white beans, and you probably know that I’m no stranger to using white beans in recipes, like my delicious, 30-Minute Coconut Carrot & Sweet Potato Soup with White Beans!
But with that being said, if you want to add even more protein to this salad- like, 36 grams MORE protein- my Healthy & Tasty Herby Breaded Tofu pairs PERFECTLY with this salad!
Wait… You Can Make Caesar Salad Vegan?!
Yup! And I may be biased, but I think this salad tastes just as delicious. When I was testing this recipe I wanted to make sure it had that classic, lemony, salty flavor of a traditional caesar, and it totally does!
To make this vegan, we do a few key things:
- We use nutritional yeast instead of anchovies in the dressing to get that signature umami flavor
- We use tahini in the dressing to replace the creaminess of eggs.
- We make our own vegan parmesan using sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast and salt for one of my favorite vegan salad toppings!
If you want to kick up the protein in this salad even more, you absolutely have to try this plant-based caesar salad with my Healthy Air Fried Tofu Nuggets!
Let’s Whip Up Some Salad!
Okay, I know this recipe may look like a lot of steps and ingredients, but you have to trust me when I say that I’ve made this so many times before and am constantly shocked by how little time it actually takes to whip up!
I love this salad on its own, but it’s also DELISH paired with my 30-Minute High Protein Vegan White Chicken Chili which is made in one pot and has 25g of protein per serving!
Lemon-Tahini Caesar Salad with White Beans (Vegan)
Equipment
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 1⁄4 cup tahini
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice about 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or other sweetener
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) water plus more as needed
For the vegan parmesan
- 1/3 cup raw, hulled, unsalted sunflower seeds
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
For the salad
- 8 cups kale
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 red onion, sliced
- 1 540 ml canned white beans, drained and rinsed
Optional additional toppings
- Additional vegan Parmesan
- Cracked black pepper
- Fresh lemon juice
Instructions
Make the Dressing
- In a small bowl or blender, whisk or blend together the tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, garlic, nutritional yeast, maple syrup, salt, pepper and water to make the dressing. Add more water to adjust the consistency to your liking.
Make the Vegan Parmesan
- Using a small food processor, coffee grinder or blender, blend the sunflower seeds, salt and nutritional yeast until the vegan Parmesan has the texture of sand.
Assemble the Salad
- In a large bowl, sprinkle the kale with apple cider vinegar. Using your hands, massage the kale and apple cider vinegar together until the kale is slightly wilted and darker green, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the onion, white beans, 2 tablespoons of the vegan Parmesan and the salad dressing to the kale. You may not need to use all of the salad dressing! Toss well to combine everything. Feel free to serve it with additional vegan Parmesan, pepper and lemon juice.
This looks delicious!
Thank you Jenny!