I am going to give you the recipe to this yummy, scrummy, garlicky Vegan Caesar salad with crunchy delicious chickpea croutons. This super delicious vegan salad recipe is an absolute FAVOURITE of mine. In fact, I make it again and again. It first made an appearance back in March 2018, when I wrote the below story about it. (Use the jump to buttons to skip the little story!)
Jump to:
📖My Original Post
..but first I have to tell you little story. (What . You can't wait? Well...the button there's a button right up there that will take you to the recipe)
Anyhooo... Vanessa & I were having a debate about which order to post a series of scrummy new recipes we've created. You see every couple of weeks we get together in The Vegan Larder test kitchen (aka my scruffy little cottage kitchen) and cook, laugh, debate, taste and photograph a whole lot of dishes that we're experimenting with.
Our in house tester (aka Louise's Husband) is used as a taste guinea pig, and he gives us valuable feedback to our dishes. We also sometimes take our creations out into the world and force feed our colleagues, our neighbors and our friends and beg for critiques. Any that have passed the muster then get photographed and we write up the recipe and accompanying notes, the ones that fail get sent back to the kitchen for re-think.
This means we have a selection of recipes pretty much nearly ready to go at any one time, however it also means that sometimes we can't decide which one to go up first. Usually this is decided by the weather, season or by what we have just posted or needs to be posted soon (we like to mix up what we give to you)
However, this time we had two equally delicious recipes, and both had a valid argument to be posted first, and so- I took the debate to Instagram stories and created a (not terribly scientific) poll between this recipe, and a delicious Chocolate & Pistachio Tart.
Guys- we REALLY thought the tart would win.
We were wrong. So very wrong.
75% of you wanted this Vegan Caesar salad with chickpea croutons recipe! - I mean. WOW.
75% of YOU, our readers want SALAD? Not chocolate?
Seriously?
(Happy dance!)
I can't blame you really. I mean this salad is full of the good stuff. Smoked tofu that's been grilled, crunchy chickpea croutons, all backed up with the soft bite that comes with a good cos lettuce. Yum.!
🥗The Dressing (And why it is GREAT!)
The dressing for this vegan Ceasar Salad is just AMAZING!
Creamy from tahini, loads and loads of garlic. The tang of capers.. a hit of lemon..Whew. It's quite probably one of my fave dressings. Ever. It also happens to be naturally oil free, which is amazing!
Don't be scared by the raw garlic in this, it mellows out with the brine of the capers and lemon juice. Usually, a Caesar salad dressing would have anchovies in it, however we use capers for that delicious salty hit. We think they work just as well!
This recipe makes more dressing than you will probably need. But that's a very very good thing. Keep it in a jar in the fridge and use it to jazz up any other salad you can think of. Or dip leftover lettuce leaves in it while standing at the fridge door and scoff. (I did. I have no shame).
If you love this dressing, then you'll also love the tahini dressing for our Malfouf Salad (Lebanese Cabbage Salad).
🌱Other Key Ingredients:
Chickpea Croutons: These yummy little bombs of flavour are essential for the overall crunch and texture of this salad. And go a long way to help keeping you full and feeling powered up for the rest of your day. They also ensure this recipe is gluten free! By all means use regular garlic croutons if you would like.
Cos or Little Gem Lettuce: This salad needs a robust lettuce leaf to hold up to all the dressing and salad additions. I find cos, or it's little cousin 'little gem' to be the best vehicle for the best scooping up of salad dressing action.
Smoked Tofu: Yummy, smokey tofu that gets cut up and griddled or fryed. The smoky flavour is perfectly balanced with the garlic heavy dressing. We love Taifun smoked tofu the best for here. Or you could make your own : check out how here : How to Tofu! Beginner Level- Basic Crispy Tofu (aka Facon!)
Nutritional Yeast: Traditional Caesar Salad would have parmesan cheese sprinkled all over it. We like to generously sprinkle nutritional yeast (aka Nooch) all over ours for that yummy, savoury, cheesy flavour! - We suggest getting one like this one with added B12 (affiliate link)
❓Salad FAQ
About a week in an airtight container
You could use some vegan 'chikn' chunks, or vegan 'facon' instead.
They only take about 20 minutes to make. Or use pre-made croutons from the supermarket instead. I've used garlic flavoured crisp breads when making this salad, which were delicious too.
💚Similar Recipes & Serving Ideas
This delicious vegan caesar salad is a meal in itself. We also like to serve it as a 'canape'. Layer a slice of tofu and some chickpeas onto a scoop shaped lettuce leaf. Drizzle with the dressing (so it forms a pool inside the leaf). Sprinkle some herbs and enjoy!
Or why not try some of our other favourite salads!
Easy Japanese Gomae Style Sesame Dressing with Winter Salad
Beetroot, Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad
High Protein Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad (Gluten Free)
Harissa Roasted Chickpea & Tomato Salad
If you make our vegan Caesar Salad and love it, make sure to let us know in the comments! And share with all your friends too! x
📖 Recipe
Vegan Caesar Salad with Chickpea Croutons
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- 3 tablespoon tahini
- 3 tablespoon capers (finely minced/smashed)
- 1 tablespoon Caper brine (the liquid that the capers comes in!)
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice, (or to taste) (juice of around ½ lemon)
- ½ teaspoon maple syrup (or coconut nectar)
- 3 tablespoon fresh minced garlic (4-5 cloves)
- warm water to thin as needed
For the Croutons
- 375 g (2 2/7 cups) cooked chickpeas (drained (about 1 x 15 oz can) )
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- pinch salt
For the Salad
- 500 g (17 ⅔ oz) Cos Lettuce ((About 1 head) Washed, dried & torn to bite size pieces)
- 200 g (7 oz) smoked tofu (sliced into 1cm slices)
- 4 tablespoon chives and parsley- chopped (optional, but pretty and tasty)
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
Instructions
For the Chickpea Croutons
- Preheat the oven to 180℃/Gas mark 4/375℉
- Drain the chickpeas and tip onto a baking tray
- Drizzle over the oil, paprika and garlic powder. Add a little salt. Mix them all around well so all the chickpeas are covered in the oil & seasoning.
- Bake for 20 mins, then stir and put back in the oven. Bake for a further 15 mins or until crispy. Depending on the day & your oven you might need to bake longer. Keep stirring until the chickpeas are crispy but avoid burning them.
For the Salad Dressing
- In a jar with a lid, mix together all the ingredients and shake well.
- Add a little water and mix- add more if needed so the dressing is creamy, yet pourable.
- Taste the dressing. Add more salt, lemon juice or maple syrup to balance the flavours as needed
For the Salad
- Brush a griddle or fry pan with a tiny bit of oil. Griddle or fry the tofu on each side
- Tear the lettuce. Then on a nice plate arrange the lettuce & tofu. Sprinkle with herbs. Drizzle over the dressing and toss some chickpea 'croutons' over.
- Serve with extra dressing on the side.
mlz says
i appreciate your recipes, a lot. BUT, you say you've been good about conversion, however you're inconsistent - eg, no F for oven temp; 500g lettuce, why no ounces ['1 head' does not tell us enough]; 200g smoked tofu in 1cm slices = '1pkg', what size pkg? I believe you either you do it or you don't but inconsistent is really just a tease and a lot more work. i'd love to make the recipe if you had only done what you promised - be well converted!!
Louise-Claire Cayzer says
Thank you for your feedback. This is one of my oldest recipes and it hadn't had the full modern update with all the conversions yet. I've just popped the conversions in for you, so you should be able to make this easily now.