Vegan Caesar Salad with Crispy Chickpea Croutons

A bowl of vegan caesar salad with tahini dressing. There are crispy chickpea croutons and a jar of nutritional yeast behind the salad bowl.

5 from 1 vote

Vegan Caesar Salad with Crispy Chickpea Croutons

The crunch, the garlic, the creamy dressing and the lettuce and the yummy chickpea croutons! This vegan take on the classic Caesar is delicious !

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Course: Salad, Snack

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 704kcal

Author: Louise-Claire Cayzer

Equipment

1 Blender
1 Air fryer or baking sheet
1 salad bowl

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
3 tablespoon fresh minced garlic 4-5 cloves
warm water to thin as needed

For the Croutons

375 g 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 Cos Lettuce (About 1 head) Washed, dried & torn to bite size pieces
200 g smoked tofu sliced into 1cm slices
4 tablespoon chives and parsley- chopped optional, but pretty and tasty
2 tablespoon nutritional yeast

Metric - American

Instructions

For the Chickpea Croutons

Preheat the oven to 180℃/Gas mark 4/375℉
Drain the chickpeas, pat dry and tip onto a baking tray/ or onto the air fry basket
375 g cooked chickpeas, 1 tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp olive oil, pinch salt
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.
TO OVEN BAKE: 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.
TO AIR FRY: Air Fry at 180℃/360℉ for 15-20 minutes or until all the chickpeas are crisp

For the Salad Dressing

In a jar with a lid, mix together all the ingredients and shake well.
3 tbsp tahini, 3 tbsp capers, 1 tbsp Caper brine, 2 tbsp lemon juice, (or to taste), ½ tsp maple syrup , 3 tbsp fresh minced garlic, warm water to thin as needed
Alternatively, skip mincing the garlic and chopping the capers and add all the ingredients to a small blender. Blend until creamy.
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
200 g smoked tofu
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.
500 g Cos Lettuce , 4 tbsp chives and parsley- chopped
Serve with extra dressing on the side.
2 tbsp nutritional yeast

Notes

NB: You can also cook the chickpeas in the air fryer. Pop it on at 180C/375F and roast for 10 minutes or until the chickpeas are crispy. (it can take up to 15 minutes depending on the chickpeas)

Nutrition