Looking for a nut-free vegan caesar dressing that utilizes whole foods? You've found it! This nutritious, creamy salad dressing is also oil-free and gluten-free. It's super quick and easy to make, ready to eat in only about 5 minutes. It's the new way to enjoy caesar dressing without anchovies, eggs, or oil.
This is my new favorite dressing for caesar salad, but I want you to know you don't have to limit it to that. I love this creamy, dreamy dressing on most salads. In fact, for lunch today I had it on a spinach salad with fennel, cucumber, mint, and mango. It brought it all together in a wonderful way.
For a quick and easy salad dressing that isn't creamy and only requires three ingredients, check out my Maple Dijon Dressing.
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Ingredients
We only need nine fairly common ingredients for this recipe. You likely have at least most of them them on-hand!
Hemp hearts: These little seeds are the star of this recipe, since they can be used immediately to provide rich creaminess (most nuts require pre-soaking). They also provide nutrients, including omega-3s and protein. They help make this a health-promoting salad dressing.
Lemon juice: Fresh will taste the best; that said, you can use store-bought in a pinch.
Garlic: I prefer the flavor of fresh garlic, but you can use garlic granules if that's what you have. Since we're blending the ingredients, the fresh garlic just needs to be coarsely chopped.
Dijon mustard: This contributes to the flavor quite a bit. You can try different mustards if you don't have dijon.
Capers and worcestershire sauce: These two ingredients help replace the traditional anchovies in this caesar. Not all worcestershire sauces are vegan, so do read the ingredients. They can include wheat-based ingredients, too, so watch out for that if you need to stay away from gluten.
Maple syrup: The dijon, lemon juice, and capers are on the tart side, so maple syrup softens the flavors a bit. You could use date syrup instead.
Salt: Just a small amount is needed to highlight all of the flavors.
See recipe card for quantities.
Equipment
Here are the tools you'll need to make this recipe:
A blender (high speed or strong blender preferred)
Measuring cups and spoons
If you're using fresh garlic, you'll need a cutting board and knife
If you're using fresh lemon, you'll need a manual juicer
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a strong blender. Start the motor slowly, gradually working up to high power. Blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides if necessary.
- Serve on salad or use as a dip. Store in a sealed refrigerated container for up to a few days.
Instructions
We just blend all the ingredients together in this recipe and it's ready to eat!
Add all of the ingredients to the blender and slowly bring up the speed until smooth and creamy.
Use immediately or store in a sealed jar for up to a few days in the fridge.
Storage
Store in a sealed refrigerated container, like a jar, for up to a few days.
Tip: The container should be just big enough to hold the amount of dressing; this will help keep it fresh.
FAQ
Many recipes use cashews or other nuts as the rich, creamy base of vegan caesar dressings. This requires having to soak the cashews for hours in advance or boil them for several minutes to soften.
This recipe instead uses hemp hearts, which are already soft and ready to blend immediately. So this vegan Caesar dressing is much faster to make; it can literally be ready within 5 minutes. Bonus: the hemp hearts also contain omega-3s, while nuts do not.
Traditionally, Caesar dressing contains eggs (egg yolks), fish (anchovies), and dairy (parmesan cheese).
Other salad dressings
Looking for more dressings? Try these:
Pairing
These recipes work well with this one used as a dressing or dip:
The Recipe
Nut-free Vegan Caesar Dressing Recipe
Equipment
- blender high speed preferred
- measuring cups and spoons
- cutting board and knife if using fresh garlic
- manual juicer if using fresh lemon juice
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup hemp hearts
- ¼ cup filtered water
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice fresh squeezed, if possible
- 2 garlic cloves coarsely chopped, or ½ teaspoon garlic granules
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon capers
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce any vegan version (I like spicy), gluten-free if needed
- ¼ teaspoon maple syrup or date syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a strong blender. Start the motor slowly, gradually working up to high power. Blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides if necessary.
- Serve on salad or use as a dip. Store in a sealed refrigerated container for up to a few days.
general food safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands and ingredients well before using
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
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