I'm OBSESSED with this recipe. This vegan cashew caesar salad dressing is oil-free, whole-foods, creamy, tangy, garlic-y perfection! Not only does this dressing taste just like traditional Caesar salad dressing, but it's so easy to make. Just 7 ingredients and only takes 5 - 15 minutes (depending on the kind of blender you have). Then you have this gorgeous creaminess that's, of course, perfect for making a homemade Caesar salad, but it's also fantastic as a dip for veggies, tofu bites, or even pizza!
The creaminess in this dressing comes from raw cashews. When cashews are raw they are fairly mild in flavour and when blended becomes creamy and rich, no oil needed! Traditional Caesar dressing is made with anchovies so to get a similar brine-y taste I use capers. Capers can easily be found in your grocery store in the pickle aisle. The combination of the two with garlic and a few other seasonings results in a dressing that is healthy, but it tastes like a guilty pleasure. See why I'm obsessed?
This vegan Caesar salad dressing recipe has been on my blog since 2014, so I recently updated the photos (see the original photo above), but the dressing recipe hasn't changed at all as it was perfect just the way it was.
To make vegan cashew caesar salad dressing:
If you have a high-powered blender such as a Vitamix, Blendtec, or Breville (my personal fave), you can just add everything straight to the blender and combine until completely smooth.
If you have a regular blender, you may want to soften the cashews first to ensure they blend smoothly. To do this add the cashews to a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes until the cashews are very tender. Drain and rinse with cold water before using. Then simply add the cashews along with all the remaining ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
The dressing thickens up when chilled so it will become perfect for dipping, but feel free to thin with a bit more water as needed.
Whenever I whip up this dressing I make a double batch because I end up using this dressing everywhere! (I told you I'm obsessed).
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
Vegan Cashew Caesar Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw cashews
- ½ cup water, (or as needed)
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons capers
- 1 clove garlic
Instructions
- If you have a high-powdered blender you can skip straight to step 2. If you have a regular blender, you may want to soften the cashews first to ensure they blend smoothly. To do this add the cashews to a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes until the cashews are very tender. Drain and rinse with cold water before using.
- Add the cashews to your blender along with all the remaining ingredients and blend until completely smooth, stopping to scrape the sides as needed. For a thicker dressing, use less water. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week. The dressing gets thicker as it cools, great for dipping! If needed you can always add more water to thin as desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Mark Stewart says
Can you use almonds instead of cashews?
🙂 Mark
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Yes, you can blanched almonds. The taste and texture will be a bit different but should still be delicious!
Lisa says
This dressing is delicious! I love capers and mustard so I added a bit more of those -amazing. Even my very picky teenager loves it. Thanks so much!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!
Debbie says
Excellent dressing - exactly what I was looking for, thanks!
Yojanna says
This recipe was amazing! Our salad tasted so much better with it. Thanks!
B says
Very Pleasantly surprised!!! Capers are so good....and good for you! Very tasty and easy. My favorite kind of recipes!
Nicole says
Amazingly simple and oh so delicious recipe!! Not to mention healthy & good for you <3 thank you for sharing this. Goes great with a kale salad!
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, Nicole! I also love it on kale 🙂
Helen says
I substituted the cashews with hemp hearts and it was totally amazing! So creamy and flavorsome! I'm so happy to have found this simple vegan Caesar dressing...you're the best!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww thank you Helen! I will have to try the hemp heart variation 🙂
Mary D says
okay, I havent made this yet, but looking forward to. Thank you for your excellent site and work. All you are doing looks fabulous and I will be visiting here often I suspect.
Laura says
So good and really has a good Cesar taste. My super picky teenage son rated it 6/10 which is impressive for this kid that hates anything new and is a Cesar salad freak! A couple more tries and I’m sure he’ll score even higher!
Yvie says
Yessssss! This dressing is absolutely amazing!!! I crave salads so much more now - I’m so serious!!! The first time my roommate made it and I was blown away! I won’t make any other Caesar dressing recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Amazing!!
Liana Spyropoulou says
Hi there! This recipe sounds delicious I would love to make it this week! Is there a substitute I could use instead of nutritional yeast? It has proven kinda hard to find those days...
Kat says
I added some store-bought vegan parmesan (Earth Island brand) and it tasted very good!
Meg Selby says
So, so great on our big lunchtime salad! This passed the taste test for my husband, which is not always easily accomplished. This will become a go-to recipe. Thanks!
Heidi says
This recipe sounds amazing! Do you have a substitution suggestion for capers?
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
You can simply omit if desired.
Linda says
Hello Sam! Thanks much for this EASY oil free Cesar dressing. This is the best tasting cashew dressing/sauce of any I’ve made. I actually love the taste. I will be making this again!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you love it, Linda 🙂
James Sider says
How long can these dressings e kept in fridge
Sam Turnbull says
3 - 5 days
Chris says
Could I use almonds instead of cashews? Much cheaper.
Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, blanched almonds will work. Enjoy!
Martha says
I have 2 cups of soaked cashews that I made into cashew cream. How much should I use for this? Thank you
Sam Turnbull says
This recipe uses 1/2 cup raw cashews and 1/2 cup water, so if you used the same 1 to 1 ratio to make your cashew cream then it would be about 1 cup.
Irene McDonald says
I just made this and it was delicious. I added about 1 tablespoon of crushed Dulse and it gave it a nice taste. It was a hint of the sea. Will make it again with and without the Dulse. Lovely.
Sam Turnbull says
Sounds delish!!!
Stephanie Butcher says
This dressing is life-changing! First of all, I had no idea you could cook cashews to quicken the process (who can remember to soak nuts in advance :P) We made this like a ranch dressing, so added roasted garlic, dill, and onion powder. We already made two batches in two days!! I haven't had a salad dressing since I went plant based (oil and sugar free) a year and a half ago!!! God bless you!!!!!!!
Sam Turnbull says
So thrilled you enjoy the dressing so much, Stephanie! 🙂
Linda says
Loved your comments, especially for the ranch version of this. Thanks for the idea!