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
Cap'n Dave says
Hi, Sam!
So, here I am, at 5am, thinking, "I want a salad for dinner tonight." (Yep, I'm one of those "for" dinner types as well. 😉 ) So why am I thinking about this at 5am?
Because I'm weird? Probably, but that's just how I roll. Hmm...roll. Maybe a sourdough roll instead of croutons...ahem. Anyway, here's what I'm thinking:
Quickly-grilled hearts of romaine, rounded out with your Caesar recipe, cracked black pepper, a few added capers, some halved heirloom grape tomatoes, a little dredge of pink Himalayan salt, and a julienned shallot clove seasoned with wine vinegar for garnish.
So...why YOUR Caesar recipe? Because I was looking at others, and while they sounded good, they all had a vegan mayo base, often with the INCLUSION of even MORE olive oil, and I was thinking to myself, "You know, that's just an awful lot of oil," so I looked up "oil-free vegan caesar dressing" on the ol' Googley-moogley, and several popped up!
Okay, says I, this one looks good, so does this one...wait, SAM POSTED ONE TOO?
And that's why. 😉
Seriously, your recipes have all been enjoyable, fun to create, and you add such a bouncy-ness to them when you're describing them or in your videos that it just adds that certain je nais sais quoi.
Stopping at Whole Foods on the way home and picking up the romaine, tomatoes, and a shallot. Thanks for inspiring what is sure to be an awesome dinner!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww you're most welcome!!! I'm so happy you enjoy my recipes so much, and your salad sounds like it's going to be delicious!!
donna says
Do you think I could used cashew butter instead of grinding the raw cashew for this recipe?s
Sam Turnbull says
Cashew butter is made by grinding the cashews for so long that they release their oils and become creamy. Because of that the cashew butter may be a bit oily in this dressing, but it might work ok as a quick hack. Enjoy!
Saphena says
Oh shoot, I wanted to LOVE this!! Unfortunately it tastes nothing like Caesar dressing and I'm thankful I only used half the nutritional yeast. Back on the neverending search for vegan Caesar!! Thanks for all the recipes though, loving so much of what you share.
Marge Teilhaber says
Recipe called for 2T of nooch and you used 1T and ended up with a dressing you don't love at all. When I make this delightful-looking dressing, I'll follow the recipe the first time and then probably double the nooch after that.
Hattie says
Caesar salads are classic. So yummy. Who knew you could use cashews to make so many things?? Crazy. Well, I was out of nutritional yeast, and didn't have capers, so I used pickle juice from the jar and added a bunch of the Go Veggie vegan parmesean. Mmm! Also added some banana peppers, just cause thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Cashews are amazing!! So happy you enjoyed it, Hattie 🙂
Abby says
Absolutely delicious. thanks for the recipe
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Mehret says
I am makeing it right now, thanks for sharing !!!
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome 🙂
Annissa says
Hello! Just made this tonight and it was delicious! If people are expecting an exact Caesar dressing taste like the refrigerated ones at the store - it's not exact but is still yummy!
The only thing I found was the lemon juice was really over powering so next time I'd just reduce the amount a little.
Thanks for this!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it!
SK says
I’m so impressed with this recipe. To me the taste really does resemble Caesar dressing. I just need to work on the texture. I see an immersion blender in my future to really break up those cashews.
Chris H says
I had some of this leftover so I poured it on top of a plain rice and veggies dish and magic happened! The rice turned creamy and the whole dish was so delicious, I'm going to make sure I have some of this n the fridge at all times. Will try w pasta next time!
Sam Turnbull says
Wow! Love it! So happy this has turned into a staple recipe for you 🙂
Jerry says
This is so good, I can hardly wait to make it for a friend of mine who has so many food allergies that it is almost impossible to find something he can eat, but this is perfect, I am sitting here eating it right out of the bowl, who needs salad when you have this perfect dressing 🙂
Thanks once again, and the olives worked great, can't find capers on this island I live on no matter how I try!
Sam Turnbull says
Hahaha! That's awesome, I'm so happy you loved it Jerry 🙂
Fran says
Hi Sam!
I love this dressing. Do you think it would b okay to take out the dijon so its not spicy or any other substitute?
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, feel free to skip the dijon. It's for added flavour so if that isn't to your taste, it's a-ok to skip it. Enjoy!
Imel says
Hi have to blend the kale??
Sam Turnbull says
I updated the recipe so that it is a bit easier to read, the kale is just for your salad, so not blend it. 🙂
Carole says
WOW! This is amazing. I too thought I would never be able to have Caesar Salad again since I no longer use oil in salad dressing. I am addicted! Can't thank you enough for creating this . Instead of 5 stars it should be a 10 star.
Sam Turnbull says
Hahaha you're very welcome Carole! 🙂
Porsche says
Would love to make this but We have a nut allergy. Can you substitute something for the cashews?
Sam Turnbull says
You could try substituting both the cashews and water for silken tofu. It won't be exactly the same but it should still be yummy!
Pamela says
Yay! I thought I would never be able to eat Caesar dressing again. I'm definitely trying this recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
Oh you absolutely can! I hope you love it 😀
Wendi says
Fantastic! I double it now and also add some Himalayan sea salt. Good on so many things - pasta, broccoli slaw, as a dip for cut veges - I'm addicted.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha awesome!! I'm totally addicted to this recipe as well. So many good uses 🙂
Kate says
Dang! This dressing was so delicious I'm having it again tonight ^_^ Thanks Sam!!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! So happy you loved it so much, you're welcome! 🙂
Caroline says
Hate to only leave a negative comment (several of your other recipes have been great successes, so I have nothing to add!), but I would cut the nutritional yeast and dijon in half. That's all I can taste. Also added lemon zest, vinegar, a little sea salt, and plenty of fresh ground pepper. Still tinkering. It's definitely no substitute for Caesar as written.
Sam says
Oh too bad you didn't enjoy the recipe so much. I always put this on my caesar salads and my omnivore friends never notice the difference! Haha
Anna says
I just made this, and didn't have capers so added some sea salt. And I added a whole bunch of fresh dill! SO DELICIOUS!
Sam says
Oh yay! So happy you loved it Anna. Dill sounds super yummy!
JC says
Hi! Is there a brand of nutritional yeast that you recommend?
Sam says
Hi JC! I honestly haven't noticed a difference between brands of nutritional yeast, so I usually just buy the best deal. You can order it on Amazon here if you like. Hope that helps!
Alyssa McCord says
What kind of blender do you use? I had an old school 1960's blender and it made this dressing PERFECTLY. Now I have a beautiful new Blendtec and it won't get creamy! Don't know why...
Sam says
Wow that's weird, I have a blendtec as well. Maybe try a double batch? I find if there isn't enough food in the blender jar it can't really process properly.
Alyssa McCord says
I will try it! I generally have a jar of this in my fridge at all times! 🙂
Sam says
Haha! Me too!
Joe says
I would think it would last longer than a week. Has that been your experience?
Willa Hope says
Add more water
Aarika says
I am seriously so stoked to find this recipe! I LOVE Caesar dressing, and I have been looking for a vegan one for salads. Your pictures are absolutely gorgeous, and this recipe is mouth-watering. Thanks!
Sam says
Yay! So happy I could help, and so happy you are loving my blog Aarika! 🙂
Wanita says
I might be betanig a dead horse, but thank you for posting this!
Sam says
Haha thank you's are always appreciated. You're very welcome Wanita 🙂
Michelle says
I made this and used kale and fried up some tempeh as croutons. My husband said it was the best salad he has ever eaten!!! Thanks so much for developing it and sharing it!
Sam says
Oh yay!!!! That's awesome! Tempeh croutons!? What a fab idea! So happy you loved the recipe Michelle 🙂