Author: This ultra-creamy Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing tastes shockingly close to classic Caesar, but it's completely dairy-free, egg-free, and oil-free. Made with simple pantry ingredients and blended cashews, this silky dressing comes together in minutes and is perfect for salads, wraps, bowls, or dipping veggies.
This vegan Caesar dressing is thick enough to coat every bite of lettuce and packed with bold, savory flavor, all made from wholesome ingredients you likely already have on hand. No anchovies and no raw eggs needed. Just a handful of simple ingredients that blend into the creamiest, dreamiest dressing. Bonus: it thickens as it chills, making it perfect for dipping too.
Why This Vegan Caesar Dressing Works
- Ultra creamy texture: Blended cashews create that classic thick, silky consistency without dairy or oil.
- Bold, authentic flavor: Dijon, capers, lemon, and nutritional yeast combine to mimic that traditional umami depth of Caesar dressing.
- Oil-free: You get all the richness without any added oil.
- Quick to make: Just blend and chill. This is an easy 5-minute recipe!
Ingredients for Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing
- Raw cashews: As with Vegan Cashew Ranch Dressing, the cashews blend into a smooth, creamy texture that forms the base of the dressing.
- Water: Helps blend everything into a pourable consistency.
- Lemon juice: Provides brightness and that signature Caesar tang.
- Nutritional yeast: For savory, cheesy depth and umami flavor without Parmesan.
- Dijon mustard: Brings sharpness and complexity.
- Capers: The secret to mimicking anchovy flavor. They add saltiness and briny depth.
- Garlic: Essential for that bold, garlicky Caesar kick.
- Salt and pepper: Adjust to taste to bring everything together.
How to Make Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing
- Combine: If needed, soften the cashews by boiling for about 10 minutes until tender, or soak overnight in cold water. Drain and add to a blender along with the water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, capers, and garlic.
- Blend: Blend until completely smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Adjust the texture: The dressing may look slightly thin at first, but it thickens as it chills. Use less water for a thicker dressing or add a splash more for a pourable consistency. Chill before serving for best flavor.
- Serve: Use immediately or chill for at least 30 minutes to thicken and deepen the flavor. Toss with romaine for a classic Caesar salad, or use as a dip, spread, or drizzle for wraps, bowls, and roasted veggies.
Recipe Variations
- Extra garlicky: Add another clove of garlic if you love a bold garlic flavor (just note raw garlic is potent).
- Extra-thick: Reduce the water to ¾ cup and blend, adding more only if needed (it thickens even more as it chills).
- Tangier: Add 1 to 2 teaspoons more lemon juice.
- More briny: Add an extra teaspoon of caper brine.
- Nut substitutes: Use blanched almonds, macadamia nuts, or raw sunflower seeds instead of cashews. Boil for 10 to 15 minutes to soften.
How to Use Vegan Caesar Dressing
This dressing is amazing on:
- Classic Caesar salad with romaine, croutons, and vegan parmesan
- Kale Caesar salad
- Wraps and sandwiches (try it in a Vegan BLT instead of mayo)
- Grain bowls
- As a veggie dip
- Drizzled over roasted potatoes or tofu (try it with The Best Air Fryer Tofu)
Storage
Store your vegan Caesar dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. The dressing thickens as it chills, and the flavor deepens after a day or two. Stir or shake before using.
If you try this vegan Caesar salad dressing recipe, let us know by leaving a comment, rating it, and don't forget to tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing (Creamy, Garlicky & 5 Minutes!)
This ultra-creamy Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing tastes shockingly close to the classic Caesar, but it's totally dairy-free, egg-free, and oil-free. Made with simple pantry ingredients and blended cashews, this silky dressing comes together in minutes and is perfect for salads, wraps, bowls, or dipping veggies.
Servings: (makes about 2 ½ cups)
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Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup water, (or as needed)
- ½ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 4 teaspoons capers
- 1 large clove garlic
- Salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Softening the cashews (optional): Softening the cashews helps them blend into a smooth and creamy dressing. If you have a high-powered blender you can skip this step, but if not, softening is recommended. To soften, add the cashews to a small pot, cover with water, and boil for about 10 minutes until very tender. Alternatively, cover the cashews with cold water and soak overnight. Drain and rinse before using.
- Blend the dressing: Add the cashews, water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, Dijon, capers, and garlic to your blender and blend until completely smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides if needed. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Adjust the texture: Don't worry if the dressing seems thin at first. It thickens as it chills. Use less water for a thicker dressing, or add a splash more for a classic pourable Caesar consistency.
Notes
Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. The dressing continues to thicken as it cools, and the flavor melds beautifully by day two.
Cashew substitutes: Use blanched almonds, macadamia nuts, or raw sunflower seeds. Boil any of these options for 10–15 minutes to soften. They won’t blend quite as silky, but they’re still delicious.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving (2 tablespoons) | Calories: 40kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 29mg | Potassium: 63mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg
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 🙂