This vegan Caesar dressing is the best plant-based replacement in a classic Caesar salad! It's made with tahini, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and capers. This is one of my favorite vegan salad dressings that's quick to make in the blender.
It's hard to deny that the best part of a Caesar salad is the creamy, briny, and savory Caesar dressing (and, of course, the croutons!). Unfortunately, classic Caesar salad dressing is an emulsion made from egg yolks and anchovies… not very vegan-friendly. Luckily, recreating those flavors is easier than you think. This vegan Caesar dressing combines capers, tahini, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast with a handful of other ingredients.
Why I Love Making This Vegan Caesar Dressing
Here's why I love to have this vegan Caesar salad dressing on hand in the fridge:
- Authentic flavors, made vegan. This Caesar dressing skips the anchovies and eggs and relies on the briny flavor of capers and savory nutritional yeast to recreate that original taste.
- Lightning quick. It's blended into a creamy, plant-based dressing in seconds.
- Put it on everything. This dressing is perfect for a vegan Caesar salad, and I also love adding it to pasta salad, sandwiches, and wraps.
Dressing Ingredients
Here's what you need to make this easy Caesar salad dressing without eggs or dairy. Scroll to the recipe card for the printable recipe with exact measurements.
- Tahini – This buttery sesame spread is a delicious nut-free base for creamy vegan dressings. You can use store-bought or homemade tahini.
- Hemp seeds – These blend up beautifully to give the dressing a thicker body and texture.
- Nutritional yeast – The key to subtly cheesy flavor without any dairy. Learn more about nutritional yeast.
- Capers – For a pop of briny, salty flavor. Capers bring the taste closest to a classic Caesar dressing. If you don't like capers, you could also use dill pickles or green olives.
- Dijon mustard – This is a classic ingredient in Caesar dressing. Yellow mustard will also work.
- Lemon – Freshly juiced, for a bright and citrusy flavor.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic can be replaced with garlic powder (½ teaspoon of powder per clove) if you're in a pinch.
How to Make Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing
This Caesar dressing is as easy as combining the above ingredients in your blender or food processor and blending until you have a smooth, creamy consistency. It's ready to use right away, or you can store the dressing in a jar or sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
How Much Water Do I Need?
When blending this dressing, add as much water as you need to reach a pourable consistency. Start with 1/4 cup. Then you can add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dressing is fluffy, well combined, and drizzleable.
Ways to Use Caesar Dressing
This vegan Caesar dressing is a great way to bring flavor to recipes beyond salads! Here are my favorite ideas:
- Salads: A classic Caesar salad is a given, but you can also use this dressing on a kale Caesar salad or a smashed chickpea salad.
- Sandwiches and wraps: Spread this dressing over a cottage cheese wrap and load it with fresh romaine, crispy chickpeas, and baked tofu for a vegan Caesar wrap! Or, use this as a dressing in a vegan bagel sandwich.
- As a dip: Serve Caesar dressing as a dipping sauce for coconut tofu tenders or Buffalo quinoa bites.
Storing Leftover Dressing
You can store leftover caesar dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. This makes a great option for meal prep. You can assemble a salad and drizzle it with dressing just before serving. If the dressing thickens up a lot during storage, you can add a splash more water or lemon juice to thin it out a bit.
More Vegan Salad Dressings
Vegan Caesar Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons capers
- 1 teaspoon caper juice
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- Juice of 1 a lemon
- 2 garlic clove
- ¼ – 1/2 cup water
- Salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a blender combine tahini, hemp seeds, nutritional yeast, capers, caper juice, mustard, lemon juice, garlic and water to a blender. Blend on high until completely smooth. Add additional water as needed to reach desired consistency (dressing should be pourable but not runny). Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Nutrition
I’ve made this twice now and it’s so good! My husband is allergic to cashews so finding a good creamy dressing that’s safe for him is a challenge. This is perfect! Thank you so much for the recipe!
I am so glad this was a hit for you both!!
I was looking for a tahini salad dressing that had more to offer than the typical tahini lemon dressing. I am glad I found your recipe. I had to make a few changes–I had almost enough hemp seed. I added 1 additional tsp of nutritional yeast, 1 additional tsp of capers, 1 additional tsp of caper juice, and additional water. I didn’t have Dijon mustard so I used 1/4 tsp yellow mustard instead. I used 2 giant garlic cloves which made the dressing too strong to use right away, but I let it sit overnight and that calmed down the garlic. (I really like the inclusion of the hemp seeds, capers, and nutritional yeast. Next time I’ll use Stone Ground Mustard instead of yellow mustard and since I don’t like Dijon mustard.)
Thanks for a tasty dressing!
Hi Alyssa Absolutely love your recipes!! This is one of my favorite cooking blog. Keep up the good work! Much love from INDIA:)
Thank you so much!! xo
This is the most delicious vegan dressing I have ever tasted ~ it is blender licking good! I think it could be left on the thicker side as veggie dip too. SO GOOD!
YES!! It’s legit my fave ever 🙂 sooo good! Love the idea of the dip too!