Healthy Vegan Caesar Dressing with Hemp Hearts
What’s yummier than a creamy, tangy, vegan Caesar salad dressing? Made with hemp hearts, not cashew nuts, and with no added oils, this healthy vegan Caesar dressing recipe takes just 5 minutes to make, with 6 simple ingredients (not including salt and pepper!). Amazing with a classic romaine or kale Caesar salad or even a slaw!
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I could eat salads everyday. But I’ve got to be honest: I never liked traditional Caesar salads.
The anchovies in a classic Caesar dressing were a no-go, obviously, because I went vegetarian in my teens. And I’ve always wanted more from my salads than just romaine and croutons. As a plant-based and gut health-focused registered dietitian, I’m always trying to incorporate more plants into my diet, so if it’s a salad, give me VEG! I’ll take my bread in sandwich form, thanks! Well, unless it’s a Panzanella salad (for which I will gladly overlook my bread-in-salad disdain because I am not a monster).
But a vegan Caesar salad, with plenty of tang, hearty greens, and maybe a bit of crunch? Well, I can’t get enough.
I could eat a kale Caesar salad every day of my life and be a verrrry happy human. So I thought it was high time I make you my favourite creamy, tangy, dairy free Caesar salad dressing.
There are a lot of different plant-based ways to create a creamy base for a dairy-free Caesar dressing: I’ve seen recipes made from cashews, hummus, tahini and even mayo. But I wanted to put my spin on it and make a vegan Caesar dressing that’s even oil free, so I’m using hemp hearts to achieve a similar creamy texture and nutritional yeast for the umami.
If you’re a sucker for a good salad like I am, there are more ideas for plant-based dressings in Good For Your Gut cookbook, my gut-health focused cookbook.
How to make this yummy vegan Caesar dressing (with no cashews!)
I’ll take any excuse to add hemp hearts to my plate…but bonus: they blend up surprisingly well, even if you don’t have a high speed blender — and they require zero soaking.
I love using this dressing for a kale caesar. Just massage the dressing into washed and torn kale leaves. Massaging the dressing into the kale leaves ensures it’s well-coated and helps soften the kale to make it more pleasant to chew. Add some roasted chickpeas for extra protein + crunch! This dressing makes a great dip too in case you’ve got leftovers.
More Vegan Dressing Recipes
- Slurpable Nutritional Yeast Dressing
- 5 Minute Creamy Balsamic Dressing
- Fresh Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette
- 3 Minute Tangy Harissa Vinaigrette
- 5 Minute Creamy Vegan Dill Pickle Ranch Dressing
Healthy Vegan Caesar Dressing with Hemp Hearts
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 2 lemons
- ⅓ cup hemp hearts, (learn about the benefits of hemp hearts!)
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup, or pure cane sugar
- freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Equipment
- Immersion blender or small blender
Instructions
- Place the lemon juice, hemp, nutritional yeast, water, Dijon, salt, garlic powder, maple syrup and pepper in a blending cup or bullet. Blend 1-2 minutes until smooth. Taste, and adjust salt and pepper as you like.
38 Comments on “Healthy Vegan Caesar Dressing with Hemp Hearts”
Oh wow! Try this and you will LOVE it!
Thank you so much Marla, I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Hi Desiree.
I’m slowly changing my diet to plant food. Originally I’ve been eating keto to lose a few pounds. But I’ve been worry about all the fat I’ve been eating, that can’t be good for you. So, I decided to convert to low carb but plant based. I try to eat more greens and not soo much starchy vegetable.
Any advise?
Hi Annette,
That’s a biggie! You might find that some one-on-one time with a dietitian would really help get you settled on a path that feels doable and healthy on your terms. In terms of general advice to get you started, I would do exactly that: bring in all the non-starchy vegetables first, to aim for 50% of your plate as vegetables for some plant power! Then, transfer your fats over to plant fats like avocado, olives and nuts and nut butters. Then start exploring swapping in your plant proteins like tempeh, tofu, and legumes in place of meats. Best of luck!!
I am wondering about adding anchovy paste into the dressing. I know the paste makes it not vegan, but I am curious if you or anyone thinks it may work. Some of my favourite recipes have it and it adds a wonderful flavour. Thanks for any suggestions.
Hi Brandi,
Good Q! I have to admit that I’m probably the worst person to ask as I have never cooked with anchovy 😉 However, what I can offer is try making it as is, then if you wish, try adding 1/2 the normal amount of anchovy that other recipes usually call for to account for the other salty/umami elements already in the dressing. Let me know how it goes!
Instead of anchovies I often blend capers into my caesar recipe to add that additional salty/umami flavour but keep it vegan.
Thank you so much for your quick reply Desiree.
Wow! That’s the first recipe that I found actually tasted identical to caesar dressing (from what I remember!). Thank you!
YAAAAAAAY! That is high praise, Aimeeleih. I am so glad you like it (I’m addicted!!)
Totally agree!! 👍
Love this dressing!! Easy to make and so delicious. The first night we had it on a typical Caesar-type salad but have used the leftovers all week on different creations. It added a nice ‘zing’ to both salads and on grilled veggies. This will be on a regular rotation in our household. Thanks Desiree!
Amazing! I am so glad you like it Susan. It’s always feels like such as win when you can make something in five minutes that really tastes great.
This is delicious! I forgot I had it though, and now its a week in the fridge. is the 2-days a hard rule? I hate to waste it but am weird about things going off. LOL. thanks!
Hi Desiree,
Not a hard and fast rule…it’s a ‘best buy’ suggestion for sure. Because there are no animal ingredients, it will go off less readily than a traditional dressing so use your best judgement 🙂
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I made this dressing on a huge salad for my dad today for lunch because caesar dressing is one of his most favs. He loved it! He shouted in the other room, “ OMG, this dressing should get 10 stars… it is phenomenal!” So there is my Dad’s report, Desiree. He wanted ALL of the dressing on his salad which is why I didn’t get to try it today. 😳 I did dip my finger in it and really liked it. I put this salad on very bold tasting lettuces that could stand up to the umami flavor of the dressing (organic baby arugula, organic baby kale, organic baby spinach, organic cucumbers, organic grape tomatoes, avocadoes, organic cannelini beans, wild albacore tuna, and hard boiled eggs). We will try it the other ways that you listed above. It is always nice to get new ideas!
We are a family who eats fish, eggs, and diary ( minus cow’s milk) however, we are extremely open minded and will eat delicious food of any kind, no matter if it is vegan, vegetarian, etc. Desiree you have made my family much healthier with your plant -based recipes!
This is a great dressing to substitute for anchovies and probably more likely one that we will use because it is quick to make and we always have the ingredients on hand. 🙂
Jordanna
10 Stars!?! Ha ha, I am so glad your dad liked it. Winning over classic Caesar lovers is tough…so this is high praise indeed 🙂 Thanks for all of your support Jordanna.
P.S. I forgot to mention I added more cruciferous veg to my dad’s salad besides the organic arugula and kale ( lots of crunchy, organic cauliflower) and the dressing made it all very enjoyable!
Jordanna
Hope that these five stars show up on my below review!
Obsessed with this dressing!
YAY! I am too 🙂
I added Nori (sea algae).
Next time I will cut some of the vinegar and Dijon down a bit, it was quite bitter. I added some Veganaise to help with that.
This dressing is everything! It’s well balanced and just so fresh! I just had to try it and it did not disappoint. I added roasted chickpeas to my kale Cesar and was perfect.
Roasted chickpeas are SO good on a caesar, so glad you enjoyed the dressing!
Thoroughly enjoyed this caesar salad. I would never have thought to add smoked tofu to this salad even though it’s a favourite of mine. Thank you 💕
I thought…why do people put bacon on caesar salad? And then smoked tofu immediately came to mind 🙂 So glad you liked it, Molly!
Desiree, I made this dressing for the first time and it’s delish! I tossed it with chopped romaine lettuce and some homemade croutons for a simple lunch. Thanks for the recipe!
I am so glad you like it Liane!! It’s one of my forever faves. Happy New Year 🙂
You are absolutely right, this dressing is delicious! I just made it and had some with my spring mix salad. I think this dressing would also work well as a mayo substitute for no-tuna salad sandwich made with chickpeas instead of tuna, what do you think? Thank you for the recipe, it is fabulous and I have enough left over for several more salads. I replaced the maple syrup in this recipe with one date.
HOW HAVE I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT? A chickpea tuna “ceasar” is an incredible idea, Dina. I am so glad you like the dressing!
Best ever omg! Economical and nutritious! So good omg! Thank you
Oh YAY! I am so glad you like it Willa, thank you so much for leaving a rating 🙂
The BEST Caesar salad dressing ever!!! I did use 2 cloves of micro planed garlic in place of the garlic salt, otherwise prepared recipe as written. Even my non vegan fam loved it! 😊
I am so glad you all liked it Jenny!! It’s my fave…thank you for taking the time to leave a star rating and review!
This is delicious! Thank you.
So glad you think so, Daphne!!
The dressing is so good! I made it to use on freshly sprouted alfalfa and salad mix sprouts! Added cucumber, tomato, spring mix salad, and baked tofu….. this Caesar recipe is a keeper and will make it often! Thanks for sharing it!
YAY!! I love it so much, glad you do too 🙂