Ahh, Caesar salad. There’s just something about it. It seems so indulgent and decadent, like the cheat meal of salads. 

In my pre-vegan days, if there was a Caesar salad on the menu I most likely would get it. Fortunately it’s so easy to veganize this with the right ingredients to give it that zesty, creamy flavor.

Since most Caesar dressings have anchovies in them, the use of capers makes a great replacement. A bit of lemon adds a nice zing as well.

To me, croutons in a Caesar are imperative! We make our own using the ends of bread loaves or bread that’s gone a bit stale. All you have to do is cut the bread into crouton-sized squares, toss them with olive oil, garlic and onion powder, and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes, turning once, until they are nice and browned.

Store them in an airtight container and they will last quite a while – plus you end up with delicious little crouton crumbs when you get to the bottom, which you can top your salads with like we did here. Yum!

You can bake some tofu to add as your “chicken”, but we also like to use store bought like the Beyond Meat strips, or even Boca chick’n patties for a less traditional version. Here we used Morningstar Chik’n strips, grilled in a pan, and just threw them on top. 

Chick’n caesar salad is also delicious in wraps for those times you’re not in the mood for just salad!

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Vegan Chick'n Caesar Salad

This salad comes to life with a creamy, zesty Caesar dressing which is also perfect for making Caesar salad wraps. 

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 2

Author Blooming Vegan

Ingredients

Caesar Dressing

• 1 cup vegan mayo
• 1 ½ tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 Tbsp. water (more for looser dressing)
• 1 ½ tsp. fresh lemon juice (if using store bought, use a bit less)
• 1 ½ Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 ½ tsp. nutritional yeast
• 1 ½ tsp. capers
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Croutons

• 12 slices whole wheat bread
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Vegan Chick'n

• 10-15 vegan chick'n strips of choice
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil

Instructions

For the Caesar dressing:

1. Combine the ingredients for the Caesar in a blender, adding water until you reach the desired consistency.

For the croutons:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit. 

2. Cut the slices of bread into approximately 1-2 inch cubes. 

3. Put the bread into a large bowl and add the olive oil and seasonings, mixing through so that all the pieces are coated evenly.

4. Evenly spread croutons on a tray and bake for about 5 minutes each side, checking periodically until they are browned to your liking. 

For the vegan chick'n:

1. Add the olive oil to a pan and bring to medium heat. 

2. Add the chick'n strips and cook on each side, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until cooked through and the outsides are a bit browned.