Publised on 21/08/2022. Last Updated on 24/08/2024 by Richard
Vegan caesar salad with vegan chicken and a deliciously tangy, creamy dressing. The ideal lunch for sharing with friends!
This vegan caesar salad has been a LONG TIME coming and I'm happy to tell you it's also a vegan CHICKEN caesar salad! You people have been asking for this one for a long time, and well, here it is!! Are we shook by that glossy dressing? Yes, we are. Are we shooketh by the crispiness of those salt and pepper croutons? Good lord we are! And finally are we SHOOOketh about that garlic and caper grilled vegan chicken that's packed with flavour even BEFORE it gets dressed?? You know the answer.
I REALLY enjoyed making this with SNV kitchen assistant Lillie and we absolutely DEVOURED this for our lunch! The best way to eat a caesar salad, in our opinion, is to use a piece of lettuce as a wrap and stuff it with vegan chicken, croutons and a good blob of dressing then eat it like a taco. I'll let you eat your salad however you like, as long as you follow this INSANELY GOOD recipe! Looking for a different salad? Try my Vietnamese style Bun Chay instead!
Potential Substitutions
I'm hoping that most of the ingredients in this recipe are easy to find, but if they're not, here are my suggestions for potential subs and swaps!
The Vegan Chicken
There are a BUNCH of great vegan chicken products out there these days, ideal fro a vegan caesar salad - usually these come as strips. If using store-bought, my favourites are these wonderful chicken fillets from the Vegetarian Butcher which I also use in my vegan chicken katsu sandwich if you prefer the home-made route, I'd recommend using MY OWN VEGAN CHICKEN. (which also works great in my vegan fried chicken). Finally, if you want a quick and easy fix, I've also tried this recipe with firm tofu. Once glazed, it browns beautifully and gets lovely and crisp like a chicken sub would! Feel free to use whichever you like best, but this recipe glazes and bakes the chicken as fillets and then slices afterwards, so try to pick an option which comes in fillet form!
The Vegan Parmesan
I don't have a parmesan recipe available for you (YET!) but I can recommend my favourite store bought version. I LOVE this option from Violife if you are after nice large shavings, or this option from Follow Your Heart if you're a fan of Italian restaurant-style shaky parm. If you'd prefer not to buy a vegan cheese, a lovely sprinkle of nutritional yeast will still take your vegan caesar salad to the next level!
So, how do I make perfect vegan caesar salad!?
As always, the FULL RECIPE is at the bottom of the page - scroll on down if you're in a hurry. If you've got time or want some extra pro-level tips on getting the perfect vegan caesar salad, keep readin!
1. Start your vegan caesar salad dressing!
We're first going to use some of our caesar salad dressing ingredients to make a delicious glaze for our vegan chicken. We're just whisking together vegan mayo, garlic, chopped capers and nori flakes. This will give our vegan chicken so much more flavour!
2. Brush and bake the chicken
Make sure you do this on a lined baking tray! Depending on which vegan chicken you use, it may have a tendency to stick to the tray. I also like to bake the croutons at the same time, so make sure you leave room for them on the same baking tray.
3. Finish off your vegan caesar salad dressing!
To finish off the dressing we're going to add some extra ingredients (including lemon and dijon mustard) but we'll also drizzle in a little extra virgin olive oil. To make sure everything emulsifies, whisk the dressing constantly while adding the extra virgin olive oil.
4. Slice the vegan chicken up
I find a nice diagonal cut makes the chicken work best! It also allows it to absorb more of the vegan caesar salad dressing too! If you're baking the croutons at the same time, be sure to remove these before the chicken as they're likely to brown faster.
5. Assemble the salad
I like to toss the lettuce with a little dressing before assembling the salad. Then I top the leaves with the sliced chicken, croutons and some vegan parmesan. It's also essential to then drizzle more dressing over the assembled salad to make sure everything is EXTRA tasty! And that's it! Your vegan caesar salad is ready to serve!
As always, it helps me MASSIVELY if you can rate and review this vegan caesar salad recipe below. This blog only exists because people like you actually use it and cook these recipes, so it would mean a massive amount to me if you could let others know that you rate this recipe or that you're just excited to make it!
Alternatively, take a picture and pop it on instagram! Be sure to tag me though - I can't wait to see how you use this recipe! Oh and be sure to check out my Kale and Butterbean Caesar over at my other blog All Veg Considered!
Vegan Caesar Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cloves of garlic crushed
- 1 tablespoon capers finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon nori flakes finely chopped
- 6 tablespoon vegan mayonnaise
- 4 vegan chicken fillets see recipe notes!
- 150 g sourdough bread torn into rough chunks
- 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- Zest and juice of ½ a lemon
- 4 x baby gem lettuces OR 2 x cos lettuce torn, washed and dried
- 25 g vegan parmesan finely shredded
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 °C and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, capers, nori flakes and vegan mayonnaise. Place the vegan chicken fillets on one side of the lined baking tray. Use around 1 tablespoon of the garlic and caper mayonnaise to brush over both sides of the vegan chicken.3 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon capers, 1 teaspoon nori flakes, 6 tablespoon vegan mayonnaise, 4 vegan chicken fillets
- In a medium bowl, toss the sourdough chunks with around 1 tablespoon of the extra virgin olive oil then sprinkle with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread on the other side of the baking tray. Place the baking tray in the oven to bake both the vegan chicken and the croutons.150 g sourdough bread, 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, Salt and pepper
- Once the croutons are golden and crispy (around 10 minutes) remove them from the tray and set aside to cool. Return the chicken for a further 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, transfer the remaining garlic and caper mayonnaise to a medium bowl. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the remaining 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Add the dijon mustard, the nutritional yeast and the lemon zest and juice. Whisk the dressing well until smooth and glossy then season to taste with salt and plenty of ground black pepper.2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, Zest and juice of ½ a lemon, 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- Remove the vegan chicken from the oven and slice thinly on the diagonal into strips.
- Place the lettuce in a large salad bowl and toss in a few tablespoons of the dressing. Top with the vegan chicken, croutons and vegan parmesan then drizzle with the extra dressing. Finally top with a good grind of fresh black pepper before serving.4 x baby gem lettuces OR 2 x cos lettuce, 25 g vegan parmesan
Video
Notes
Nutrition
WANT MORE VEGAN LUNCHES!?
Why not try:
Chloe Williams
One of my favourite recipes!
Ben Horton
This is so good I could cry!
Inger-Katrin
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sheri
This is incredible. Like really, really good. The dressing is the best Caesar dressing I’ve ever tasted. My only comment would be that 6 cloves of garlic is too much…and I love garlic. I ended up doubling all of the other ingredients to try and dilute the garlic. Which is no bad thing as I now have lots of dressing for the days to come. I also added some Vivera bacon pieces to it which took it to the next level. Richard needs his own TV show!
Ivey
This looks amazing! One of the things I’ve missed most, can’t wait to try this vegan version
Lillie Pierce
God damn vegan Caesar salad dressing of all time
Becky
I love this recipe. It’s so fresh and easy and I want it in my cake hole daily!
Lindsay
Delicious! This will become a staple for sure.
Beth
Just so tasty! that dressing!!