Vegan Southwest Caesar Salad Recipe
Make this vegan southwest Caesar salad! You'll love the creamy, briny, chili infused vegan dressing made from almonds and the cashew vegan parmesan cheese! Don’t forget to top it off with crispy tortilla chips for extra crunch!
When you go out to eat at a restaurant where a salad comes with your entree, please tell me you always get the Caesar salad? Why do they even bother to offer the sad mix of leaf lettuce, cucumbers, shredded carrots and ranch? I don't make assumptions based on what someone is eating, but in this case, when I see someone munching on a boring side salad, I'm pretty sure they're in diet mode. Why deprive yourself of the deliciousness that is Caesar salad?
I kid, but goodness knows when I was stuck in diet mode, I suffered through my fair share of sad lettuce and vegetable mixes drenched in low fat honey mustard in an attempt to imbue some taste.
I've always been a bit obsessed with Caesar salads. Even when I was a vegetarian, I didn't stop eating them. Because even though anchovies are technically a living creature, they're not cute nor furry so I had no problem eating one in my dressing. Caesar is the king of salads...or the emperor! Get it? Like Julius Caesar...the emperor. That was pretty bad...
Back when I was a dietetic intern, my roommate and fellow intern (another Rachel!) were put in charge of redoing Emory's salad and sandwich bar with healthier options during our food service rotation. Yes, dietitians are actually required to go through a food service rotation, which I could give you quite the rant on, but I'll keep it to myself for now. One of the salads we came up with was this amazing Southwest Caesar salad with fresh tortilla chips sprinkled with chili powder, grilled shrimp and black beans.
This vegan southwest Caesar salad recipe was very loosely inspired by that dish, but I decided to try a vegan spin since I just love the flavor of nut based dressings. If you're vegan or just not into mayo, I think you'll be really surprised by how soaked nuts can turn into a rich, creamy dressing with tons of flavor. Also, I'm weirdly obsessed with vegan parmesan. Take it from a total cheese lover, this stuff is legit. The mixture of finely ground cashews and nutritional yeast takes this salad to another level. This recipe makes a little extra which you could serve over pasta or sprinkled on veggies...or just get really heavy handed on your salad. With black beans for protein, crisp jicama and radish, juicy tomatoes, and crunchy tortilla chips, this southwest Caesar has all the yummy things going on!
How to Make Vegan Parmesan
Confession: back in the day when I would read the word “vegan” in front of a food item that usually isn’t vegan, I automatically assumed it was going to be super complicated to make. Just like with this vegan parmesan, how are you supposed to make cheese without milk and it still actually taste good?!
I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that vegan parmesan is so simple to make and tastes amazing! All it takes is throwing ingredients into a food processor.
To make the parmesan for this vegan southwest Caesar salad, all you need are cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and salt. The cashews provide the fat which help with the consistency and crumby-ness of the parm. The nutritional yeast provides a cheesy flavor, and the garlic powder brings out the umami. Throw these ingredients into a food processor and blend until it has a sandy consistency. Be careful not to over-blend or you’ll end up with a cheesy cashew butter instead of vegan parmesan. Yuck!
Feel free to double (or triple) the recipe so you can have some left over! You can use this vegan parmesan cheese however you would normally use parmesan. A few of my favorite ways are over a bed of pasta like my browned butter spaghetti, sprinkled on top of roasted or mashed potatoes, over your favorite pizza, or on top of popcorn.
How to Make Vegan Southwest Caesar Dressing
This vegan southwest Caesar dressing is a game changer. It takes a little more work than the vegan parmesan but is so doable and 100% worth it. First, you’ll need to soak your slivered almonds in water, which makes them soft and saturated, helping them blend to a smoother consistency.
Next step in making this vegan southwest Caesar dressing, drain your almonds and toss them into a food processor with the nutritional yeast, capers, chili powder, garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper. Begin blending the ingredients together while slowly pouring in water until the dressing is a creamy consistency, adding more water if needed. You may need to occasionally scrape down the sides of the processor to make sure all of the ingredients are blended well.
If you have some left over, store this vegan southwest Caesar dressing in an airtight container and refrigerate. I like to use it as a dip for raw veggies.
This vegan southwest Caesar salad recipe has been updated to give you the best possible content.
Vegan Southwest Caesar Salad Recipe
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
Vegan Parmesan Cheese:
1/3 cup raw cashews
1 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Vegan Caesar Dressing:
1 cup slivered almonds, soaked in water 6 hours
Juice of 1 lime
1 1/2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon capers
1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2-2/3 cup water
Salad:
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped, rinsed and dried
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups peeled and chopped jicama
2 radishes, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
Lightly crushed tortilla chips, for serving
Instructions:
First make the "parmesan" cheese. Blend cashews, nutritional yeast, salt and garlic powder in the food processor until it has a sandy consistency. Be careful not to over-process or it will turn to cashew butter. Scoop parmesan out into a bowl and set aside until ready to use.
Next make the dressing. Drain the almonds and place them in the food processor with the lime juice, nutritional yeast, capers, chili powder, garlic, salt and pepper. Stream in water while the processor is running. Blend until creamy, scraping down sides as needed, about 5 minutes total, adding more water if needed to get to desired consistency. Scoop dressing into a serving container until ready to use.
Place romaine in a large salad bowl with black beans, jicama, and radishes. Toss with Caesar dressing to coat. Toss in tortilla chips. Serve garnished with vegan parmesan.
If you like this vegan southwest caesar salad recipe, you might also like:
Vegan Egg Salad Recipe
Tropical Tofu Salad with Mango Macadamia Dressing
Vegan Taco Salad with Tempeh Meat and Creamy Salsa Dressing
