Best Ever Vegan Caesar Salad

When I was a kid my parents owned a restaurant and my favourite thing to eat there was the caesar salad my dad made. Growing up caesar salad was always one of those foods I would get excited about. Especially when it was sided with a baked potato loaded with sour cream and lots of cheese.

Now obviously being a "mostly vegan" eater I don't partake in those dairy laden foods too often anymore, but I still love caesar salad. It's hard to find a good one that is vegan, not topped with bacon and not made with anchovies.

But my friends, I have made one that will blow your socks off. The dressing is creamy, the toppings are filling and the flavour is salty and delicious. 

I've made a few different vegan caesar salads that I love from food blogs that I love, and have taken my favourite parts of each, thrown them all together and added my own twist. I cannot wait for you to try it!

This is a staple meal in our house. Yes, a meal. Salads can be so much more than a side dish, as you will see from the recipe below.

One of the key ingredients in the salad is tempeh. Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans which are made into a patty, similar to a burger. Sometimes you can buy them with added spices, but often you can just purchase a plain tempeh patty. Many people wonder if the taste is similar to tofu, as they are both made from soy. The answer is a big NO! Tofu is very bland whereas tempeh has quite a nutty flavour. The textures are different too, with tempeh being much firmer and more nut like. 

Tempeh is also different from tofu because it is fermented, and therefore really good for digestive health. If you want to learn more about fermented foods and digestion check out my recipe for kimchi. The one thing that is similar about tempeh and tofu though, is that you need to buy both organic as non-organic soy is GMO.

The best way to eat tempeh is to saute it with a bit of olive oil, and if the flavours of the dish are right, tamari. This is how we eat it in my house. I add it to salads, yoga bowls, chilli and in veggie burgers. 

Tempeh can be pretty hard to find if you live in a smaller town. I can get it at my natural health food store where I live, but it only comes frozen. When I was in Indonesia I ate tempeh most days as it is a staple dish to vegetarians and vegans who live there. 

If you haven't tried it before please don't be scared by its' appearance. I promise it will become your new best friend and you will find yourself incorporating it into many different meals!

Best Ever Vegan Caesar Salad
Vegan, Refined Sugar Free

Ingredients:

Dressing:
-2Tbsp. nutritional yeast
-1Tbsp. organic tamari
-1/4cup of lemon juice
-1/4cup of olive oil
-3 cloves of garlic
-2Tbsp. dijon mustard

Chickpea Croutons:
-3 cups of cooked chickpeas
-2Tbsp. organic virgin coconut oil (or other high heat oil)
-1tsp. sea salt
-1tsp. cumin
-1tsp. chilli powder
-1/2tsp. smoked paprika
-1/4tsp. garlic powder

Cashew Parmesan "Cheese":
-1/2cup raw cashews
-3/4tsp. sea salt
-1/4tsp. garlic powder
-2Tbsp. nutritional yeast

Tempeh:
-225g package of organic tempeh (thawed if frozen)
-1Tbsp. olive oil
-1-2Tbsp. organic tamari

Salad:
-1 head of romaine lettuce
-1-2 handfuls of kale

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Rinse chickpeas if they are canned. In a bowl mix the chickpeas with the coconut oil and all spices (I like to use my hands for this). Spread them out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in oven for 30-35minutes, until the chickpeas start to split and get hard (they will also harden up as they cool).

2. Heat a medium skillet and add 1Tbsp. olive oil. Chop tempeh into small cubes and add to pan. Saute until tempeh starts to brown. Add the tamari and cook until tamari has absorbed. Turn off heat and set aside to cool.

3. To make the dressing put all ingredients in a blender, adding a bit of water if the mixture is too thick. Taste and adjust seasoning.

4. To make the cashew parmesan cheese, place all ingredients in a food processor (i use a mini one for this) and pulse until it becomes a fine crumb.

5. Wash lettuce and kale, remove kale ribs and chop all leaves into bite sized pieces.

6. Arrange salad. Lettuce and kale, tempeh, croutons, dressing and parmesan. Enjoy!

Love and light xo,

Melissa