This really is the Best Vegan Caesar Dressing and is oil-free and uses no mayo, but totally plant-based! It is the perfect dressing for Caesar Salad and tastes incredibly authentic and made with just 5 main ingredients!
THE BEST VEGAN CAESAR DRESSING
I love Caesar dressing, especially if it’s a healthy plant-based Caesar dressing recipe. I already have a really popular Vegan Caesar Dressing that is oil-free. That version is made completely different, so give it a try if this version has ingredients, too, and see which one you like best!
WHAT IS CAESAR DRESSING?
Tradition Caesar dressing is made with very non-vegan ingredients like anchovies and egg yolks. So, trying to replicate that delicious dressing in a vegan version is a bit challenging, but I think you will all agree how delicious and authentic this vegan Caesar dressing tastes! Also, most vegan versions you will find online contain oil or mayo, which I avoid and know many of you all really prefer to eat oil-free. You can learn all about how to reduce or avoid oil at How to Cook Without Oil!
To mimic the anchovy taste, I used artichoke brine and dijon mustard for that rich, salty bite and depth of flavor. The fat from the cashews mimics the richness that yolks give in traditional dressing.
This dressing was originally created for these Vegan Caesar Smashed Chickpea Sandwiches. However, due to its incredible popularity, and dozens of you all calling it the best caesar dressing ever, it needed its own post, so it’s easier for you readers to find.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
You only need 5 main ingredients, plus salt/pepper/water:
- Raw cashews: This thickens the dressing and adds richness where Caesar normally gets from egg yolks or mayo or oil. Here we are using healthy, whole food fats.
- Dijon mustard: This adds vinegar and a saltiness to the dressing to mimic that Caesar flavor.
- Artichoke brine: This is a very briny flavor and is important for the flavor of the Caesar dressing. I have also tested this recipe for green olive brine and that also works, but prefer the artichoke. This is simply the liquid that is in a can of artichoke hearts. Make sure you are getting artichokes that are in water and not oil!
- Garlic powder
- Lemon juice
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN CAESAR DRESSING
Step 1: Add all of the ingredients to a high-powered blender, like a Vitamix, and blend until completely smooth and no bits of nuts remain. Scrape the sides as needed.
If you do not have a high-powered blender, you will need to soak your nuts for several hours or overnight in a bowl of warm water. Drain and rinse and proceed with the recipes. I find that a food processor makes things smoother than a non-powerful blender, which tends to leave a gritty mouthfeel.
DOES THIS FREEZE WELL?
Yes! You can freeze this vegan Caesar dressing! Just thaw in the fridge overnight or on the counter until soft and whisk well or reblend. It is as good as fresh!
MORE VEGAN OIL-FREE SALAD DRESSINGS
- Best Vegan Ranch Dressing or Easy Vegan Ranch Dressing. Both are great. One has yogurt, the other does not.
- Lemon Ginger Turmeric Sauce (my fave!)
- Oil-free Creamy Italian Dressing
- Almond Butter Dressing
- Oil-free Tahini Goddess Dressing
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Best Vegan Caesar Dressing (No Mayo!)
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons (60g) artichoke brine from a can (one soaked in water, not oil!)
- 4 tablespoons (60g) fresh lemon juice
- 4-6 tablespoons (60g) water (I used 5)
- 2 tablespoons (30g) Dijon mustard
- 1 cup (140g) raw, unsalted cashews
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (start with 1/4 and add more if desired)
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- If you don't have a Vitamix, then you will need to soak your cashews overnight in a bowl of water, drain and rinse. This is to soften the nuts, otherwise, your dressing will be gritty. For the soaked version, I prefer to process them in a food processor, which I find makes things smoother than a weak blender. Weak blenders can leave a gritty result.
- Add all of the ingredients to a high-powered blender (or food processor if using soaked nuts and no high-powered blender) and blend until completely smooth. Scrape the sides as needed.
- The dressing should be smooth and creamy. Taste and add any more salt if desired. Once chilled overnight, it becomes thicker, so add a touch of water and lemon juice if desired to slightly thin it out.
Nutrition
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I can’t wait to make this! Are the canned artichokes marinated or not?
They are just canned artichokes in water!
We just switched to a whole food plant based diet and weren’t expecting much from this recipe. We followed it exactly and wow is this amazing! Thank you for sharing.
So wonderful to hear this!
I didn’t have any cashews but had sunflower seeds and used them.It turned out really good.
Woohoo! That’s awesome!
This is so tasty! The only thing I did differently is I added 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire. I think it would make a fantastic pasta salad dressing!
Made last night & LOVE! Only modifications I made were: 1 cup of cannellini beans in place of the cashews; minced (jarred) garlic instead of powder; and because I did not have artichoke hearts or olives for brine, I subbed in a tbsp each of red miso and unsweetened applesauce! It’s tangy, garlicky & thick, and really has some “oomph”! I refrigerated half of it to have today and it’s even BETTER. So glad I found your site!
OH wow that sounds amazing! So glad you loved it Donna!
oooh just made this and put it in a chopped salad and absolutely delicious!
Wonderful!!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it!
Don’t think twice, just make it! I use this all the time and I think it would be great on …. everything: deviled stuffed potatoe, to pasta . I make Buddha bowls: beans greens, grain and potato and slather this stuff on. I get really excited every time. So dag gone good! Thx, Brandi, for the goodness! yes, that is me above! Kuhne brine is the best in this but I use artichoke too . Try it!
I don’t have a Vitamix — could cashew butter (just cashews nothing else) be substituted and if so, how much? Thanks!
Yes, that should work! Make sure it’s raw cashew butter, as roasted will yield a strong cashew flavor. Use the same gram weight amount of 140 grams, which would be equal to almost 9 tablespoons, but weigh if possible for accuracy.
I absolutely adore this dressing. I make it most often and I make all my dressings. It is great over a loaded salad with potatoes and olives. I use kuhne barrel pickle brine and fresh lemon. Sooooo very good! TY! chef!
I had to add some things because my Vitamix is wider than most and if there’s not enough “stuff” in it, it won’t blend. I had 1/2 package of silken tofu from a recipe I’d made earlier so I threw that in with a splash more brine and lemon juice and some water. It was so amazing! Even my daughter who doesn’t really like any kind of sauces or dressings was asking for more.
Brandi can I use almond in place of cashews for your recipes? My Costco has stopped selling raw organic cashews and they are so expensive everywhere else. I was thinking I could use raw almonds instead? Will
that work for recipes like your pasta sauces etc
Super easy and delicious! Drizzled it on the Sweet Potato Chickpea BBQ wraps. The whole family loved it.
Awesome Julie, thank you for the lovely review!
Yum! Used the brine from hearts of palm because that’s what I had on hand. Figured it would probably be similar. Made the recipe to go with the bbq chickpea wraps. Very good!
Made this tonight and it is definitely one of your best dressing recipes. So good! It’s thick so I may have to thin it out tomorrow but I’m sure that won’t effect the flavor. Delicious!
Wonderful Heather! Yes, it gets a bit thick so you can always add just a tiny bit of water to it! 🙂
The original recipe did not have anchovies. When the Americans tried to duplicate the recipe there was one ingredient that they were not sure of what it was so people started adding anchovies to the recipe thinking that was the missing ingredient. The actual ingredient was worcestershire sauce (has fish sauce in it). Since I used to make it the original way with the cuddle egg around 45 years ago, I decided to make it a mayo based dressing when I started catering around 20 years ago. It took me about four tries to create the recipe. The main ingredient that had to be just right was the amount of worcestershire sauce added to the ingredients. When I began catering awhile back, people just raved about it. I even posted it on Web site and one person told me she thought hers was the best until she tried mine. She gave me five starts from and around 5 other persons.
But anyway, I made my first WFPB batch a week ago and it was very close to my original. I just need to add a little more red wine vinegar, The color was there but needed a little more tang. If you want a copy of the recipe for you to try, I’ll send it to you. I will probably make the new version this weekend Need to change one more thing in the recipe. It required vegan mayo that I make with cashews; however, I want to incorporate the ingredients in the mayo recipe and just add it to the dressing mix and just buzz away with my Blendtec until smooth and creamy.
Have a nice Valentine’s Day.
Okay, so… I made this and for some reason I just didn’t personally care for it on salad. I guess I don’t prefer creamy salad dressings like this? So, I had some left over in my fridge and decided to dollop it on pizza and bake it with the other toppings, which consisted of tomato sauce, onion and a few sliced black olives on a whole wheat crust. It was delicious! Just like a lemony ricotta. So, I give it a 5 star rating for a pizza topping. lol
Haha I’ve heard of many people preferring vinaigrette dressings as opposed to creamy dressings. It’s odd to me because I love creamy most, but many are like that! And yes, it’s fabulous on pizza and burritos too!
I finally got around to making this with your smashed chickpea sandwich and it is delicious!! Thanks so much for sharing this, I just wish I had made it sooner! How long does the dressing last for in the fridge?
Yay! I’m so glad you loved it! It keeps 1-2 weeks in the fridge!
Very easy and very tasty! Will make again! Husband and I really liked it!! I wrote more of a review about it and my thoughts here –
https://www.facebook.com/100891404782187/posts/114785290059465
So happy y’all loved it Melissa!!
I just made this!! It’s the best stuff ever!! I’ll be taking this with me in my purse and or plane trips! It’s that good!
I’m so glad you loved it so much Kathi, thank you!
I have a Blendtec and it is high speed, works as well as a Vitamix, less expensive because they don’t advertise.
I’ve owned both a Vitamix and a Blendtec and I much prefer the Vitamix because of the plunger. I’d have to stop the Blendtec to scrape the sides down. Much harder to make things like banana ice cream, nut butters, etc…