Learn how to make homemade Vegan Caesar Dressing and salad at home! Oil-free and dairy-free. This Caesar dressing is made with only 6 main ingredients (+salt/pepper/water) and with buttery pine nuts, is oil-free & is so creamy and a crowd-pleaser.
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My all-time favorite caesar dressing has always been at a restaurant called Houstons in my city of…wait for it….Houston. Their dressing is a bit different than typical caesar because it was a bit peppery. It was SO addictive and it always came on the largest salad you ever saw. My hubby and I used to always eat there and having the salad was the best part of the meal.
I kid you not….I’m so obsessed with this dressing, I have been eating a manly size salad every single day.
HOW DO YOU MAKE A VEGAN CAESAR DRESSING?
Easy, you just start with my secret ingredient..unlike most vegan caesar dressings, I did not use cashews!
The nut of choice is pine nuts. Reason being is that pine nuts have a more oily, buttery taste to them and are slightly sweet….which basically, means a perfect vegan Caesar dressing.
Your easy vegan Caesar dressing ingredients:
- raw pine nuts
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon raw agave
- nutritional yeast
- garlic cloves
- dried parsley
- black pepper and salt
I wanted to create a vegan caesar dressing that did not use cashews, oil or soy/tofu. Of course traditional caesar dressing recipes can contain raw egg yolks, anchovies or lots of oil/mayo….sounds kind of gross doesn’t it? Sure, does taste good though.
Feel free to use your favorite greens for the salad. I used an Italian salad blend and also added lots of fresh broccoli and pine nuts because I love the added texture it gives. I also sprinkled some extra nutritional yeast on top…..so delicious!
I also have another Vegan Caesar Dressing with completely different ingredients and is used in this Vegan Caesar Smashed Chickpea Sandwich! That Caesar dressing contains NO nutritional yeast, so if you can’t have it, just use that recipe instead.
OTHER VEGAN OIL-FREE SALAD DRESSINGS
- Best Vegan Ranch Dressing or Easy Vegan Ranch Dressing. Both are great. One has yogurt, the other does not.
- Oil-free Creamy Italian Dressing
- Almond Butter Dressing
- Oil-free Tahini Goddess Dressing
Vegan Caesar Dressing (Oil-free)
Ingredients
- 1/2 heaping cup (75g) raw pine nuts (you can sub cashews if necessary, it will just taste less authentic)
- 1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons (105g) water
- 2 tablespoons (30g) fresh lemon juice
- 2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes (I highly recommend this Sari brand, it is non-fortified with much better taste.)
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (SEE NOTE)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- I use this scale.
NOTE
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper gives flavor without it tasting like pepper. 1/2 teaspoon will give a peppery taste like I noted in the beginning of the post. I make the peppery version since my take is on the Houston's Restaurant one locally.
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to your blender or food processor and blend until very smooth and creamy. I used my Vitamix, but I'm sure any blender or even a food processor would work since pine nuts are a soft nut. If you have a weak blender, I would suggest soaking the cashews (if using) overnight, drain and rinse, so your dressing isn't gritty.
- Place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. It will be perfect for salads then as it gets well chilled and thickens up some.
- I used an Italian salad blend and added some broccoli, pine nuts, extra black pepper and nutritional yeast on top. However, feel free to use whatever greens you like.
I’ve been making this since two weeks ago, and omg I am addicted! It is soooo good! It’s so easy to make and I will be making double batches from now on. My husband and I are plant-based, but love creamy dressings. We’re eating more greens because of this! Thank you so much for this recipe! Hugs from Singapore!
Yay! So glad you love it Claire! Thank you for the wonderful comment. I actually have another Caesar coming next week, haha, that is even better in my opinion, so you will have to try that too!
Loved this dressing. Always looking for creamy oil free dressings that aren’t sweet. This will definitely be a new fave. Absolutely love that this uses pine nuts instead of cashews just for the sake of variety. Thank you for a great recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it Tammy!
Hi Brandi, can it be frozen? Tamar
Sure!
Ok to liquid stevia for the agave?
I don’t use stevia so I have no idea what the taste would be. I do know it’s very strong so would only need a very tiny amount.
Was thinking about doing this we went to vegan restaurant where they served caesar dressing and my son loved it, never eats salads! But it had cashews as the base. I was thinking how to recreate at home with hemp seeds.. saw the Hampton Creek Just Caesar dressing but contained too many foreign ingredients. How will this work?
I’m sorrt, I’m not sure what you are asking? The recipe above is mine so you can make that recipe. I don’t know anything about that store bought brand since I don’t buy them because they have so many added oils and additives. So I make my own!
This looks great!
Thank you!
This recipe is exactly what I’ve been looking for! What are your thoughts on toasting the pine nuts? Wondering how that would turn out
It could be yummy, as long as you don’t mind pine nuts having a strong flavor!
I have to admit, I rolled my eyes when I read through the ingredient list. Anchovies, raw eggs and parm cheese have a very distinct flavor combo. I had a head of romaine lettuce to use up tonight, so figured I’d give this recipe a shot. My eye-rolling turned into wide-eyed surprise when I tasted it! This is GOOD, REALLY GOOD!
Haha, so funny, I’m so happy you loved it so much Lue, thank you for the review!
This sounds sooo good!! But don’t you roast the pine nuts in a pan before using them? A while ago a used non roasted nuts and I had a very bitter taste with every thing I ate for days…
Hi Caroline! No, you don’t want to roast them, as that will make the pine nut flavor too strong. It’s important to make sure you are using fresh pine nuts. When pine nuts are old or go bad, they are very bitter and that’s what will ruin the sauce! When they are good and fresh, they just taste buttery and amazing in the dressing! No bitterness.
My Facebook saves are pretty much all Vegan 8 recipes. This one came at just the perfect time. I’m getting ready to go on a beach trip with my very meat-loving family, and this southern vegan is totally responsible for bringing all her own food. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but I am NOT bringing my instant pot which I’m almost entirely reliant upon now. So then I had to really think about what easy things I could make ahead of time and pack in containers to bring with me. Enter this Caesar salad dressing. Ah-ha! Pasta salad! Easy, tasty, affordable, and totally packable. I just did a test run with this dressing today for lunch and it is perfect! I’m not a huge salad eater, but I’m sure it’s great for that as well. One recipe stretched enough to perfectly cling to 12 ounces of penne, broccoli florets, a bell pepper, and some spinach! I did add a few extra tablespoons of water to thin it out slightly. This might even be good enough to fool the omnis in my life (I’m not sure since I haven’t had Caesar dressing in ages). Either way, absolutely delicious! I would have never thought to use pine nuts, but DANG they are so good here!
This salad dressing was freakin AMAZING!! Best salad dressing I’ve had since going vegan. Absolutely love it and I share it with everyone I know.
Yay, really happy to hear how much you loved it Jen, thank you so much for making it!
I’ve searched high and low on the recipe, but can’t seem to find any mention of agave even though I see it discussed in the comments. Am I missing something? I’d love to try this recipe!
I removed it! It was a tiny amount and after making it again I felt it didn’t need it, so don’t worry about adding it 🙂
This dressing is the bomb diggity!! I made it and used it on the grilled cheese you shared….major yumminess factor. My 15 year walked through the kitchen as I was eating and said oh something smells so good, so against my true feelings, I did cut her off a very small piece and she gave her seal of approval too, duh!! Then, I did something unconventional and added mexican seasoning to it and made a taco salad with it today….so very good. Needless to say the first batch is gone. Thanks Brandi!
I see a comment regarding a substitution for agave but I don’t see agave in the ingredients. Maybe a general question? If in the caesar dressing, how much agave? Thanks!
Hi Christine, I removed the agave from the recipe. I originally used it years back when I first posted the recipe, but have since felt it tasted better without it, so you don’t need it!
Honestly, I may have already commented on this dressing, and if so, then it gets a 10 star rating. It is so delicious. That I have to stop myself from just eating it off of a spoon. I just read about your other Caesar dressing which I will try ASAP. Thanks Brandi!
Honestly, I may have already commented on this dressing, and if so, then it gets a 10 star rating. It is so delicious. That I have to stop myself from just eating it off of a spoon. I just read about your other Caesar dressing which I will try ASAP. Thanks Brandi!
I’m so happy you love it Sita!! Thank you so much for the review! Yes, the other one is really delicious too and is more thick/creamy almost dip-like!
WOMAN! You are AH-MAZING! I hate…I mean HATE all things salad dressing, but since I have been making YOUR ranch for a couple of years to accompany other plant-based recipes, when I endeavored to make your sweet potato chickpea BBQ wrap, I thought this one would be worth giving a whirl. GURL! This smelled SO good that it didn’t even get to the refrigerator before I took a couple of tablespoons and tossed it into some prepared rotini pasta. DEE-LICIOUS! Can’t wait for tomorrow’s dinner (the wrap). I know I’m in for a treat! Please don’t stop doing what you are doing. You have a gift and your creations are a gift to all of us on this journey!
Aww you are the sweetest! I’m so very happy you loved this and thank you for your kind words!!