When I was young, I used to love Caesar salad. It was so creamy and garlicky and it made leafy greens taste good. Let’s not forget how tasty those crunchy croutons are on top… honestly, such a great combination. Caesar salad is truly the comfort food of salads, and I absolutely adored it, until I found out what was actually in Caesar salad dressing. Raw egg yolks and anchovy paste? Gross. This new information completely ruined Caesar salads for me. I couldn’t eat store-bought dressings, my mom’s Caesar salads tasted too fishy, and at restaurants I opted for balsamic dressing instead of my once-favourite creamy dressing.
Looking back, those days were sad, sad times. Secretly, I missed those guilt-free years of eating copious amounts of Caesar salad at dinner.
Since then, I knew that it was possible to veganize and thus healthify this classic Western favourite. I remember trying a vegan dressing from Trader Joe’s the last time I was in the States and the ingredients listed tahini as the main ingredient. I always used tahini for my homemade hummus, and I knew it would make a killer vegan creamy dressing.
If you’ve never tried tahini, you’re seriously missing out. It’s a delightfully light and nutty sesame paste that blends seamlessly into any savoury/creamy recipe. You can’t actually taste any nuttyness when you mix tahini with lots of lemon juice, salt and pepper, garlic, and water to thin it out. It is for this reason that tahini is my ultimate secret weapon for vegan creamy dressings.
Some health benefits of tahini include:
- Excellent source of calcium
- High in vitamins E and B
- Helps to promote healthy cell growth
- Has 20% complete protein
- High alkaline mineral content (easy digestion)
- Rich in minerals such as phosphorus, lecithin, magnesium, potassium and iron
- Great source of healthy fats
I opted for kale instead of butter lettuce for the salad, because I love kale and it’s packed with more vitamins and nutrients than plain old lettuce! Also, instead of croutons, this recipe has crispy garlicky chickpeas that are full of protein and just as tasty (if not tastier) than croutons. Win!
Caution: This Caesar salad is super garlicky and will leave you smelling like garlic for the rest of the night. Is it still completely worth it? Yes, yes it is.
For the chickpeas: For the dressing: For the chickpeas: For the dressing:Vegan Kale Caesar w/ Crispy Chickpeas
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Ingredients
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (or more, to taste)
Salt + pepper (to taste)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup water (to thin out dressing)
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
4-5 cloves garlic
Dash of pepper (to taste)
Dash of nutritional yeast (optional)Instructions
2 comments
Looks delicious gonna take this to my next dietetics potluck!!
You totally should! Thanks Amanda. 🙂