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This delicious vegetarian Caesar salad recipe stars romaine lettuce, shaved Parmesan cheese, crispy croutons, and a creamy homemade vegetarian Caesar dressing!
Caesar Salad is a very famous and popular salad, which was invented by Italian-American restaurant owner Cesare Cardini. He first offered Caesar Salad to his guests at his restaurant Caesar’s in Tijuana, Mexico, on the American national holiday, July 4, in 1924.
Caesar Salad is typically served with romaine lettuce, Parmesan cheese, and croutons. Tossed with a thick dressing, which is often made with egg, Parmesan, anchovies, and/or Worcestershire sauce.
However, I’ll show you how to whip up a vegetarian version of it that is super delicious and quickly made at home. I highly recommend making your own vegetarian Caesar dressing.Â
Caesar salad is great as an appetizer or healthy side dish. But with a few tasty and healthy toppings, you can also serve it as a light main course. I love serving it as lunch or dinner topped with avocado and vegan chicken.
Ingredients
See recipe card for quantities.
- Romaine Lettuce → The basis! Lettuce salad has a great bite and is typical of Caesar salad. I like to use a rather large lettuce, they also come in small sizes, which are even crunchier.
- Parmesan → Finely shaved Parmesan cheese simply belongs in a classic Caesar salad.
- Croutons → To make homemade croutons, you need bread cubes, olive oil, and dried Italian herbs. Feel free to add some garlic powder.
- Caesar Salad Dressing → I recommend following this recipe to make a homemade Caesar salad dressing without eggs and without anchovies.
Vegan Caesar Salad Recipe: Omit Parmesan or replace it with a vegan cheese alternative. CAUTION: Store-bought Caesar salad dressing often contains egg, Parmesan, anchovies, and Worcestershire sauce. Follow my recipe to make a vegan Caesar salad dressing made with raw cashews. Replace the grated Parmesan with the same amount of nutritional flakes (for the cheesy flavor).
Variations
If you like to serve this salad as a light main course, you can prepare it with one of these toppings.
- Avocado
- Boiled Eggs
- Roasted Chickpeas
- Vegan Chicken
Make-Ahead
If you want to make this salad ahead of time, Store the salad and dressing Individually in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a maximum of one day. Toss right before serving. The croutons are best stored separately at room temperature.
Once the salad is tossed, you should enjoy it quickly. Otherwise, it will become mushy and inedible.
More Delicious Salad Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegetarian Caesar Salad
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Ingredients
- 7 oz (200 g) Romaine lettuce
- ½ cup (50 g) Parmesan cheese shaved (using a vegetable peeler)
- 1 portion Caesar Dressing
Croutons
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 slices bread in ½ inch cubes
- ½ tsp dried Italian herbs
Instructions
- Heat a skillet with olive oil.
- Slice bread in ½ inch cubes and add the together with the dried herbs into the skillet. Toast for 5 minutes until golden brown.
- Roughly slice Romaine lettuce, wash and spin dry using a salad spinner.
- Arrange lettuce, shaved Parmesan cheese, and croutons in a large bowl. Drizzle with the dressing and toss well. Serve immediately!