It’s almost grilling season, and you know what that means for the Ambitious Kitchen fam: it’s time to bust out all of our best salad recipes and salad dressings to make flavorful, nourishing sides.
One recipe I’ve been LOVING lately is for my vegan caesar dressing. I’m trying my best to incorporate more plant based recipes on the site and since I make this dressing so often, I figured that I’d better put it on the site! It’s made with 5 core ingredients and super easy to throw together for a yummy weeknight salad (or maybe even in a chickpea salad wrap?).
Either way I hope you love it as much as we do. Oh, and my biggest tip for this one? Don’t forget to properly season the dressing with a generous amount of salt and pepper. It helps bring it all together! Enjoy.
What is caesar dressing?
Traditional caesar salad dressing is often made with anchovies, raw egg yolk, raw garlic, mustard, lemon juice and parmesan cheese. The result is a super zesty, garlicky and savory dressing that pairs really will with fresh, simple salads.
In this vegan caesar dressing recipe I created an equally as flavorful, zesty and creamy dressing but without any eggs, dairy or anchovies! In fact, it’s completely vegan so everyone can enjoy it.
Everything you’ll need to make this vegan caesar dressing
This easy vegan caesar dressing recipe has just 5 core ingredients, plus a little water, salt & pepper to create a deliciously creamy dressing you’ll want to put on everything. The base is made out of tahini to keep this dressing dairy free, nut free and egg free! Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Tahini: as I mentioned, we’re using creamy tahini as the base of this vegan caesar salad dressing. I always use Soom Tahini!
- Lemon juice: every good dressing has a little acidity to it. In this one we’re using fresh lemon juice.
- Garlic: fresh garlic is a must for a good caesar dressing.
- Capers: we’re using both diced capers and the caper brine (from the jar) to give the dressing that savory element that anchovies usually does.
- Mustard: I love using a grainy dijon mustard for that tangy flavor.
- Water: you’ll also need a little water to thin the dressing to your liking.
- Seasonings: top it off with salt and pepper to taste.
Wait, what are capers?
Capers are actually small, unripened flower buds from a plant called Flinders rose. The plant creates pretty white and pink flowers — Abra and I actually saw them when we were in Southern France a few years ago! The little buds are picked and pickled in brine to give them a salty, earthy flavor.
Capers are used in a lot of Mediterranean cuisines and pack a big flavor punch. In this vegan caesar dressing recipe, you’ll dice up a few of the little capers themselves and use some of the brine that they come in to add a boost of salty savory flavor to the dressing. If you don’t have any capers a little bit of olives & olive brine could work as well.
How to make vegan caesar salad dressing
You’re just about 5 minutes away from an incredible salad dressing!
- Mix it. In a small bowl until smooth: tahini, fresh lemon juice, garlic, diced capers, caper brine, dijon mustard, warm water and freshly ground black pepper.
- Thin it. Feel free to add a little more warm water to the dressing to thin it to your liking.
- Adjust & serve. Taste the dressing and add more salt and pepper if you’d like. Enjoy!
Ways to use vegan caesar dressing
This caesar dressing goes beyond caesar salad. Try it on tons of fresh salad recipes, veggie-packed bowls, or even use it as a veggie dip!
- Use it as a marinade for baked or grilled chicken.
- Drizzle it on a sheet pan of vegetables for the perfect side dish.
- Use it as a dressing for a fresh salad, or branch out to a delicious potato salad or pasta salad!
- Add it to your fav sandwiches, a wrap or even top a vegan burger or regular burger. YUM.
Storing tips
Store this creamy vegan caesar dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If the sauce appears too thick for your liking when you take it out of the fridge, simply add a bit of water and mix it well.
More dressings & sauces to try
- Bright & Flavorful Sunshine Dressing
- Cilantro Lime Dressing
- The Best Creamy Tahini Sauce Recipe
- Healthy Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing
- Sesame Ginger Dressing
Get all of our flavorful dressings and sauces here!
I hope you love this easy vegan caesar dressing recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment & a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Vegan Caesar Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup drippy tahini (we use Soom tahini)
- Juice from ½ large lemon (about 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice)
- 1 clove garlic, grated or finely minced
- 1 teaspoon very finely diced capers
- 2 teaspoons caper brine (from the jar of capers)
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard (we love a grainy dijon!)
- 1-3 tablespoons warm water, to thin out dressing a bit to your liking
- Freshly ground salt and black pepper, to taste.
Instructions
- Mix the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth: tahini, fresh lemon juice, garlic, diced capers, caper brine, dijon mustard, warm water and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add a pinch of salt, if necessary.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
68 comments
For any fellow pescetarians out there, subbing the capers with canned anchovies or anchovy paste takes the dressing from great to excellent!
Perfect!
Will be making this soon can i leave out the caper brine and capers as am not a big fan of them and i might not find them in my local grocery store in Singapore am vegan i never had caesar dressing before will dm you if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya
Hi! Olives and a little olive brine should work, too. Let me know how it goes!
This Caesar dressing sounds great. What kind of olives would you use to substitute for the capers?
Kalamata or green olives would be great!
WOW this is the BEST VEGAN CAESAR DRESSING I’ve ever tried! No kidding, this is unreal! Thank you!!!!
I’m so glad!!
This dressing is delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and it came out perfectly. I agree it helps to add salt to make it taste more authentically “Caesar”. I gradually added the water at the end to create the consistency of my liking.
Followed this recipe to the t and it came out so well!! A great creamy and flavorful dressing, was able to adjust consistency/thickness by gradually adding water.
So happy to hear that!
This was SO amazing. I can’t have garlic right now (Low FODMAP diet currently) and so I added a bit of a garlic infused olive oil to replace garlic. I did add a bit more caper brine and capers as well as lemon. Dang this was just spot on!!!! Thank you Monique. I feel like I review something of yours every week – haha!
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!!
Tangy and so good! I love the capers in this- nice salty taste! After being refrigerated overnight it really thickened up.
Absolutely! And yes if it gets too thick feel free to thin it out a bit with a little warm water.
Simple, delicious recipe. Thank you.
Glad you liked it!
This dressing was unbelievable!!! I’m not vegan, but I love tahini and capers so I thought I’d give it a go. So delicious! Even my skeptical husband loved it! Do yourself a favour and make a double or triple batch to keep in the fridge.
Oh YAY glad that it was a hit in your house!
Is there a good substitute for mustard? I have a mustard allergy which is horrible because I love mustard… especially Dijon mustard.
So sorry to hear that! You can just leave the mustard out here 🙂
best caesar dressing! saving this one, ive tried a few,yours is the best,plus i dont want to use vegan mayo, so it worked out for me,had all ingredients on hand
So happy that you enjoyed it, Kaye! Can’t wait for you to make it again!
Excellent! I didn’t have capers so I used Italian dill pickle juice and it was still fantastic. Will definitely make again!
Ooh that’s an excellent substitution–great idea!
I made this! So creamy and yummy!
I didn’t have capers, so I had to leave them out.
I can’t wait to make it again and put it on everything LOL!
Yay! I’m so happy you loved it!!
Love this! I can’t have dairy, so this is a wonderful alternative. Easy to make.
Love this dressing!
Me too, so happy you love it!!
Looks so delicious, my daughters love this, I will definitely try it your way, thank you for sharing. Looking forward to seeing more recipes. I’ll be back.
I can’t wait for you to try it, Monica! 🙂
Delicious!!! I made this to put over pasta salad. It has just the right amount of “tang” to it. Thank you for this recipe!
I’m obsessed with this dressing! Literally taste like the typical Caesar dressing but even better!
Woohooo! Glad that you love it, Megan! Thanks so much 🙂
This is so delicious and so easy. I loved the dressing! I did add the Biena chickpeas, which were super tasty, but this salad will also work well without them!
I’m so glad you loved it!
I haven’t had a chicken Caesar salad in forever so I made your dressing tonight. By accident I bought peppercorns instead of Casper’s so I left them out. It still tasted good to me. Thank you for the recipe.
Happy it still turned out delicious! Can’t wait for you to try it with the capers another time 🙂
Made it exactly as instructed in the recipe and it was delicious!
My family and I loved this! It was so easy to prepare, and the taste was divine!
I’m so happy you all loved it! Thanks, Kristy 🙂
Personally found this inedible. My husband and I both did not enjoy it, possibly because of the capers?
Oh no! Sorry to hear that. Can you describe the off-putting flavor? I’m wondering if you used a bitter tahini — do you remember the brand? I usually use Soom or Trader Joe’s brand.
this recipe was made by a true kitchen wizard it’s beautiful and perfect
Hahaha thank you!! Happy you love it 🙂
Can I freeze it?
I haven’t tried that and I’m not sure if it would affect the texture. Let me know if you do! 🙂
This dressing is amazing! I can’t quite remember how real Caesar dressing tastes but I’m pretty sure I like this one better!! This recipe makes enough for about 2 large salads.. but I need BOTTLES of this.. YUM!!
I’m so glad you love this recipe — YAY!
Absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe exactly (grated the garlic which works best for smooth dressings). This will be my “Go To” Caesar Dressing. Thank you!
Perfect! I’m so glad you loved it!
I’ve made this a dozen times. I just throw everything in a cup and use my immersion blender. I just love it. The type of Tahini you use really does make a difference though. I prefer Krinos. Soom is a good runner up. Thank you!
So easy! This is my go-to 🙂
The lemon was too strong for me. I will cut it in half next time
Thanks for the note! Totally fine to do that (and feel free to add a little extra water if needed!)
Thank you for the recipe, this was delicious. I put it on a pasta salad and it was fantastic. Personally, I think I would add a bit more capers because I love the briny taste.
Thanks for another fab recipe I’ve added to my rotation!! Made this dressing (as part of your amazing vegan Caesar salad) along with gluten free lasagna and breadsticks for my fam Christmas Eve meal and it was a hit. Used the recommended Soom tahini and the capers/brine made it perfectly Caesar-y without anchovies. So delicious and easy to put together!
Made this recipe with added anchovy paste, and it was fantastic. Next time i will add in red wine vinegar in replacement of the warm water and see how that goes. Had this with a chicken caesar salad, and I think it would also make a great dressing for buddha bowls!
This recipe is super easy, fun to make, and brings a spot-on, punchy Caesar flavor that hits you in the jaw, just enough! I made it in the morning for salads later that night, and my husband loves it, also. I’m sure the flavors will marry as it sits and be even better later! Thank you!
Absolutely! This is the BEST. So glad you are enjoying it
Can I blend it in the vitamix? Or would it be best to hand mix?
I would recommend hand mixing it, unless you would prefer the dressing not to have the texture. Let me know how it turns out!
This was delicious. Nailed the taste, my friends had no clue it didn’t have anchovies. Tastes like the real thing and I had everything on hand to make it. Thank you for all the recipes Monique.
I just made this dressing for dinner and it was a hit. My picky 9 year old said it tasted like real caesar dressing. It was easy to make! Thanks
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Thank you for this recepie…it is delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and it did not disappoint.
This is a tahini delivery system. So much tahini, so little other liquid, that I had to add 3/8 cup of olive oil to make it at all liquid.
Oh interesting! I find that the water helps to thin it out just fine but adding extra water or olive oil is totally fine too 🙂