If you're looking for a Caesar dressing without anchovies, you're in luck! Instead we're using capers and roasted garlic to make a creamy indulgent tasting Vegetarian Caesar Dressing that's lightened up with the help of Greek yogurt.
Have you ever been catfished by a salad before? I have, and it was a dang Caesar salad.
I still remember the day. I think I was about 14 years old and a friend and I went out for lunch at a restaurant, which was a think we had just barely become old enough to do on our own. We ordered (deep fried) zucchini sticks and a Caesar salad to share, and then went home and told our parents about our virtuous plant-based meal only to have our little teenaged dreams crushed right then and there.
A Caesar salad was also the culprit the first time I got proper food poisoning. Not only is the dressing hideously unhealthy, but you've also got raw eggs carrying a risk of salmonella. Blech. No thanks.
But, folks? I've got good news for you. I have an amazing Vegetarian Caesar Dressing Recipe to share with you all today. This right here is:
- Light Caesar dressing
- Healthy Caesar dressing
- Caesar dressing without anchovies
- And we've got an option for Vegan Caesar Dressing
Plus it tastes AMAZING!! What more could you want?!
What's in this Vegetarian Caesar Dressing?
If you want to make a killer Caesar dressing without anchovies, you're going to need to gather a small but mighty ingredients list:
- A whole bulb of roasted garlic --> I'm going to direct you to my homegirl Sarah who will show you how to roast garlic. She uses her Instant Pot, but I am old school and do mine in the oven.
- Greek yogurt --> I must insist you use full-fat yogurt here.
- Olive oil --> Use some good stuff if you have it.
- Parmesan cheese --> Or a similar hard cheese.
- Capers --> Plus a l'il bit of caper brine.
- Dijon mustard --> We're going with the smooth stuff.
- Lemon juice --> Fresh squeezed if you please.
- Garlic --> Moooooooore garlic. Just one clove.
- Salt n pepa --> Whatta man whatta man whatta man whatta mighty good man.
How do you make caesar dressing without anchovies?
Simple! You just need to replace the salty, briny flavour (or so I'm told; I've never tried them) of the anchovies with something that packs a similar punch. In this case we're using a big spoonful of capers AND the brine from the capers jar. If you don't have / don't like capers, I've also made this dressing with a couple of teaspoons of miso paste standing in for the anchovies, and it does the job just fine.
All you need to do is add all of the ingredients to a blender (I use my fancy pants Vitamix, but if you have a smaller blender or a hand-held blender they will do the job just fine.
Blend till smooth, and you're dressing is good to go.
Is Parmesan cheese vegetarian?
Technically, authentic Parmesan cheese is not vegetarian because it uses rennet. There are other Parmesan-esque cheeses out there that don't use rennet (they use a microbial enzyme instead) so if you're not comfortable with rennet, you've got options.
Can I make this a vegan Caesar dressing?
You certainly can! To make vegan Caesar dressing you'll need to replace the yogurt with either a bit of runny tahini paste or more olive oil, and replace the Parmesan with nutritional yeast.
How long will Caesar dressing last in the fridge?
Because this vegetarian caesar dressing is made without eggs it can be kept in the fridge for *slightly* longer than a regular homemade caesar dressing. HOWEVER, food safety recommendations for dressings that contain raw garlic stipulate that they should be used within four days due to the risk of botulism.
They do say that if kept below 4°C / 40°F that it's fine to keep for 10 days, and I've definitely kept and consumed mine for that long, but be sure you're aware of the risks.
Is Caesar Dressing Healthy?
This one is! We've eliminated raw eggs and replaced much of the fat with yogurt, yielding a much healthier vegetarian caesar dressing than usual. I hope you like it!
Other delicious sauces:
Orange Carrot Miso Ginger Sauce
Spicy Sesame Sauce
Amazing Vegan Gravy
Vegetarian Caesar Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 bulb roasted garlic
- 1 large lemon juiced
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 1 tablespoon caper brine
- 2 teaspoon smooth Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic smashed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- â…“ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup full-fat Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate only
- Vegetarian Caesar dressing will keep for 4-10 days in the fridge
Greg R
I am vegetarian and absolutely LOVE this dressing. It's got a great flavor and even more interesting to me than traditional caesar dressing. Delicious!
Katie Trant
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this Caesar dressing as much as we do. It's definitely one of our favourites.
Stephanie
Do you think this would freeze well if I don't use it all?
Katie Trant
You know, I've never tried freezing this recipe (or any salad dressing, really) but I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work out. Give it a try!
Arobee
I have everything but the greek yogurt. do you think vegan mayo will work as a substitute?
Katie Trant
It might? I've never tried this before.
Angel
I love this recipe but substituted parmesan cheese as it is not vegetarian.
Animal rennet is used in several kinds of cheese including parmesan. It is taken from dead calves (they are not killed exclusively for this, however it is a byproduct of veal production.) For many people, vegetarianism isn't simply "no meat."
Just wanted to bring it up as it may have been an honest mistake, but I do hope you take it on board for future posts.
Thanks for reading. 🙂
Katie Trant
Hi Angel, the rennet issue is actually addressed in the body of the post in a title sectioned "Is Parmesan Cheese Vegetarian?" which I include in any recipe that calls for this type of cheese. This is also why the recipe calls for Parmesan, or a similar hard cheese, so that people who choose to avoid rennet are informed and have options. Thanks, KT.
L
LOVE this dressing!
Ella
The BEST Caesar dressing I have ever made - will never use another recipe again 🙂
Katie Trant
Yasss! It's my favourite too.
Emily
Such a tasty dressing, I love it! Anchovies kind of creep me out and this is a great alternative. So good with the roasted garlic in it!!
Katie Trant
It's my favourite caesar dressing!
Casper
made this up really quick for my salads this week, i’m going to toss it with kale, parmesan, and crispy chickpeas! the dressing tastes really good and i was pleasantly surprised at how much it tastes like regular caesar dressing!