Healthy, Creamy, Vegan & Gluten Free Caesar Salad With Chickpea Croutons

A lot of people think that vegans only eat salad, but you know what? There is nothing wrong with that; especially when they are delicious and satisfying. I adapted this delicious vegan Caesar salad from Oh She Glows, her recipe calls for vegan Worcestershire sauce which I don't have so I substituted that with some ginger, cinnamon, apple cider vinegar, more mustard, more garlic and soy sauce. Additionally, I increased the amount on some of the ingredients because I really like them; like capers, yum 😋.

Before I became vegan, I rarely ate Caesar salad because honestly, I thought it was boring. I became vegan and now this is on my catalog, I eat it at least once a month as a main course. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Please note that the above image shows twice the amount of greens and chickpeas (2 kale bundles, 2 romaine bunches and 2 cans of chickpeas) the dressing is shown according to the recipe. However, when I made this recipe I felt that there was way too many greens so I feel that one of each is better also, I like the idea of making it more protein rich hence the 1 to 2 cans of chickpeas.

Recipe Ingredients:

For Chickpea Croutons

- 1-2 cans chickpeas

- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 1 teaspoon cooking or vegetable oil

For Dressing

- 1 cup raw cashews (boiled or soaked overnight)

- 1/4 cup water

- 3 tablespoons olive oil

- 1 tablespoon lime juice (about 1/2 lime)

- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

- 1 teaspoon garlic powder

- 3 teaspoons capers or 2 heaping teaspoons

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1/2 teaspoon pepper

- 1 small garlic clove

- 1 teaspoon cinnamon

- 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

For Greens

- 1 large Romaine lettuce

- 1 large kale

Preparation Instructions:

1. Soak the cashews overnight or boil them for 4 minutes before using them.

2. Open, drain and pat dry the 2 cans of chickpeas. Place them on a bowl and add the garlic powder, cayenne, salt and oil; combine well. Place them on a small cooking sheet and in the toaster oven for 30 - 40 minutes or until crunchy.

3. In a blender, add the cashews, water, olive oil, lime juice, nutritional yeast, Dijon Mustard, garlic powder, capers, salt, pepper, garlic clove, cinnamon, ginger powder, and apple cider vinegar

4. Wash, drain and shop the Romaine and Kale.

5. Mix all in a salad bowl and serve.