Caesar salad is one of my all time favourite salads. I’ve always felt it’s more of a meal than other salads – I don’t know why. It’s just so much more satisfying to me.
Growing up I would always whip up a caesar salad whenever I wanted a healthy option for lunch. Little did I know that store bought caesar dressings I was using were filled with so much junk.
Low and behold the ingredient list for Kraft’s Caesar salad dressing:
Soybean Oil, Water, Parmesan and Romano Made From Cow’s Milk, Cheeses (Part-Skim Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes), Vinegar, Egg Yolks, Sugar, Contains Less than 2% of Salt, Sodium Lactate, Red Wine Vinegar, Dried Garlic, Spice, Phosphoric Acid, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Anchovies, Whey, Butter (Cream, Salt), Dried Onions, Molasses, Xanthan Gum, Corn Syrup, Modified Food Starch, Buttermilk, Sodium Phosphate, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Defatted Soy Flour, Disodium Guanylate, Disodium Inosinate, Natural Flavor, Caramel Color, Vitamin E, Tamarind, Natamycin (Natural Preservative).
So. Much. Junk.
I don’t actually know what half those things are. One of my rules for living is “if you can’t pronounce it, you probably shouldn’t eat it.” Many of the ingredients on this list fall into that category. So typically I make most of my food and salad dressings at home. For one, it’s cheaper, but it also ensures that you know exactly what you are putting in your body.
The Dressing
The thing that really makes a caesar, is the dressing. Because without it, it’s just lettuce. Bleh. So last Christmas at our annual best friend Christmas party, my friend Courtney made a special vegan caesar salad. Just for me – wheee! Which, I’m not entirely ashamed to admit, I ate most of standing over the counter using my hands. I’m not a savage I swear. Initially I was just snacking but it turned into full on eating after a while. It was so good.
So I got her to give me the recipe, and based this one off that one. Pretty much it’s the same, but I added cashews to give it that creamy caesar texture that everyone loves. So thank you Courtney. You have served my taste buds well.
The dressing is super simple, with 5 ingredients you can ACTUALLY pronounce, and probably have at home. You can also totally make it without the cashews and it’s equally delicious. The other amazing thing about this dressing is it’s just packed with nutrition.
- Olive oil – Has monounsaturated fats which can help lower your risk for heart disease
- Apple cider vinegar – is full of probiotics, enzymes, potassium and magnesium
- Lemon juice – contain a high amount of vitamin C which is a powerful immune booster
- Garlic – has tons of properties which help to prevent colds and can help with heavy metal detoxification
- Cashews – packed with vitamins and minerals, cashews have also been said to have similar properties to prozac and can help right depression.
So you should basically have this salad dressing everyday, because it’s shaping up to be a real elixir of life!
The tofu bacon
This emerged out of a recent dislike for tempeh, but general love for bacon taste. I think it’s the pregnancy but I just can’t take tempeh right now – which is what I used to make all my bacon out of. However, if i’m totally honest, I think the tofu bacon tastes much better. That being said, I used the exact same method to make tofu bacon as tempeh bacon. So if you’re down for the temp, use it!
I have to admit bacon used to be one of my favourite things when I was a meat eater. And realistically it includes some flavours that are super satisfying to the human pallet whether you eat meat, like bacon, or not. Salty, fatty, and a little sweet.
Drool.
So using tamari (soy sauce), maple syrup, chilli powder and coconut oil I tried to simulate these flavours. I think I did a good job! There are tons of recipes that call for something called “liquid smoke” but I truthfully have never used it, and don’t think it’s something people typically have on hand. I mean they might. Maybe i’m missing something? Maybe I never got the memo that “liquid smoke” is the new salt and pepper and most families have this on hand at a moments notice. But I doubt it. So in an attempt to make this recipe in alignment with my food values – which are delicious, and really simple – I decided not to even go there.
When preparing the tofu bacon, you’ll want to slice the tofu nice and thin like the picture above. If your tofu is thicker like mine, you can opt to slice them in half length wise. I felt this gave it more of a “bacon” look and size. Let it marinate in the sauce for 5-10 minutes (or go all out an marinate for an hour or two). I just marinated for a couple minutes and had great results! I also used low sodium tamari (soy sauce) so I opted to add a a little himalyan salt at the end.
The Salad
So caesar’s are pretty simple. It’s typically just lettuce, the dressing, and croutons or bacon. Perhaps a little parm to top it off. I chose to keep this one pretty simple. However, often times when I make this salad I add in any random veggies I have in the fridge like tomato, cucumber, avocado (drool again), peppers or carrots. Whatever I have on hand. I’m all about the nutrients. So feel free to add in whatever veggies you want, your salad will still taste delicious. But for this recipe, I wanted to keep it classic.
So once you’ve fried your tofu bacon, made the dressing and chopped the leaves, it’s time to put it all together. I like to mix mine in a giant mixing bowl, and serve on a plate. Though, I sometimes straight up eat it from the bowl. Don’t judge me. But I always finish it off topped with Mettrum Originals raw shelled hemp seeds. They give the salad a great texture, and are full of protein and super healthy fatty acids.
This salad is honestly, my favourite, go to salad. I’ve eaten it almost everyday this summer. Which, granted hasn’t been that long, but it’s been such a staple in my diet.
I hope you enjoy this recipe, and leave a comment and let me know what you thought!
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
people
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- 1/2 package firm tofu (or sub tempeh)
- 3 tbsp tamari sauce
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- Salt to taste
- 3 tbsp coconut oil (or more if needed)
- 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 Lemon Juiced (approx 1/4 cup)
- 3-4 cloves garlic (I use 4 sometimes but I really like garlic, so use less if your impartial)
- 1/4 cup soaked cashews (use more for desired thickness)
- salt and pepper to taste
Ingredients
Tofu Bacon
Salad Dressing
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- Chop your romaine lettuce into pieces and place in a bowl and set aside
- Cut your tofu into thing slices as shown in the picture above. You can also cut your tofu into skinny pieces depending on the thickness of your tofu (mine was quite large so I opted to cut them into more "bacon" sized slices)
- In a bowl, mix together tamari, maple syrup, and chilli pepper.
- You can choose to let the tofu strips marinate for a few hours, or soak them quickly 5-10 minutes.
- Put coconut oil in a pan, and place over medium heat. Add in the tofu strips. Use some of the excess sauce to cover the tofu strips for extra flavour.
- Let your tofu strips cook for about 15 minutes, flipping half way through. Fry to desired crispiness. You may need to add a little more coconut oil if you find there isn't enough.
- You can choose to leave the tofu bacon whole, or crumble into pieces over your salad.
- Place olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and cashews in a blender and blend on high.
- Add additional cashews for extra thickness, and salt/pepper to taste!
- Mix your dressing in with your greens in a large bowl, and serve topped with tofu bacon bits, and Mettrum Originals Hemp Seeds.
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