Food/ Salads

Dairy & Gluten Free Caesar Salad Recipe

creamy simple vegan Caesar salad with roasted chickpeas

I recently found a few heads of cos lettuce at a fraction of what they normally go for. Cos lettuce is by far my most favourite lettuce. It is so deliciously crunchy and one of the most nutritious lettuces to eat. I just adore the sturdy leaves and love making boats out of them!

Although it’s low in fiber, it’s high in minerals, such as calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and potassium. It’s naturally low in sodium. Plus, cos lettuce is packed with vitamin C, vitamin K, and folate. It’s a good source of beta carotene, which converts into vitamin A in the body. [source]

cos lettuce and garlic

With my new found cos lettuce, I tried making a caesar salad. I recently fell head-over-heals in love with caesar salads. They are such rich little salads, with loads of creamy goodness. I experimented with what I had in the house. So that means super simple. Plus I was on a mission to try make it a little healthier. In doing so, I made this luxurious and yet super simple caesar salad that just blew my mind.

Instead of bread croutons, I used roasted chickpeas. Instead of nuts or diary type dressings, I used sunflower seeds and tahini. The result is a rich, creamy dressing that is just perfect to drench the cos lettuce in. And if that is not enough, adding the roasted spicy chickpeas on-top just makes this salad everything you ever wanted on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Without the fluff. Just deliciously simple.

What are the main ingredients?

You will need:

  • Cos lettuce
  • A tin of chickpeas
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Tahini
  • Lemon
  • Garlic
  • Smoked paprika
healthy vegan Caesar salad ingredients

Caesar Salad Dressing

The delicious creamy, garlic dressing is what brings this salad together. Cooking the sunflower seeds first makes them softer and easier to blend. Also soaking your nuts and seeds (or cooking them) allows the enzyme that stops you from absorbing nutrients to be deactivated.

You do need a blender for this one, so blending all the ingredients together into a smooth creamy consistency will give you a dressing you can use for this caesar salad as well as any other salads you might be making in the future.

Due to the health profile of this dressing, you can add as much of it to your salad as you desire. It is dairy free, nut free and gluten free! A winner of a dressing.

creamy vegan Caesar salad dressing

Toss it all together and you have a lovely salad to eat as a side dish or you can use it as the main meal! The chickpeas and the creamy dressing makes this salad super filling.

How healthy is this salad?

Sunflower seeds are rich in the B complex vitamins, which are essential for a healthy nervous system, and are a good source of phosphorus, magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium, protein and vitamin E. [source]

Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. Tahini is packed with healthy polyunsaturated fat. One tablespoon of tahini contains 61 mg of omega3 fatty acids and 3470 mg of omega-6 fatty acids. It is packed with protein, iron, zinc, magnesium, calcium, selenium and phytic acid while being low in carbohydrates.

Chickpeas has high levels of protein, iron, zinc, folate, phosphorus, and B vitamins. Chickpeas are great source of folate, also called Vitamin B6.

With these health profiles from the main ingredients, I can safely say that this is a healthy, protein rich salad with loads of calcium, iron, zinc and other minerals and vitamins.

I hope you try it and if you have, please tag me on social media.

creamy simple vegan caesar salad

AuthorGypsyCategory, , DifficultyBeginner

Simple creamy and healthy vegan caesar salad, made with roasted chickpeas and dressing made with sunflower seeds. Dairy free, gluten free and super delicious. Simple and yet sophisticated. Look no further in finding a salad that completely satisfies. Remake of an old classic.

creamy simple vegan Caesar salad with roasted chickpeas

Prep Time10 minsCook Time30 minsTotal Time40 mins

Greens
 2 cups Cos lettuce
Roasted Chickpeas
 1 cup A tin of chickpeas (drained)
 1 tbsp Oil
 1 tbsp Smoked paprica
 1 tsp Salt (to taste)
 1 tsp Chilli flakes
 1 tsp Pepper
 1 tsp Dried herbs
Dressing
  cup Sunflower seeds
 2 tbsp Tahini
 1 tbsp Fresh garlic
 1 tsp Salt (to taste)
 1 tsp Dried herbs
 1 tsp Pepper
 ¼ cup Lemon (1 big lemon, juiced)
 1 tbsp Oil

Greens
1

Take your cos lettuce and cut them into strips.

cos lettuce and garlic

Roasted Chickpeas
2

Drain the chickpeas and rinse. Dry thoroughly. Add the chickpeas to a pan. Cover it with some oil, spices, salt and chilli flakes. Grill it for about 30min or until crispy and golden.

roasted chickpeas

Dressing
3

Cover the sunflower seeds and cook them for about ten minutes. Drain the water off and add the sunflower seeds to a blender. Add the tahini, lemon juice, spices and salt, garlic and a little bit of water and blend it until creamy. You can adjust the water, depending on how liquid you want your dressing. We like it a little on the thick side.

creamy vegan Caesar salad dressing

Ingredients

Greens
 2 cups Cos lettuce
Roasted Chickpeas
 1 cup A tin of chickpeas (drained)
 1 tbsp Oil
 1 tbsp Smoked paprica
 1 tsp Salt (to taste)
 1 tsp Chilli flakes
 1 tsp Pepper
 1 tsp Dried herbs
Dressing
  cup Sunflower seeds
 2 tbsp Tahini
 1 tbsp Fresh garlic
 1 tsp Salt (to taste)
 1 tsp Dried herbs
 1 tsp Pepper
 ¼ cup Lemon (1 big lemon, juiced)
 1 tbsp Oil

Directions

Greens
1

Take your cos lettuce and cut them into strips.

cos lettuce and garlic

Roasted Chickpeas
2

Drain the chickpeas and rinse. Dry thoroughly. Add the chickpeas to a pan. Cover it with some oil, spices, salt and chilli flakes. Grill it for about 30min or until crispy and golden.

roasted chickpeas

Dressing
3

Cover the sunflower seeds and cook them for about ten minutes. Drain the water off and add the sunflower seeds to a blender. Add the tahini, lemon juice, spices and salt, garlic and a little bit of water and blend it until creamy. You can adjust the water, depending on how liquid you want your dressing. We like it a little on the thick side.

creamy vegan Caesar salad dressing

Notes

Creamy Vegan Caesar Salad

Pin it!

creamy vegan Caesar salad pinterest

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8 Comments

  • Reply
    Talent Hounds
    June 6, 2020 at 10:13 pm

    This looks absolutely delicious and very healthy. I love Ceasar Salads and so do my husband and daughters! Both daughters have to eat gluten and dairy free and like a little bit of spice. Can’t wait to try it. I love food and dogs so happy to find your blog through the bloggers FB group. Just followed on Pinterest too as your Pins are gorgeous.

  • Reply
    Andrea
    June 6, 2020 at 10:15 pm

    Love it! Just emailed it to myself

  • Reply
    Bets
    June 7, 2020 at 7:57 am

    Love it, so healthy will try it

  • Reply
    Kristen
    June 7, 2020 at 6:37 pm

    Super quick, easy and healthy recipe! Ahhh and I love how your recipe includes a checklist for the ingredients 😍 Saving this for this week, will do it for a lunch or dinner. Thank you for sharing!

  • Reply
    Michal
    June 8, 2020 at 8:50 am

    Oh this is great! My best friend is vegan and and gluten free, and she’ll love this! Looks so yummy!

  • Reply
    Elle
    June 10, 2020 at 12:06 pm

    Looks easy to make! Thanks for sharing. 😀

  • Reply
    Rachel
    June 11, 2020 at 12:51 pm

    I love these alternatives! And you reminded me I’ve been wanting to try roasting my own chickpeas! I love the idea of using them as a crouton replacement! Thanks for sharing such great ideas!

  • Reply
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