Vegan Caesar Salad

Caesar salad: hold the anchovies, please! Get your seafood in with sea veggies and welcome back a favorite meal with this vegan Caesar salad!

As a kid, I loved Caesar salad. However, when I found out there were anchovies in the dressing there was no way I was going to continue eating it. So for years, I never ate another forkful of Caesar until I discovered the world of sea veggies. Then I started to experiment with them in recipes and figured dulse flakes, a plant from the sea, would be the perfect addition to a homemade version of Caesar as a substitute for anchovies. They are not only extremely nutrient dense and packed with minerals, but they also bring a deep salty, earthy flavor to this dressing. Making this upgrade became the perfect ingredient to this well-rounded and nutritious plant-based version of Caesar, and brought my favorite childhood salad back into my life!

Vegan Caesar Salad

What’s In It?

• 2–3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 tablespoon white miso paste
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon tamari
• 1/4 cup pine nuts or hemp seeds
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dulse flakes
• 1/2 cup water (optional) to thin out dressing
• 1 head romaine lettuce, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 sheet of nori, crumbled

How it’s Made:

In a blender, combine garlic, miso, lemon juice, vinegar, celery, mustard, tamari, pine nuts or hemp seeds, pepper, dulse, and oil. Blend mixture until smooth and creamy. Add optional water to thin out. Pour into glass jar.

Pour onto romaine lettuce and toss until coated and sprinkle with crumbled nori.

Delicious Knowledge:

Pine nuts are full of flavor and provide many health-related reasons to incorporate them into your cooking. They boost your energy due to their levels of protein, iron, and monounsaturated fat. One cup contains about half of the daily recommended intake of magnesium and can help to reduce your risk of heart disease. It also has many powerful antioxidants that help the body to combat free radicals and can improve one’s vision health.

Alternatively you can also use hempseeds. Hempseeds are nutty, creamy, and add a boost of nutrients to anything you add them to. They are packed with protein, omega 3 fats, and fiber. Their light silky texture makes them an excellent addition to this dressing.

For more great foods with dulse, try these Nori Rolls!