Creamy Vegan Tahini Caesar Dressing
Hi lovelies,
Summer is officially calling around the corner! I don’t know about you, but as soon as the warmer weather starts sticking around I constantly crave crunchy salads, crisp vegetables and fruits.
I have a theory that people who don’t like salads are either making them extremely bland without a variety of toppings or don’t use a good enough dressing. A good sauce for your salad can change the whole dish and make eating your greens more enjoyable.
If you’re someone like me who eats to heal and support the gut while trying to stay away from highly processed and refined foods this is the dressing for you! When you become more mindful of the ingredients in the products you use, you realize how much necessary ingredients are in our foods. Especially in salad dressings, often loaded with low quality processed oils, high sugars, and even harmful food dyes.
I understand the convenience of pre-made, but I promise this homemade dressing is way more worth your time and effort. You probably already have most of the ingredients laying around and it can be made in under 20 minutes.
Suggested uses:
This recipe is great because it can be used as more than just a salad dressing. Use it on top of grain bowls, as a dip for vegetables and fries, hamburger sauce and more!
My go to salad topping pairings to use with this dressing are:
Pecans, red apple, goat cheese, chicken and candied or chopped dates
Cucumber, kale, nutritional yeast, pumpkin seeds, crispy quinoa
Sweet potato, olives, artichoke, shaved brussel sprouts, and parmesan
Walnuts, blueberries, shaved cabbage, caramelized shallots
The Recipe
Creamy Vegan Tahini Caesar Dressing
Total time: 15 minutes Serves: 4-6
Needed: Blender Yields: 1 cup
This is the most delicious versatile dressing! Packed with simple and delicious ingredients that will make you and your tummy happy.
Ingredients:
1-2 small shallots or 1 large
1/4 cup of water (adjust the consistency with 1 tbsp of water at a time)
1/2 juice of a large lemon
1/2 cup of tahini
2 Tbsp of dijion mustard
2 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of coconut aminos (I strongly recommend the Bragg’s brand)
1 tbsp of smoked help seasoning (this adds a nice smokey taste and is a great replacement for sardines in traditional caesar dressing.
Salt and pepper to taste
Steps:
*Before I start, I just wanted to mention that you need a blender or food processor for this recipe. If you don’t have one you can sub the whole shallots with a teaspoon of onion powder and blend with a whisk. The whole shallots are preferred and recommended but the powder will still yield a tasty result!
Set your oven or air fryer (setting on roast) to 375°f. Wash and wrap your shallots in aluminium foil (leave the outer shallot skins on). Bake/roast the shallots for 10 minutes until the outside skin is a golden brown and the shallots smell fragrant.
While the shallots are roasting, blend all the ingredients above on high until you reach a smooth consistency. You’ll need to use a spatula to scrape down the sides of your blender/processor so everything can be evenly incorporated.
Tahini has the tendency to absorb the liquid (water and lemon juice) that you incorporate it with and become thicker. If this is the case for you, slowly add 1 tbsp of extra water at a time until you reach your desired consistency. If I’m using this dressing recipe for my meal prep, I always like to leave it on the thicker side. That way I can individually add water to my dressing container for that day and/or use it as a dip.
When the shallots are finished roasting, remove them from the aluminum foil and allow them to cool for five minutes. Empty the shallots into the blender/processor by pinching one end and pushing out the inside flesh. You should be left with the outer skin, which you can dispose.
Blend again on high until the shallots have been fully incorporated. Adding more water if needed.
Dress your salad and serve right away. If you plan to meal prep a salad for the week, put your dressing in an air tight container. On the day, you can add 2-3 tbsp of dressing and 1 tbsp of water in a to-go dressing container to keep your meal fresh and soggy free!
Share, devour, enjoy!
Storage:
This recipe keeps good in the fridge for up to a week. I don’t recommend using it longer than that. Make sure to use an air tight storage container for optimlal freshness.