I love a caesar salad. It’s definitely one of my favorites. I thought the other day…how can I put a fun twist on it?! Let’s give it a little southwest twist! I also don’t really love making my own caesar dressing with anchovies. I know they give the true caesar flavor, but I just prefer buying bottled caesar (my favorite is Ken’s light). I tried to go out on a limb here to see if I could make a vegan caesar that tasted similar and it totally worked! We add a little taco seasoning and it is so perfect! Plus, it uses ingredients I always have on hand. Which makes it even better! This salad is also super budget friendly! Feel free to add protein if you want, but this has almost 10g of plant based protein. Grilled chicken, grilled halloumi, shrimp or salmon would be awesome here!

This is a salad for one, but you can double or quadruple it to serve more. The dressing can be made ahead as well. You may need to add a little water when ready to serve as sometimes the tahini really thickens up. This is basically my favorite lemon tahini dressing plus caper brine (and taco seasoning). It’s so easy!

I served mine with parmesan, roasted corn (bought frozen from Trader Joe’s), pickled red onion, avocado, and crispy chickpeas (instead of croutons). You can buy the chickpeas already crisped up or make them in your air fryer. I like the Biena brand.

I always make my own taco seasoning. It is super easy, I make a ton so I always have it on hand. I like being able to control the spice level and the amount of sodium in it! It is linked in the recipe below.

Vegan Southwest Caesar Salad

Course: SaladsDifficulty: Easy

Servings

1

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking timeminutes

Calories

224

kcal

Protein

9.3

g

Fat

14.7

g

Carbohydrates

19.4

g

Ingredients

• 2 cups romaine lettuce, chopped

• 1/4 of a large avocado (17g)

• 1/4 cup roasted corn

• 1 tbsp freshly grated parmesan

• 1/4 cup crispy chickpeas

• Pickled red onion for garnish

• Vegan Southwest Caesar Dressing

• 1 tbsp tahini

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 clove garlic, minced (or use a garlic paste)

• 1 tsp caper brine

• 1 tsp dijon mustard

• 1/4 tsp taco seasoning

• 1-2 tbsp warm water

Directions

• Whisk dressing ingredients together. Add more water if needed to thin.
• Toss lettuce with dressing.
• Top with corn, avocado, parmesan, chickpeas, and onions.

Notes

• MFP Entry: Sprinkles and the Smiths Vegan Southwest Caesar Salad