ramyaramesh3007This vegan caesar salad with crunchy lettuce and kale, sourdough croutons, crispy spiced chickpeas is topped with a creamy Caesar dressing and an extra delish breaded tofu cutlet.
Traditional Caesar dressing often tastes ‘fishy’ and ‘cheesy’ and this vegan version comes pretty close! This dressing is so delicious that it will leave you wanting for more – I honestly prefer this version to any store bought ones!
To add dimension to the actual Caesar salad, we’re experimenting with using different lettuce types contrary to romaine lettuce that is usually used. In this recipe, I’ve used a blend of green leaf lettuce and tuscan kale.
This salad is nothing without a crunch so don’t hesitate to go overboard with it – I’ve topped the salad with crispy spiced chickpeas, toasted sourdough croutons, leftover toasted breadcrumbs and lastly, a pan fried tofu cutlet that tastes absolutely delightful.
For the detailed recipe on how to make the dressing, see my 5-Minute Vegan Caesar Dressing.
Can I make this gluten free?
You can easily make this gluten free by omitting the croutons and using gluten free breadcrumbs – ground unseasoned corn flakes are a great gluten free option to add that crisp!
Vegan Caesar Salad with Crispy Chickpeas
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 cups chopped green leaf lettuce
- 2 cups chopped tuscan kale
- vegan caesar salad dressing
Crispy Roasted Chickpeas
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp italian seasoning (optional)
- salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Breaded Tofu Cutlet
- 1 block extra firm tofu
- 1/3 cup plant milk
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 3 tbsp seasoning of choice
- 3 tbsp corn starch
Toasted sourdough crutons
- 1 slice sourdough bread
- olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C.
- Drain and rinse your chickpeas from the can. Add them onto a baking tray, add your seasonings and coat the chickpeas evenly.
- Bake chickpeas for about 15-17 minutes until they are crispy, tossing them halfway.
- Mix your plant milk with lemon juice and keep aside. Mix 3 tbsp corn starch with 1 tbsp seasoning. Mix breadcrumbs with 2 tbsp seasoning.
- Press your tofu to get rid of the excess water. Slice them horizontally across to get 2 cutlet squares.
- Dip your tofu cutlet in the corn starch, plant milk and lastly coat them in the breadcrumbs.
- Heat a pan with some olive oil. Pan fry these cutlets until crispy. You can also air fry them until crispy. Once done, cut hem into 4-5 slices.
- With the remaining oil, slice up some leftover bread or sourdough. Fry them until they are crispy.
- If there are any leftover breadcrumbs at this point, bake them for 5 minutes until they get toasted.
- Wash the lettuce and kale before patting dry. Chop them and keep them aside.
- Make your vegan Caesar dressing (I've linked it in my blog above)
- Assemble time! Add you lettuce to a bowl, followed by the croutons, chickpeas and some breadcrumbs. Drizzle the Caesar dressing.
- Give it a good toss. Add some more breadcrumbs and top with the breaded tofu cutlet! Serve immediately.