Whenever I get a recipe out in real time it’s because it was so good I can’t not share it immediately. I basically dropped everything (except my son of course) to write this post.
Now THIS is what I’m talking about!
I rarely put much work into lunch. It’s my quickie meal of the day. I throw together whatever. Dinner is the meal I spend more time on, prepping and planning.
But this was a very worthwhile exception.
Sure it took a bit more work. But actually, not really.
To me, the 90s were all about the Chicken Caesar Salad. Maybe it was just a phase I was going through but I couldn’t get enough of it. I ordered it every single time we went out to eat. Seriously, look at the menu next time you go out, it’s always an option.
Obviously this trend ended once I realized I was intolerant of dairy. Then I stopped eating meat. So it’s been a while since I’ve had a real Chicken Caesar Salad. But the love affair is still burning strong deep inside me.
Now I am happy.
Because this is a vegan version that will blow your mind. It blew mine at least. I don’t usually set out to veganize non-vegan meals because some things aren’t able to be adapted. And up until yesterday, I’d have told you the same thing about Chicken Caesar salads.
The dressing is FODMAPs friendly, too, by the way.
It’s a tight battle for who’s the star of the show – Beyond Meat’s grilled flavor chicken-free strips or my home-made vegan Caesar dressing. Both are gluten free and vegan.
Can you believe this is 100% animal free? The grill flavor is spot on. It’s so tasty.
Seriously. So. Good.
Vegan “chicken” Caesar Salad [vegan, gluten free]
Salad Ingredients:
- ~4 oz. romaine heart leaves
- ~4 oz. Beyond Meat grilled chicken-free strips
- 1/2 serving vegan Caesar dressing (see below)
Dressing Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup roasted (white) nuts, soaked >2 hours and drained*
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp tamari
- 3 pieces roasted seaweed snacks
- salt & pepper (to taste)
Directions:
Make dressing by blending previously soaked (and drained) nuts and water. Store in fridge to chill and thicken. Then add the rest of the dressing ingredients and blend until smooth.
Pile lettuce and “chicken” strips onto a plate. Top with dressing.
*Notes:
The longer you soak the better. It will be soooo much creamier and smooth. I soaked my nuts (a combo of brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, and marcona almonds) for 10 hours. Then I drained them, added the water, blended them, and refrigerated it overnight. It gets much thicker when chilled so I highly recommend you don’t skip the cooling step. Plan in advance! Start soaking for tomorrow’s lunch now! You can’t over-soak the nuts.
Any combo of nuts will taste great. I’m partial to a mostly cashew and brazil blend, but macadamias, hazelnuts, and marcona almonds all work. I’m not racist, but the white smooth nuts are more creamy than the dark weird shaped nuts (ie walnuts, pecans).
If you don’t have roasted seaweed snacks, half a sheet of nori seaweed will work, too. Adjust (increase) the salt accordingly.
Beyond Meat is available at Whole Foods. It’s a fairly new product, but they are slowly getting into all the locations. I just finally found them at my local Whole Foods. I don’t think they are at other grocery stores, but that may be changing soon since they are already making a huge impression on the vegetarian and non-vegetarian population alike. They are the best faux-meat product I’ve ever tasted (I swear I’m not a spokesperson, I’m just obsessed with the company’s product).
If you are FODMAPs sensitive and prefer to avoid pea protein then you could swap tempeh. If you can’t tolerate soy, you could bulk the salad up with quinoa. Both will give you protein, they just won’t replicate chicken as perfectly as Beyond Meat does.
Let’s see some more photos…
I used these seaweed snacks. gimMe is a new brand – organic, vegan, gluten free, FODMAPs friendly.
As you can see, the only thing in the sea salt flavor is seaweed, sunflower oil, and salt.
Unfortunately, they always cause me to break out into that Britney Spears song… “gimme, gimme, more, gimme more, gimme, gimme”. Kyle and I have this weird thing we do with that song. If I sing “gimme gimme” Kyle finishes off the “more” in a weird voice. You may think we are freaks. You’d be right.
I used a few of the sheets in the salad dressing, but you can increase or decrease as you want. I think it gives the Caesar that fishy flavor.
I’m already excited to make this again. Aren’t the 90s making a comeback?
Omg thank you. Caesar salad is my favorite!
Ah caesar salad is sooooo good! Haha and you’re right, very 90s
How much does the Beyond Meat cost? Is it pricey?
OH MAN! Those beyond meat chicken strips are SO good. I picked some up last Friday at our Whole Foods and made a chicken salad with them, earth balance mayo, relish and celery. It was SO good. http://www.vanishingveggie.com/2013/05/double-recipe-beyond-chicken-salad-and.html I have another one in the fridge that I’m trying to think of what to do with. This would be perfect. I think they’re around 6 bucks a package here, but I had a coupon from my vegan cuts box. This looks really yummy!
All I have is cashews and almonds… do you think I could just use those? 🙂
You are like the miracle salad dressing maker. xo.
how do you like the EB mayo?
for sure.
a little more but still comparable to other faux meats…$5-6 per package. the packages are pretty big though.
i dont usually stick to servings (the back suggests 3/box) and this has lasted through 2 different meals and theres still more. so each pack has a lot in it.
I make a somewhat similar vegan ranch, but I never thought of adding seaweed and nooch to give it a caesar flavor. Sounds delicious! My husband would go crazy for it, too. He must be stuck in the ’90s because chicken caesar is still one of his faves. Ha.
FYI – The serving size says 3 oz= 6-7 strips….aw, hail nah. (I weigh) 3 oz= about three strips. I emailed the company to let them know (that and also that I LOVE them).
And there are 75 cents off coupons inside the package so your repeat buy is cheaper…and trust me there will be so many repeat buys.
Sososososo good.
Thank you SO much for sharing this!! Ever since becoming a vegetarian I have been REALLY missing Caesar salad dressing. I will have to give this a try! 🙂
i think i’ll be recreating this because a chicken caesar is what i craved the minute i got back to the states! except i had to take lactaid pills…haha! and with the seaweed snacks, i can make the snack K makes me! steamed rice, pieces of seaweed, avocado, soy sauce, sprinkle red pepper flakes…sooo good!
beyond meat southwest chicken and grilled chicken strips
are amazing. wish the sodium levels were lower per serving,
but texture, taste, and appearance are wonderful.
The Beyond Meat is amazing, isn’t it? SOOOOO good!
Courtney
yes! darn addictive too!!
southwest is next on my to try list!!
sounds like my deconstructed sushi bowls! mmmmm…
this dressing is legit. try it!
i like his style 😉
smart smart smart. pampers diapers does the same thing…too bad we switched to cloth. its smart marketing.
it is HANDS DOWN my favorite. to me, it tastes like actual mayo. i have tried other kinds of vegan mayo, and they always have a weird, off taste to me. The earth balance is soo good. i just with they would carry it in more places here. i can only get it at whole foods.
I JUST found Beyond Meat at my WFs this past weekend and I was so pumped! They also have it out at the salad bar, which I hope is a permanent addition. I <3 Whole Foods.
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Those ‘Chicken-free Strips’ are almost worse than real chicken. Any Isolated Protein not good.
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2005nl/april/050400pusoy.htm
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! We’re cutting dairy from our diets, and Caesar dressing was going to be a hard one.
good luck! hope baby emily enjoys 🙂
I was really having a craving for ceasar salad dressing, and you saved the day! Delish!
yay!!
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I can’t believe no one has mentioned that this is missing garlic! :O
I made a wonderful vegan ceasar one day and I can’t find the recipe anymore. This one seems fairly similar, except instead of tamari I used miso paste, and of course can’t forget the fresh garlic! 🙂 Thanks for posting this.
Hi tamas. Yes add garlic as your taste buds desire. I left it out Bc I’m sensitive to fodmaps – which includes garlic. Hence it’s omission from my recipe.
Hi can I get your feedback? I am at my wit’s end as my family is already vegetarian and my almost vegan husband has recently started doing the fodmaps elimination plan to try to tackle his IBS. We have the app and I’ve read a lot on the web, but I still spent three hours in Whole Foods the other day trying to find stuff for him to eat. So my question: I picked up the Beyond Meat and saw the pea protein isolate and everything else seemed pretty okay. Does this work for you because it is isolated? I have the same question about gluten, because it is a protein not a fodmap, and while we can do without the rest of the wheat, giving up the actual gluten (found in a lot of veg alternative products) is a real pain.
I would just like to know how you figured out these products would work for you. (I also noticed your dressing had cashews which are a red light food.)
I am having a hard time convincing him to try anything that is not on the elimination plan, but it is pretty limited. Any thoughts you have would be appreciated. I have three veg children and meal prep was already time consuming but now I am ready to jump out the window.
Thank you!