Vegan Caesar Salad with Crispy Tempeh & Crunchy Chickpeas

Serve this Vegan Caesar Salad with Crispy Tempeh & Crunchy Chickpeas for lunch or dinner - it's delicious anytime! The crispy marined tempeh is incredibly flavorful and filling and the chickpeas add lots of texture.

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword caesar, dressing, meal, salad, tempeh

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings main course salads

Calories 413kcal

Author Bakerita | Rachel Conners

Ingredients

For the dressing (yields enough for 2 salads)

½ to ¾ cup filtered water
⅔ cup raw cashews soaked for 30 minutes in hot water (optional but recommended if you don’t have a high speed blender)
2 tablespoons hemp seeds
2 tablespoons olive oil optional, for extra creaminess
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon capers in brine
2 to 3 garlic cloves
Salt & pepper to taste

For the tempeh

1 (8 oz) package tempeh cubed
3 tablespoons tamari or coconut aminos
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves finely minced or grated
1 teaspoon maple syrup

For the salad

1 bunch lacinato kale destemmed and chopped
1 head romaine chopped
⅓ cup crispy chickpeas
2 to 4 tablespoons vegan parmesan I like the one by Kelly’s Croutons

Instructions

For the dressing

Drain and rinse the cashews. Add to a high-powered blender or food processor along with the rest of the ingredients, starting with just ½ cup of filtered water. Blend for 2 to 3 minutes, until completely smooth, using the tamper or scraping down the sides as necessary to get it to blend smoothly. If the dressing is thicker than you’d like, add water (or lemon juice, if you want more acidity). Add salt to taste.
½ to ¾ cup filtered water, ⅔ cup raw cashews, 2 tablespoons hemp seeds, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, 1 tablespoon capers in brine, 2 to 3 garlic cloves, Salt & pepper
You can also add more garlic if you’d like, or for a more briny flavor, add more of the caper brine. Store dressing in a jar in the refrigerator for up to a week. It will thicken when chilled, so add some water to thin it out if the consistency is too thick.

For the tempeh

In a mixing bowl, combine the cubed tempeh, tamari, fresh lemon juice, garlic, and maple syrup. Cover and place in the refrigerator.
1 (8 oz) package tempeh, 3 tablespoons tamari or coconut aminos, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon maple syrup
Preheat the oven to 375°F. While the tempeh marinates, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray lightly with olive oil or avocado oil.
When the oven is preheated, transfer the tempeh from the bowl to the baking sheet, spreading out the cubes so they don't touch each other and leaving any liquid behind in the bowl.
Bake the tempeh for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring/flipping once in the middle of cooking time. The tempeh should be dry to the touch and getting slightly browned and crunchy. Cool slightly.

For the salad

While the tempeh is baking, combine the chopped kale and chopped romaine.
1 bunch lacinato kale, 1 head romaine
Once the tempeh is slightly cooled, add the tempeh and crispy chickpeas to the lettuce. Dress with your desired amount of dressing, and then mix in the vegan parmesan. Serve immediately.
⅓ cup crispy chickpeas, 2 to 4 tablespoons vegan parmesan
Keep any leftover dressing in a jar and any leftover tempeh in an airtight container.

Notes

Nutritional info is calculated for ½ of the prepared salad, which was made using ½ of the prepared salad dressing. It does not include the vegan parmesan.

Nutrition