Feast on this vegan Caesar salad recipe and forget that you’re filling up on greens. It’s that delicious!

It’s hard enough to get your family (and yourself) to eat enough greens, so why go the extra healthy mile by compromising on the most delicious part, aka the dressing? This recipe for a vegan Caesar salad doesn’t cut corners in the name of health – it magnifies them in the name of flavor. The modifications just happen to be healthier.

In a regular Caesar salad, there are Parmesan cheese and croutons atop romaine lettuce, which is then dressed with an egg, oil, and anchovy mixture — the traditional Caesar salad dressing. Often, chicken is part of the mix (fyi: this recipe doesn’t try to replace the chicken – it just nixes it altogether).

If you’re using a store-bought creamy Caesar salad dressing, the ingredients list is a lot more suspect, with add-ins such as soy, sugar, sodium lactate, phosphoric acid, whey, and preservatives.

The truth is, you don’t need dairy to accomplish a creamy texture and thick, filling dressing consistency. In fact, you only need some tried-and-true plant-based ingredients to get the job done. As for the other Caesar salad features, consider those open for variation.

Vegan Caesar Salad Recipe

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 heads romaine lettuce, rinsed, dried, and chopped
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons ground almonds
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• Optional: Gluten-free croutons
• Optional: Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds

Directions

In a blender, add the mustard, nutritional yeast, ground almonds, garlic cloves, water, lemon juice, soy sauce, and olive oil. Blend until smooth. Season the mixture with salt, pepper, and white pepper and blend for another few seconds.

In a large bowl, add the chopped romaine lettuce and drizzle it with the Caesar salad dressing. Add in the croutons and Daiya mozzarella cheese shreds. Use tongs to toss and fold the salad together so that all of the romaine leaves are evenly coated with the dressing.

Serve and enjoy!

Related on EcoSalon
Cold Pasta Salad Recipe with Green Beans, Peppers, and Feta
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This cauliflower rice and chickpea salad recipe deserves a place in everyone’s diet.

Because of cauliflower’s density and ability to hold its own when cooked, it can take on plenty of roles in the plant-based kitchen. So far, it has gained traction as a low-carb alternative to pizza crust, as vegan “steak”, and even as a foundation to dairy-free cheese. But perhaps cauliflower’s longest-lived success story has been its part as an alternative to white rice. And while cauliflower rice sounds lackluster on its own (it can only get so exciting), all it takes are a few add-ins to complete the picture and create a rounded dish that is as filling and delicious as it is body-friendly.

If you want to turn this recipe completely vegan, nix the cheese and replace it with one tablespoon of nutritional yeast, which will offer a slight cheesy flavor.

Cauliflower Rice Chickpea Salad Recipe

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower head, broken into florets
• 3 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon dried currants
• ½ red onion, finely sliced
• 3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 avocados, halved, cored, peeled, and sliced
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Juice of three lemons
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Large handful fresh mint, stemmed and finely chopped
• Large handful fresh parsley, stemmed and finely chopped

Directions

Place the cauliflower florets into a food processor and pulse until they resemble coarse rice. In a large bowl, add the chickpeas, currants, onion, and feta. Toss in the cauliflower rose and fold the ingredients together until just mixed.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour the mixture over the cauliflower rice and toss lightly until well combined.

Serve the cauliflower rice on a platter and top with slices of avocado.

Related on EcoSalon
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Add a little sophistication to your next salad with this protein-packed salad Nicoise recipe.

Everything sounds better in French, even if the term is describing something as simple as a salad. Salad Nicoise (better written: Niçoise) is a high-protein salad composed of tomatoes, tuna, hard-boiled eggs, Nicoise olives, and anchovies. Luxuriating in a simple anchovy-lemon dressing, it is perfection on a plate. For a little more France-inspired sophistication and tried-and-true structure to your otherwise freestyle salad creations, try this salad Nicoise recipe and revel in its delicious simplicity.

Other salad Nicoise variations include the addition of raw red peppers, green beans, baked potatoes, shallots, shrimp, and artichoke hearts. Add them to your heart’s desire, but always keep the following salad Nicoise recipe as your comfortable base. It has a restaurant-style feel that is concocted in the four walls of your kitchen.

And, if you are afraid or grossed out by the anchovy, nix it altogether. However, you’d be surprised how dramatic of a difference in makes in the flavor profile of the salad.

Salad Nicoise Recipe with Anchovy-Lemon Dressing

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the dressing

• 12 ounces tuna, flaked
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ½ red onion, chopped
• 1 anchovy fillet, drained
• ½ garlic clove, minced and mashed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Dash of sea salt

For the salad

• 2 large handfuls of lettuce
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• ½ cup whole black olives, pitted
• 1/4 cup red onion, sliced
• 3 hard boiled eggs, cooled, peeled, and thinly sliced

Directions

For the dressing, mash the anchovy filet, garlic, and sea salt in the bottom of a small bowl. Fold in the mayonnaise, tuna, mustard, and red onion until evenly combined. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon, and honey. Stir together the two liquid mixtures until evenly combined.

In a separate, large bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together, except for the hard boiled eggs, and then fold in the dressing until all the ingredients are lightly coated with the dressing. Once all is mixed and served, top each plate with hard-boiled egg slices. Enjoy!

Related on EcoSalon
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Salad Nicoise Image from Shutterstock

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In the summer, we naturally crave lighter foods. However, your go-to raw salad recipe can become a bore if you repeat it daily. There are ways to enjoy the elements of a salad without taking part in the salad experience. Here’s how.

To tackle this new-age raw salad recipe, you’ll need a tough-skinned dark green that can serve as a “wrap” for regularly salad add-ins. In my take of this concept, I use collard greens to roll around julienned raw veggies and sprouts. To bring more bulk, taste and a sense of cohesion to the mix, I add raw hummus. The resulting raw hummus collard roll salad recipe is 100 percent raw, light, delicious and filling. Enjoy!

There are many ways you can alter this recipe to fit your tastes. I use carrots, cucumber and scallions as my veggie add-ins, mostly because I enjoy the crunch, but you can opt for softer veggies or even fruits, like sliced mango or melon. I also use cilantro, because I like the clean taste, but this can most certainly be swapped with fresh basil, mint, oregano, marjoram or parsley. As far as spices go, take the flavor wherever you heart desires! Try this recipe out first to get a hang of how the elements come together, especially with the raw hummus, and then personalize it the next time.

Chickpeas are excellent cooked, but they are the most nutritionally beneficially when germinated. Soaking in water allows the dried chickpeas to leach enzyme inhibitors and effectively become alive. You want the enzymes, not the inhibitors! Sprouting also increases chickpeas’ nutritional profile – protein increases by 20 percent, nucleic acid by 30 percent and certain vitamins as much as by 500 percent.

Convinced yet? Here’s how to make raw sprouted hummus and put it in a collard roll for the ultimate summer raw salad recipe.

Raw Hummus Collard Roll Salad Recipe

Serves 2

For the raw hummus:

• 1 cup dried chickpeas to make 2 cups sprouted chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons raw tahini
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Water, by the tablespoon, if needed to thin out the consistency

For assembly:

• 8-10 flat collard leaves, stems carefully removed
• 1 large carrot, julienned
• 1 large red bell pepper, julienned
• 1 large green bell pepper, julienned
• 1 large cucumber, julienned
• 2 scallions, julienned
• 2 large handfuls sprouts
• Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

Place the beans in a large bowl or mason jar and fill with water. Let them soak overnight, for 8-12 hours. The next day, rinse and drain. Return to the container and cover with a sprouting lid or cheese cloth. Leave at room temperature and rinse and drain every 12 hours. After two days, they will have sprouted.

Place the chickpeas into a food processor. Pulse. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the olive oil. Mix until grainy, then while the processor continuously mixes, drizzle in the olive oil. Blend until smooth. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thin out the hummus until it reaches desired consistency.

For the assembly, lay the collard green leaves in front of you. There will be 16-20 halves created, after the stems are removed. work with 1 half at a time. Place it in front of you so that the small edge is facing you. Place 1 piece of the carrot, red bell pepper, green bell pepper and cucumber so that their lengths are spanning across the bottom edge of the leaf. Dollop a tablespoon or two of the hummus atop the veggies and then add a bit of the sprouts and cilantro. Starting from the bottom edge of the leaf, roll it over the add-ins and unto itself until you reach the other end of the leaf. Repeat with the other collard green halves.

Related on EcoSalon

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15 Hummus Recipes that Are About More Than Just Chickpeas

Photo Credit: Melody Polakow

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Do it once and you will see the wisdom of grilling sliced eggplant in batches, allowing them to cool completely, and then freezing them in single layers in large freezer bags.

When you have them on hand, you can make this salad in just minutes. The combination of flavors in this vibrant salad is delicious and unusual. Bocconcini (“small mouthfuls”) are small mozzarella balls packed in water or olive oil; they can be found in most supermarkets.

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

1 large eggplant, cut into ¼-inch-thick rounds
Olive oil, for brushing the grill pan
1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, plus
2 tablespoons of their oil
½ cup bocconcini packed in oil
6 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the eggplant slices in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Set
aside for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a grill or heat a grill pan over high heat. Brush the
pan with olive oil.

Pat the eggplant slices dry and grill until translucent and charred, about 3 minutes per side.
Transfer the eggplant to a baking sheet and bake until soft, about 10 minutes. (At this point, the
cooked eggplant can be stored in resealable plastic bags and frozen for up to 3 months. To use,
thaw at room temperature until softened.)

Place the eggplant slices on a serving plate. Scatter the sun-dried tomatoes over, then drizzle
the tomato oil on top. Scatter the bocconcini and basil on top. Drizzle with the balsamic vinegar
and season with salt and pepper before serving. The dish can be made a day in advance,
covered, and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving.

This recipe appears courtesy of  The Modern Menu. Simple. Beautiful. Kosher. By Kim Kushner

Photograph by Andrew Zuckerman

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A colorful salad you make in a bowl, not in the sink.

Some call this the kitchen sink salad; I call it the perfect salad. It is fail proof and fails to bore, even if you have it everyday! Packed with nutrition and flavor and with enough substance to keep you full for hours, this recipe is a great way to get the most from produce rounding its last leg in the fridge.

You could virtually use anything on hand, as long as you satisfy each of the four elements – vegetable, green, grain/legume, and fat. I added grated beets, carrots and zucchini as the vegetable, chopped kale as the green, cooked lentils as the legume, and avocado and an olive oil vinaigrette as the fat. Regardless of the nature of the components you choose, the result is the same: a colorful salad with a bite!

I tend to use lentils in my version of the kitchen sink salad for a reason. They’re not only made up of energy boosting carbs, but also are full of protein, which is especially important when salads are a daily diet mainstay.

Lentils are an excellent source of soluble and insoluble fiber and effective in helping to prevent digestive and cardiovascular disorders. They also contribute to lowering cholesterol and maintaining blood sugar levels. Low on the glycemic index, lentils release their sugars slowly, keeping you fuller and more balanced for longer.

Kitchen Sink Salad

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

• 1 cup green lentils
• 6 kale leaves
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 1/2 cup grated zucchini
• 1/4 cup grated beet
• 1/4 cup chopped avocado
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

In a medium-sized pot, add 2 cups of water to 1 cup of green lentils. Cover with a lid. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes or until the lentils have absorbed all the water. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Stem and chop the kale leaves, grate the carrots, zucchini and beet, and slice the avocado.

Add the vegetables, kale and avocado to the cooled lentils in a medium sized bowl.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together the olive oil, lemon, and salt and pepper. Fold the dressing into the salad and give the entire mixture a good toss so that all the ingredients are spread evenly.

Serve and enjoy!

Bon Appetit!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

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Scrounge up some greens at farmers market and make a sweet but hearty summer salad. 

The arrival of summer means the arrival of bags of mixed salad greens at farmers market, or of course, your own from your garden. Instead of basing salad recipes off of them though, I like to throw them in as an extra addition to whatever I am making, a complement to the rest of the dish. That’s exactly what they are in this quinoa salad recipe.

Using both red and white quinoa you get a colorful salad that is full of omega 3s and hearty enough that you can eat it as the main dish. The dates and currants give it a sweeter flavor, which is perfect for warmer weather and a meal outside.

Summer Carrot and Date Quinoa Salad with Basil and Mustard Citrus Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

Summer Carrot and Date Quinoa Salad

• 1/2 cup white quinoa
• 1/2 cup red quinoa
• 3 large carrots, chopped
• 1/2 cup dates, chopped
• 1/2 cup currants
• mixed salad greens

Basil and Mustard Citrus Vinaigrette

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• juice of 1/2 an orange
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil (depending on how much basil flavor you want)

Directions:

Prepare the quinoa. Place in saucepan with 2 cups of water and a pinch of sea salt and bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer until water has cooked off, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large salad bowl combine chopped carrots, dates and currants.

To make the dressing, combine olive oil, apple cider vinegar and orange juice in a small jar or bowl. Add in mustard and whisk until well-blended. stir in basil.

Mix in quinoa with rest of salad ingredients, and top with dressing. Toss together.

Before serving, add in a couple of handfuls of mixed salad greens.

Want more food inspiration? Check out the rest of our Sunday Recipe series.

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The benefits of mango with a recipe to add to the love.

Mango is a meaty fruit that holds its own quite well in more complex dishes. It is a nutrition powerhouse with some major benefits – it lowers cholesterol, regulates sex hormones, boosts sex drive, improves concentration and memory, treats acne, fights diabetes, and prevents cancer and heart disease. It it also helpful for women going through menopause or who are pregnant.

The parsley adds an earthy tone to the citrus from the grapefruit and sweetness from the mango, and the cayenne gives the salad an additional edge that will not only taste great but also boost your metabolism.

Spicy Mango Citrus Ceviche

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 mango
• Juice of 1 grapefruit
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley or cilantro
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• Dash of sea salt

Directions:

Julienne the mango and place on a serving tray with the grapefruit juice. The longer the mango sits in the citrus, the more tender and infused with flavor it becomes.

Add the sea salt, cayenne and chopped parsley or cilantro.

Toss and serve.

Enjoy!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

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The strawberry comes out of the shortcake and onto your next salad.

As Summer approaches, fresh salads are looking a lot more appetizing. For me, the only way salads don’t get old fast, is if I have a steady arsenal of dressings at my disposal. With strawberries coming into season, what better time to make a homemade version of strawberry balsamic vinaigrette?

For this vinaigrette, I roast the veggies to optimize their flavor before mixing them with the rest of the ingredients. The sweet and savory elements of this dressing work perfectly together, so it’s really no wonder why mass marketing has caught on and packaged it. Sure you could easily snatch this off any grocery store shelf, but nothing beats homemade (especially when it’s this easy to make).

Strawberries pack more than just taste. They are rich in antioxidants, fight against inflammatory disorders, prevent cancer, promote healthy eyes, contain 136% of the RDA of vitamin C in just one cup, and contribute to bone health. Strawberries are also an excellent source of magnesium, which helps to reduce cardiovascular disease.

Roasted Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Makes 1.5 cups

Ingredients:

• 2 cups strawberries
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp mustard
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Stem 2 cups of strawberries and slice each in half.

Place on a baking sheet and pop into the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes, or until the strawberries caramelize and soften.

Allow the strawberries to cool down. When they reach room temperature, combine them in a food processor with the remaining ingredients.

Blend until smooth. Chill before serving.

It will be hard to refrain from drinking this like a smoothie.

Bon Appetit!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

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Want a little krautrock?

My Italian mother has always taught me that food may not be love, but it’s more than alright to love food. In celebration of the fact that it’s Mother’s Day this weekend, and that summer – also known as prime German Potato Salad time) is just around the corner – I hope you all enjoy this Irish/Italian’s German Potato Salad Mix. All of the artists are mostly electronic German synth krautrock artists… with the exception of the gem at #10. Mangi!

German Potato Salad by BehindTheWalk-In

1. Synthesist – Harald Grosskopf

2. Ein Jahr (Es Geht Voran) – Fehlfarben

3. I Want More – Can

4. The Model – Snakefinger

5. Du Weibt Schon – Faust

6. Trans Europe Express – Kraftwerk

7. Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA – Devo

8. Isi – Neu!

9. Exit – Tangerine Dream

10. Solid Potato Salad – The Ross Sisters

Like what you hear? Check out our entire 10 Songs series. 

Image: jules:stonesoup

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