All You’ve Avo Wanted: A GF & Vegan Caesar Salad

All You’ve Avo Wanted: A GF & Vegan Caesar Salad

Fresh romaine lettuce coated in tangy anchovy dressing, crunchy croutons, and a layer of tasty Parmesan cheese. The building blocks for a classic Caesar salad. While a popular brunch item, there are calories hidden in every bite of this staple salad. A traditional Caesar salad has 470 calories, 40 grams of fat and 1070 milligrams of sodium. While it tastes delicious, these are empty calories. Traditional ingredients will not keep you full as there are no proteins, fibers, or omega 3 fatty acids. This results in craving more food shortly after eating.

This vegan & gf Caesar cuts the calories and subs in nutrition dense ingredients. Swapping in crispy chickpeas opposed to breadcrumbs, vegan Caesar dressing, vegan cheese, and avocado is how you will achieve a healthy, crowd-pleaser meal.

Storing Tip: only pour dressing on what is being served. If you plan to store the salad for meal prep, store the dressing separately to keep greens fresh.

All You’ve Avo Wanted: A GF & Vegan Caesar Salad

Serves 4

Salad

  • 3 cups of Brussels sprouts, rinsed & finely chopped
  • 1 cup coleslaw
  • 2 large avocados, cubed
  • 1 cup unsalted almonds, chopped
  • 1 cup vegan cheese, chopped (I used vegan mozzarella from Trader Joe’s)

Vegan Caesar Dressing

  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp yellow mustard
  • 2 tbsp white vinegar
  • 3 tbsp tahini
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 large lemon, juiced
  • 1/4 cup white onion, chopped
  • 1 cup nutritional yeast
  • salt and pepper to taste

Crispy Chickpeas

  • 2 cans of garbanzo beans, rinsed
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp coriander
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • salt and pepper aside

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 375F. In a large bowl add garbanzo beans and all spices. Mix well to evenly coat. Cover a baking sheet in parchment paper and lay garbanzo beans out on sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crispy. Set aside once done.
  2. While chickpeas are crisping, make the salad dressing. Take a large mixing bowl and combine all dressing ingredients. Whisk together until well combined. You can leave as is or, if you have a blender, blend all ingredients together until smooth. Place dressing in fridge to store while you assemble the salad.
  3. To assemble the salad, add chopped Brussels sprouts and coleslaw to a large mixing bow. Rinse and drain. Add in chopped almonds & chopped avocado. Mix salad well so that avocado is evenly distributed.
  4. Add the chopped cheese, crispy chickpeas, and dressing to the top of the salad mixture in the large mixing bowl. Stir to evenly coat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Ready to serve!