Who says a Caesar Salad has to be made with romaine? This cabbage version of a classic Caesar with crispy quinoa and a vegan tahini dressing stays crisp and crunchy and I dare say, I liked it even better the second day! It took on a softer, cheesier vibe which was so interesting since it’s dairy-free. I made it again to test that theory out and it proved true….over and over again. FABULOUS!
Since I have previously developed and perfected both a delicious Dairy-free Caesar Dressing and my favorite Crispy Quinoa, this recipe for the Cabbage Caesar was just a matter of experimenting with proportions and yes….I nailed it in just a few tries. Ask Hubby, who enjoyed every iteration, with this one his fave.
Ingredient Notes
- Cabbage: If your cabbage is large you’ll probably need about ½ to come up with 4 cups sliced. If it’s small, use the whole thing. Guestimate on a medium sized cabbage, maybe you’ll use ¾ of it. Honestly, you don’t have to be precise. There will be enough dressing and crispy quinoa to go around. No worries.
- Vegan Caesar Dressing: Tangy, creamy, dreamy and dairy-free….so good, I’m putting it on all the things…even non lettuce salad’s like this one.
- Crispy Quinoa: I’ve seen Caesar Salads in restaurants with toasted breadcrumbs and with croutons. Honestly, I love the crispy quinoa for it’s crunch, texture, taste and nutritional profile much better.
Crispy Quinoa
If you don’t have any leftover already cooked quinoa, see the recipe card for directions. This recipe uses cooked quinoa. You’ll want to get it into the oven to make it crispy while you make the dressing and chop the cabbage.
Spread cooked quinoa onto a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with spices and mix well, and then spread evenly into a single layer.
Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 25 minutes, mixing once half way through.
Just like croutons, the baked quinoa will have some parts that are super crispy and some will be more soft…just the way a crouton will sometimes be chewy in the middle, but still have some crunch. IMO this is a superior choice to croutons!
Make the Dressing
The easiest way to make the vegan caesar dressing is with an immersion blender.….but you can also chop the capers by hand and whisk all the ingredients together.
Place tahini, nutritional yeast, mustard, pepper, maple syrup and capers in a tall jar. Grate the garlic over the jar and then zest and juice the lemon right into the jar. Blend with ⅓ cup water until creamy.
Prep Cabbage
I like varied texture/size/shape pieces of cabbage. I like to start by halving the piece of cabbage I’m working with. Then I thinly slice (some would call it shredding) that half. The other half I’ll roughly chop, so it’s more like diced. This way some of the pieces will have some crunch and some will soften into the dressing.
Place the cabbage in a bowl, sprinkle on the crispy quinoa and pour half the dressing over.
Start with just half the dressing and toss well.
Add more dressing, as desired, for a creamy cabbage caesar salad.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- Make the crispy quinoa in advance and store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to us.
- Dressing can be made up to 5 days in advance. Store in an airtight container in the fridge and bring to room temp or thin with a bit of warm water and mix well before pouring onto salad.
- Use a baking sheet large enough to hold the quinoa in one layer, or use two trays…otherwise it will do more of a steaming than a crisping in the oven.
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Cabbage Caesar with Crispy Quinoa
Equipment
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 small head Green Cabbage 5 cups chopped
Crispy Quinoa
- 1 ½ cups cooked quinoa
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Vegan Caesar Dressing
- ⅓ cup tahini
- 1 lemon juice + zest
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 3 tablespoon capers
- 3 tablespoon caper brine
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup water
Instructions
Crispy Quinoa
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Spread quinoa onto rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano. Mix well and spread in one even layer.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Mix and re-distribute. Bake for another 15 minutes, until golden and crispy.
Dairy-free Caesar Dressing
- Place tahini, capers + caper brine, nutritional yeast, mustard, maple syrup and pepper into a personal blender or tall jar to use with immersion blender. Grate garlic over jar. Zest and juice lemon over jar. Add ⅓ cup water and blend until thick and creamy.
Make Salad
- Thinly slice half the cabbage. Roughly chop remaining cabbage and add all to a large salad bowl. Sprinkle on the crispy quinoa and pour on half the dressing. Toss until quinoa and dressing are evenly distributed. Add more dressing as desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
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