Vegan Caesar Salad

My mom happens to make the very best Caesar salad that there ever was – until I developed my vegan version. I have no problem eating my mom’s awesome salad, but I do have a hard time taking those little squiggly fish out of the can and putting them into a blender. I needed an alternative vegan Caesar salad that I could take with me to people’s homes when they invited me for summer BBQs. I am not a vegan, but I also prefer not to eat food that comes off a BBQ (that’s a whole lotta heat going on). I use high-quality meat as a side dish, which means it’s eaten in small amounts next to plants that are the superstars. Any bit of an appetite that I may have gets absolutely squashed, squelched and eliminated whenever I see a barbecue grill loaded down with a zoo’s-worth of animals, and animal assemblages (mixed meat burgers, hot dogs and sausages). As per my potluck rule, I like to bring a dish that could serve as my whole meal, and given that I love fermented foods like tempeh, I am a whizz with this probiotic rich, protein dense, healthfully fermented food that makes a great meat substitute. You name it, I can make it with tempeh! I figured that I could make tempeh do a great impersonation of bacon, make croutons out of some gluten-free bread, mix-master up a dressing that had that little bit of tang, that little bit of creamy, and that little bit of salty, and ended up with a winner of a vegan Caesar salad! Blow those horns of victory because I do! I do have a winner – the bestest, lightest, canned-fish free Vegan Caesar Salad. She truly is a barbecue’s best friend and will totally hold her own against any sausage fest, and will surely outshine the mayo-clad potato salad.

You can prep the dressing and tempeh bacon bits ahead of time, which makes this vegan Caesar salad even easier to make and serve. Print When you are invited out to a BBQ – what is your go-to potluck offering for the feast?