Caesar Salad Dressing (Paleo, Real Food, Vegan, Whole30)

I did not grow up eating a lot of salads. When I was given a side salad for dinner, I always made sure I doctored it up with lots of croutons, cheese, ground pepper, and basically anything and everything that would add to the flavor. And then I dumped enough bottled Italian dressing to make my salad soupy. Sounds delicious, right? Wait, don't answer that!

Bottled salad dressings were as appealing to me as pouring plain water on my plate of food. Little did I know just how quick and flavorful a homemade dressing could be!! The first one I ever made was my Easy 1-2-3 Balsamic Dressing, and then I am sure we a dinner salad just about every night.

Over the years, I became proficient in making several types of dressings (creamy, spicy, even cheesy!) and meals always came together quickly after that. Since going dairy-free however, it took me a long time to come up with a Caesar dressing recipe that was worthy of a repeat.

A traditional Caesar salad is made with a lot of garlic, lightly cooked eggs (but not poached), anchovies, Parmesan cheese, and more. The tricky part is coming up with something as close to the delicious original, minus cheese. And eggs. And while most of my family loves anchovies, they are just not something I always have on hand, so anchovies were out, too.

Once I discovered that macadamia nuts produce a very creamy dressing (like in my Creamiest Salad Dressing, 4 Ways), I knew macadamia nuts would work in a dairy-free Caesar dressing. So here it is. If you like anchovies, please add them to the dressing for a more traditional flavor and punch of flavor, but keep in mind the dressing will not longer be vegan if they are added.

Caesar Salad Dressing

1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup avocado oil, or other neutral oil
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (not bottled)
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon real salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns

Place all of the ingredients into the blender jar of a high-powered blender, like a Vitamix.

Secure the lid and process the dressing ingredients for 30-45 seconds, or until smooth. Serve immediately. Refrigerate any leftovers in a tightly covered jar..

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