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Quinoa Caesar Salad

November 10, 2013 89 Comments

Serves 8
Total time: 45 minutes || Active time: 45 minutes

Quinoa Caesar
Photo by Vanessa Rees

“Put some quinoa in it.” It’s almost become my motto. I mean, why not? Everything needs quinoa! Even Caesar Salad. This one really is a meal and it makes a ton because I love it as leftovers. It tastes great the day after and, honestly, still pretty darn good on day 3. But feel free to half it if need be. I am in love with the dressing; it’s creamy, garlicky, briny and tangy and just the kind of stuff you want to stick your face in.

In the video, I’m making it with breaded tofu. There’s another version in Isa Does It with tempeh croutons (pictured), but you can make it even easier (Isa-er?) by simply throwing some chickpeas on top. It’s definitely an entree salad, so pick your additional protein and have fun with it!


Notes

~I highly recommend making the quinoa a day in advance so that it’s easy to pull together on a weeknight. Soak the cashews all day so that you can just come home and whip up the dressing.

~For the roasted garlic, you can either roast a head of it a day in advance or buy some. Often big fancy places like Whole Foods will have roasted garlic cloves for sale (there are about 15 in a head) or you can even nab some from the salad bar. But honestly, although it adds another dimension of garlicky sweet deliciousness, you can forego it if need be.

Ingredients

For the Breaded Tofu:
3/4 cup fine storebought breadcrumbs (I use whole wheat)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed between your fingers
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed between your fingers
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon garlic powder

14 oz extra firm tofu, sliced into 8 slabs widthwise
3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce

For The Briny Caesar Dressing:
1/2 cup cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours and drained
1 head roasted garlic (about 10 cloves, see tip)
2 cloves fresh garlic
1/4 cup capers, with some brine
3/4 cup water
Several dashes fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

For the rest:
6 cups cooked and cooled quinoa
8 oz chopped romaine
4 oz baby arugula (or chopped arugula)
1 avocado, cut diced into 1/2 inch pieces

Directions

Make the Breaded Tofu:
Preheat a large non-stick pan, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat. On a dinner plate, use your fingertips to mix together the breadcrumbs, dried herbs and garlic. On a separate plate, pour the soy sauce.

Place a tofu slab in the soy sauce, and toss to coat. Then dredge them in the breadcrumbs, tossing to coat. (Use your dry hand to handle the tofu in the breadcrumbs, otherwise you’ll get a crumb mitten on your hand.) Put coated tofus off to the side of the plate and continue until all tofu is coated. Put a thin layer of olive oil in the pan, and then transfer tofu cubes to the pan. Let cook for a few minutes then flip, using a thin metal spatula so that you don’t scrape off the breading. Cook for about 7 minutes total, adding a little extra to the pan as needed, and flipping occasionally until browned on most sides.

Once browned, remove from pan and slice on a bias into 1/4 thick pieces.

Make the dressing:
Simply add all of the ingredients to a small blender or food processor, and puree until smooth. Scrape down the sides every now and again to make sure you get everything. Thin with a little water, if necessary. Keep tightly sealed and refrigerated until ready to use. Keeps for up to 5 days.

Assemble:
Assemble the salad in a very large mixing bowl. Toss the greens with the quinoa, and then add the dressing. Serve topped with tofu and avocado!

Filed Under: Entrees, Featured, IsaDoesIt, Recipe, Recipes Featured, Salad, Superbowl, Thanksgiving, Video Tagged With: arugula, avocado, capers, Quinoa, romaine, tofu

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jenna

    April 25, 2014 at 8:59 pm

    Isa, despite my many, many years of vegetarianism, I’ve never been a big salad eater. But this salad, and particularly the dressing, is SO GOOD, that I can say I’ve become a little obsessed with it. I’ve even come to crave it, and it’s a much healthier craving than my usual! I was using the fermented black garlic Trader Joe’s had for a while for this, which was easier than the roasted garlic and very delicious. Thank you for adding this to my repertoire. We miss you in blog land and hope you’ll be back with more deliciousness of this scale soon!

    Reply
  2. Julie from Toronto

    May 1, 2014 at 3:31 am

    Love this video – so glad I discovered this site. You are awesome!

    Reply
  3. Robin

    May 2, 2014 at 6:46 pm

    I’ve been meaning to make this since I first binge-watched all of your Make it Vegan episodes and I’m so glad I finally got around to it. It’s been abnormally hot weather in Portland this week and my family and I wanted something cool and refreshing and this was just perfect! I knew it was going to be good while I was making it but had no idea it would turn out THIS good. My mom (not vegan but eats everything I cook for the family) declared it my best dinner yet and my dad (meat lover) was literally shocked that the breaded tofu was actually tofu. He seriously had no idea. I didn’t change a single thing about the recipe other than cutting 12 slabs instead of 8 which I do recommend and omitting the oil from the dressing which didn’t seem to affect it whatsoever. Also I used firm tofu that was frozen and thawed which gave it the absolute best texture. I’d recommend using low-sodium tamari/soy sauce since the rest of the dish is fairly salty enough.
    I honestly can’t describe the deliciousness of the caesar dressing. So good I could just die! Thanks for another excellent recipe.

    Reply
  4. mary

    May 3, 2014 at 5:31 pm

    love the video!

    Reply
  5. Anna

    May 21, 2014 at 5:30 pm

    Always an inspiration! I´ve learnt so much from you. I bought three books and like to watch the videos, because in Germany we can´t see you in TV. Thi video is just excellent! Please go on, you do a great job!

    Reply
  6. Ms. V

    May 30, 2014 at 7:47 pm

    “is that chicken?”
    “No!” (SLAP)
    Going to try this tonight. The salad, that is.

    Reply
  7. Angie

    June 21, 2014 at 4:02 pm

    This is REALLY REALLY good! I didn’t have any roasted garlic, so I’m not sure what the diffence would be there. But we really enjoyed the dressing and absolutely LOVED the herb breaded tofu!

    Reply
  8. Kate

    July 28, 2014 at 8:51 pm

    Wow…thank you for this amazing recipe! This salad made me so happy 🙂 You are a brilliant and creative artist!

    Reply
  9. Erin

    August 20, 2014 at 10:15 pm

    Holy smokes! Super good–and I was super skeptical about the dressing. Thanks a million!!!! I’m going back for more recipes. 🙂

    Reply
  10. Lisa

    August 24, 2014 at 5:21 am

    I am loving this salad with the tempeh croutons. Before this salad, I was convinced that tempeh was something my vegan lifestyle could live without. Now… I admit I was wrong. Tempeh croutons should be on all my salads!

    Reply
  11. Corrin Radd

    August 27, 2014 at 12:09 am

    Made this for dinner. Yummy!

    Reply
  12. Mason

    October 11, 2014 at 11:14 pm

    Just made this and dear God, I have breath that would scare a nun away- but it was worth it.

    Reply
  13. chelsea

    November 13, 2014 at 9:02 pm

    This is my favorite vegan caesar, and I’m pretty sure my husband’s favorite salad. It’s perfect. The most recent time I made it I added homemade baked croutons and the chicky seitan from Isa Does it (grilled it) and it was amazing. Thanks as always Isa 🙂

    Reply
  14. Maria

    January 26, 2015 at 8:06 am

    Wow, this was great! The video was helpful.

    Reply
  15. michi

    August 22, 2015 at 1:08 am

    Oh my gosh, so happy i came across your website! Ive started eating vegie now and im europian so I love the stuff you wanna stick you face into.. as you say, they hearty food, and tangy tastes. You play with herbs and spices and have a cashew cream as well i can make! im so happy! Just wanted to thank you 🙂

    Reply
  16. Russell Mellors

    August 24, 2015 at 12:36 pm

    Thank you, Ie just been searching for information about this topic for a while and yours is the greatest Ie discovered till now. But, what in regards to the conclusion? Are you sure concerning the supply?

    Reply
  17. Amy2015

    September 24, 2015 at 1:27 pm

    I’m so happy I discovered your website!You are awesome!
    I made this recipe yesterday and I really love this salad and in particular the dressing.
    Thanks Isa for this recipe!

    Reply
  18. Erin

    March 30, 2016 at 7:03 pm

    This dressing is awesome… but I may have ruined it. For some reason my garlic was spicy at first but the next day it’s so hot and spicy I can’t eat it! Do you have any suggestions on how I can salvage it, I don’t want to waste all the awesomeness. Thanks!

    Reply
  19. Kara

    April 5, 2016 at 1:46 am

    oh. my. this salad was fabulousness!!! My husband is a HUGE Caesar salad fan… he doesn’t think of this as caesar (his words.. b/c of the flavor parm cheese adds)… but it’s fabulous… He just ate a 6 serving equivalent! Thank you Isa!!!!

    Reply
  20. Isabelle

    April 27, 2016 at 10:01 pm

    You are so awesome in your videos!
    Thank you for this delicious recipe!

    Reply
  21. Colleen B.

    November 26, 2016 at 1:05 am

    This dressing recipe is absolutely outstanding. Made the salad as-written except for the tofu (served as a side with lasagna) and got rave reviews from my mostly non-vegan family. Thank you Isa, another fabulous recipe!

    Reply
  22. Carlton L Barnes

    February 18, 2017 at 10:52 am

    I really love the vegetable salad! The way you shows in the video, its really great to watch. Thanks for the up work really i will try it tonight.

    Reply
  23. Jennifer

    March 13, 2017 at 1:32 am

    Accidentally bought jarred green peppercorns instead of capers. Used them anyway. It was still really good.

    Reply
  24. Bitmann

    March 28, 2018 at 2:08 pm

    Made this salad for a family gathering today, and it was a hit among non-veg/plant-based food eaters I seasoned the quinoa with a bit of lemon juice and sea salt, and also added some toasted pepitas for crunch, and thin carrot strips for some pop of color. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  25. Hellen

    April 13, 2018 at 6:41 am

    Thanks,
    sharing Quinoa Caesar Salad
    I tried it.It is good & tasty. Quinoa seeds are very healthy for a body
    It has a rich amount of fiber, antioxidants, and iron
    we provide the Organic Quinoa Seeds.so let’s start to buy Quinoa seeds at Nourish you
    https://nourishyou.in/superfoods/quinoa-seeds/

    Reply
  26. Lea

    May 5, 2018 at 3:51 am

    This looks marvelous and am going to make it tonight..! Thank You. 🙂

    ~lea

    Reply
  27. Hana

    February 13, 2022 at 4:27 am

    I made the version from Isa Does It with the tempeh croutons and really really enjoyed it. I loved it so much that I ate it for both lunch and dinner on the same day! I blogged my experience https://nimbleveggies.wordpress.com/2022/02/12/vegan-quinoa-caesar/

    Reply
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Trackbacks

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    June 11, 2014 at 3:35 am

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