This easy grilled caesar salad recipe gives the traditional version a run for its money. All you need is a barbeque to grill your lettuce, a bean salad mixture, and vegan caesar salad dressing.
My favourite way to get the true taste of summer is to barbeque EVERYTHING. There’s definitely a misconception among my meat-eater friends that vegans don’t BBQ, but we absolutely do! When I lived in a condo, I could only use a communal barbeque on my roof, but now that I’ve moved into a house with a backyard, I’m finally able to have my very own Barbeque!
For this recipe, I partnered with Napoleon to show you how to make an easy, grilled caesar salad using my new Napoleon Barbeque! I chose the Rogue XT 425 model but all Napoleon barbeques are worth checking out if you’re looking to get a new barbeque this summer! As always, my opinions are 100% honest and only promote what I genuinely love.
I was always nervous about using a bbq in the past, but when my Napoleon barbeque arrived, it was super easy to assemble, turned on with no issues, and heated up really fast with no flare-ups while cooking. Truly #flawless .
What I love is how big the cooking area on the Napoleon barbeque is! It has the ability to fit 26 burgers on the grill which is perfect for when I can have friends over a housewarming party this summer, or even an Edgy Veg team get together in my backyard. With all the grill space, you can easily cook different foods at different temperatures which is great for cooking different veggies, fruit (looking at you grilled pineapple!) and plant-based meats on the grill.
Related Recipe: Vegan Caesar Dressing
GRILLED CAESAR SALAD
VEGAN | GLUTEN-FREE | DAIRY-FREE
If you don’t want tofu in your salad, you can substitute however you please. I love the taste of grilled romaine and tofu with the smoky, charred flavour they have from being grilled on the barbeque.
INGREDIENTS FOR GRILLED CAESAR SALAD (VEGAN):
- Romaine lettuce (head or hearts of romaine will do)
- Caesar dressing (follow my homemade recipe here)
- Firm tofu
- Tofu Marinade (follow my easy instructions here)
Bean Salad topping:
- Canned white beans (you can use any beans you like)
- Dijon mustard
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Capers (optional)
- Lemon juice (optional)
- Parsley (optional)
Optional Toppings:
- Sea salt & black pepper
- Crumbled Vegan bacon (follow my easy recipe here)
- Nutritional yeast
- Hummus, to serve, optional, but recommended
KITCHEN EQUIPMENT I USED:
- Napoleon Rouge XT 425 Barbeque
- Tofu Press (optional)
- Medium Bowl
- Chef’s Knife
- Whisk
- Large Salad Bowl
- Wooden Skewers
- Barbeque Tongs
- Serving Spoons
Related Recipe: Easy Marinated Tofu
HOW TO MAKE GRILLED CAESAR SALAD
- Cut and marinate your tofu in triangles. Follow instructions here!
- If you don’t have Caesar dressing at home, you can make your own using my Caesar Dressing recipe! Follow instructions here!
- To make the bean salad, in a medium-sized bowl, whisk together dijon mustard, 1 tbsp olive oil, minced garlic, minced capers, and lemon juice.
- Add white beans and parsley. Toss, taste and season with sea salt and pepper.
- With prepping romaine lettuce, remove the outer leaves. Cut romaine in half so it’s easier to grill. Drizzle olive oil over romaine hearts, season with salt and pepper.
- Optionally, with cooking the tofu, you can use wooden skewers so it’s easier to flip or just use tongs. If you use skewers, my tip would be to soak them in water before putting in tofu.
- On medium heat, grill the tofu for 5 minutes per side on Barbeque, leaving nice char marks, brush with extra marinade as needed.
- Grill romaine lettuce cut side down for 2-3 minutes, until they get char marks.
How to Assemble Grilled Caesar Salad:
- Place romaine hearts on the plate, top with white bean mixture and tofu slices.
- Drizzle with caesar dressing and optionally garnish with bacon bits, nutritional yeast, capers and parsley.
- Serve with a side of hummus, if you’d like.
- 1 block tofu, pressed and cut into triangles
- Tofu Marinade
- Caesar dressing
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tbsp capers, minced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 14oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
- sea salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 hearts romaine lettuce, rinsed, cut in half lengthwise and pat dry
- Vegan bacon of choice, or simulated bacon bits, to garnish
- Nutritional yeast, to garnish
- Hummus, to serve, optional, but recommended
- Place cut tofu into the tofu marinade and allow to marinate for 30 mins, set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together dijon mustard, 1 tbsp olive oil, minced garlic, minced capers and lemon juice.
- Add white beans and toss. Taste and season with sea salt and pepper.
- Add half of the chopped parsley, leaving some for garnish, toss to combine and set aside.
- Heat up the BBQ, and bring down to medium heat.
- Using soaked wooden skewers in tofu or tongs, place the marinated tofu onto the BBQ and grill for 5 minutes on each side, until there are nice char marks, brushing with extra marinade as needed.
- Meanwhile, drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil on the romaine heart that are cut in half, sprinkle with some salt and pepper and place them onto the grill, cut side down.
- Grill the romaine for 2 to 3 minutes or until you have some nice charred grill marks.
- One at a time, place the romaine hearts onto a plate, top with bean mixture, and a few pieces of tofu. Drizzle with Ceasar dressing, and you can adsitionally garnish with bacon bits, nutritional yeast, capers, and chopped parsley. Serve with a side of hummus, if using.
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Looking For More Vegan BBQ Recipes?
- Grilled Mexican Street Corn
- Sweet Potato Burger
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Vegan Potato Salad
- Vegan Macaroni Salad
If you make this recipe, let me know what you think by leaving a star rating & comment below. It truly helps me & I really appreciate any support! Feel free to share your food photos on social and tag me @edgyveg so I don’t miss it!
kimberly says:
A fantastic alternative for my holiday bbq. Non vegans loved it too! so yummy! thanks for the awesome grilled recipe. can’t wait for more!