Name: Simple Salad with Beet Caesar Dressing
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Ingredients: 12 cups romaine lettuce, chopped (or salad greens and chopped vegetables of your choice); 1 cup raw cashews; 1 cup water; 1 small roasted beet (about 2.5 ounces); ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice; 4 tsp brown mustard; ½ tsp cayenne pepper; ½ tsp onion powder; ½ tsp salt (optional); ¼ tsp garlic powder; 1 (8-ounce) block tempeh; ¼ cup BBQ sauce; 2 Tbsp flavored balsamic of your choice; Dash hot sauce; Dash yellow mustard; Pinch kosher salt and black pepper (optional)

Recipes » Salads » Simple Salad with Beet Caesar Dressing

By Vicki Brett-Gach

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This beet Caesar dressing is one of my favorites. It’s an explosion of color, flavor, and creamy goodness. Feel free to add anything else you love to this salad too—extra beets, chopped nuts, tomatoes. There are so many possibilities!

Prep: 10 mins Cook: 25 mins Yield: Serves 6 to 8

Gluten Free

Reprinted from The Plant-Based for Life Cookbook by Vicki Brett-Gach (Brooklyn Writers Press, 2022).

Ingredients

12 cups romaine lettuce, chopped (or salad greens and chopped vegetables of your choice)

Dressing

1 cup raw cashews
1 cup water
1 small roasted beet (about 2.5 ounces)
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 tsp brown mustard
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp salt (optional)
¼ tsp garlic powder

BBQ Tempeh

1 (8-ounce) block tempeh
¼ cup BBQ sauce
2 Tbsp flavored balsamic of your choice
Dash hot sauce
Dash yellow mustard
Pinch kosher salt and black pepper (optional)

Instructions

BBQ Tempeh

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
2. Slice tempeh crosswise into 16 slices, and then each slice into little squares.
3. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, add the tempeh and boil for 5 minutes. Drain.
4. In a flat dish, stir together the marinade: BBQ sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, mustard, salt, and pepper. Add tempeh and toss until each piece is evenly coated with sauce.
5. Reserving as much of the sauce as you can, carefully place tempeh pieces onto the prepared baking sheet.
6. Bake for about 20–25 minutes, or until deeply caramelized and crispy. Remove from the oven, and toss tempeh again in the reserved sauce. Aim to coat each piece of tempeh before serving.

Salad

1. Place chilled salad greens (and any other vegetables you wish) in a large bowl, and set aside.
2. To prepare dressing, add cashews, water, beet, lemon juice, brown mustard, cayenne, onion powder, salt, and garlic powder to a high-powered blender, and process until smooth.
3. Top greens with prepared BBQ tempeh, and drizzle dressing over salad. Refrigerate the remaining dressing. Serve immediately.