Caesar salad is probably my favorite salad. In fact, I think it just edges out my second favorite Greek salad. Just slightly though. But unlike Greek salad, Caesar salad isn’t something I ever make at home. I don’t know why not, but I think I associate it with going out to eat. No matter the type of restaurant, I never pass up a Caesar salad if it’s on the menu. That’s why I was drawn to this Tahini Caesar Salad with Olive Oil Breadcrumbs recipe as soon as I saw it. Even though I’ve never made it, I know Caesar dressing doesn’t typically have tahini in it. That piqued my interest, and I decided to try it. I figured I’d really love it or completely hate it, and I needed to know which. Let’s find out!
Tahini caesar salad is a healthy vegetarian version a classic Caesar salad, with a tahini and lemon-based dressing and crunchy homemade breadcrumbs.
The Ingredients
I’m sure it’s no surprise that since this is a salad recipe, it’s full of fresh ingredients I needed to shop for. The individual items weren’t pricey, but they did add up. I spent just over $17 for everything:
- $5 on dairy (yogurt and parmesan cheese)
- $7 on produce (romaine lettuce X 3 and a lemon)
- $5.50 on a loaf of fresh sourdough from the bakery
That might sound like a lot for a salad, but there were plenty of leftovers. Here are some ideas on how to put the extra perishables to use:
I had tahini on hand, but I have trouble finding it locally. Instead, I order it from Amazon. It keeps very well in the refrigerator, but you will need to give it a good stir before using as it separates.
The Process
The instructions for this recipe were well written and easy to follow, leaving me without any questions or doubts on how to get everything done.
It was also quicker than the 35 minutes listed, and I had my Caesar salad ready in just 23 minutes. Once I had the bread in the toaster oven (I didn’t want to turn on my big oven just for 2 slices of bread), worked on the dressing and lettuce. They were ready before the bread was done, and I even had time to wash up a bit.
One little drawback was there were a lot of dishes to wash, at least for a salad. I used my mini-prep to mix up the salad dressing and my food processor to make the breadcrumbs. The miniprep would have been too small for the breadcrumbs, and I didn’t want them to get soggy by using the food processor to make the dressing first.
Making the breadcrumbs first would solve the problem, but that would mean waiting for them to bake before making the salad dressing. The recipe would take a little longer, but you would have fewer dishes to wash.
