Ashleyโs Sun-Dried Tomato Caesar Salad
This vegetarian Caesar salad features a bold sun-dried tomato dressing. It's a beautiful spin on traditional Caesar salad. Perfect for date night at home!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on May 22, 2024
I have quite a cookbook collection. Theyโve overflowed my bookcases and spilled over to both coffee tables. Theyโre stacked on my desk and sometimes they accompany me to bed. Flipping through the best cookbooks sends my mind into a tizzy and leaves me feeling sort of desperately, overwhelmingly inspired. I want to make everything and it kills me that I donโt have time for all of them.
I watched my mom self-publish a few books when I was young, so I know how much effort and care goes into the making of a book. Iโm in awe of all the authors who come up with a concept and carry it through to execution. Itโs truly a labor of love.
Ashley Rodriguez is one of those authors. You may know her work from her beautiful blog, Not Without Salt. Sheโs a wife and a mother and created a cookbook called Date Night In, which is full of date night-worthy, complete meals to share with another person.
I can see how much thought Ashley put into her book. She wove stories throughout and added notes on which elements of the recipe can be prepared in advance. The recipes are worthy of special occasions or just a date night inโtheyโre a little on the indulgent side, and not many of the meals are meatless, but they all feature fresh, quality ingredients.
This single vegetarian girl found quite a few recipes to dog ear, including this gorgeous sun-dried tomato variation of a traditional Caesar salad. Iโm thoroughly smitten with it. It doesnโt call for anchovies or Worcestershire sauce like most Caesar salads, but it has a remarkably familiar Caesar taste thanks to all the Parmesan. I used Whole Foodsโ brand grated Parmesan, which is made without animal rennet, so itโs truly vegetarian. I donโt like to talk about animal rennet because I donโt want to overcomplicate the simple concept of a meatless diet, but most Parmesans are not technically vegetarian. (I donโt bother looking at cheese labels or asking before I order a pizza, but thatโs just me.)
This salad is rich and outrageously delicious, the perfect accompaniment to many a main dish. I think it would be lovely with my mushroom risotto, roasted ratatouille with spaghetti or just about anything with Italian flavors! Brava to Ashley for a book well done.
Cuisinart 7-cup food processor
โธ For more of my favorite cooking tools, shop my healthy kitchen!
Ashleyโs Sun-Dried Tomato Caesar Salad
This vegetarian Caesar salad features a bold sun-dried tomato dressing and Parmesan croutons. Itโs a beautiful spin on traditional Caesar salad. Perfect for date night at home or any meal with Italian flavors! Recipe yields two to four servings.
Ingredients
Parmesan-crusted croutons
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ยฝ cup grated Parmesan
- ยผ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups of ยพ-inch cubes of rustic bread (I used whole grain sourdough)
Sun-dried tomato dressing (yields about 1 cup dressing)
- ยผ cup roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- ยฝ cup grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
- Pinch sea salt
- ยฝ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Caesar salad
- 2 or more small heads of romaine (you can eyeball it), halved or chopped
- Sprinkle of additional Parmesan
- Sprinkle of additional chopped sun-dried tomatoes
Instructions
- First, a note on sun-dried tomatoes. Iโm partial to Trader Joeโs sun-dried tomatoes that come in a bag because they arenโt oily but theyโre soft enough to eat right out of the bag. You could also use oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and patted dry. If youโre using tough, dried tomatoes, youโll need to soak them in boiling water until theyโre pliable, then pat them dry and continue with the recipe.
- To make the croutons, preheat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the top of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the olive oil, Parmesan and salt in a large mixing bowl until a paste is formed. Add the cubed bread and mix well with a spatula, until all the bread is coated. Turn the bread onto the prepared baking sheet and arrange in a single layer. I couldnโt quite mix in all of my Parmesan mixture, so I sort of lumped the excess on top of the bread pieces. Bake for 10 minutes, then stir and put the croutons back into the oven until they are golden brown and crisp, up to 5 more minutes.
- To make the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan, lemon juice, water, garlic and a pinch of salt in a food processor or high-powered blender. Process for 1 minute, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary. While running the machine, drizzle in the olive oil and blend for 10 more seconds. Donโt worry if itโs not perfectly smooth; it will still taste delicious! Taste and add more salt and some black pepper, if desired. Set aside.
- To assemble the salad, drizzle the dressing over your halved romaine or toss with your chopped romaine. Finish with croutons and a sprinkle of Parmesan and sun-dried tomatoes. Serve immediately.
Notes
Recipe minimally adapted from Date Night In by Ashley Rodriguez.
Storage suggestions: Dressing will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. If it separates, whisk vigorously before serving.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Ashleyโs book is so great! I almost made that salad the other week โฆ thatโs one of the menus Iโve had my eye on :-)
this is a gorgeous recipe. I love Ashleyโs blog ab
Gah, this is so pretty! I have a bag of sun dried tomatoes that I need to use and this salad is just the thing. Thanks for sharing. I love Ashleyโs recipes!
Thanks, Nicole! Iโm with you on Ashleyโs recipes. Hope youโre well!
What a great recipe โ love the flavors โ I have hundreds of cookbooks too โ I wish I had the time (and energy) to cook everything!
Mary
I am obsessed with sun-dried tomatoes right now. (I love them in a variation of your roasted cauliflower & farro salad) I canโt way to try them in this cesar dressing!
I adore Ashleyโs book -so cute and full of delicious recipes! Love the way youโve photographed this โ yum!
Gorgeous! And SO GOOD! (Thanks for letting me taste-test.) :)
I saw the promo video for Ashleyโs book and it was so sweet! I didnโt buy it because I had just bought a few others but I definitely want to get it soon. It sounds awesome!
And Iโm so thankful for Whole Foodโs vegetarian cheeses. It would be slim pickins if it wasnโt for them!
The recipe looks like a great intro to Ashleyโs book and I am liking the spin on the dressing a whole lot. Cookie isnโt looking bad either. :)
Thanks, Heidi! Come visit us already! :)
So beautiful!! Might have to try this for lunch :)
I knew I couldnโt be the only one reading cookbooks in bed. Iโve been wanting to check out Ashleyโs book, so thanks for the preview!
This looks so light and crunchy, love the idea of sun dried tomato dressing. Fab!
This dressing sounds so good โ and what a beautiful, intense color! I bet the rich sweetness of sun-dried tomato is perfect with crispy romaine.
Looking forward to trying the recipe. Even as a long time non-meat eater, I look the other way, avoiding the fact that rennet is used to make cheese. Oh and I do love cheese.
That looks so tasty right now!
This salad looks awesome! Iโll have to check out Ashelyโs book. Thank you for sharing : )
So pretty!
This looks so great โ I love caesar salads and Iโm digging the unique sun dried tomato dressing :) The homemade croutons look great too!
I love cookbook reviews! While I have a healthy collection already, I am always excited about finding new ones to add! This salad looks so amazing, I love the sun-dried tomato spin. And yes, thank goodness for vegetarian parm from whole foods!Itโs a lifesaver :)
Beautiful Caesar, great idea! Pecorino Romano would probably also be delicious (in place of Parmesan).
Iโm absolutely obsessed with Ashleyโs book. Iโve read it once all the way through and have gone back to read passages again. Itโs sitting on my bookshelf in my dining room. I suspect itโll be taken out frequently for inspiration.
Speaking of inspiringโฆ this Caesar is blowing my mind. What a wonderful way to use sun dried tomatoes!
I havenโt had a Caesar salad since I turned vegetarian four years ago! The old style just seemed kind of bleh when you take out the dressing, bacon, and croutons (gluten free too) โ but this, this, is a Caesar salad to get excited about! Flavoursome dressing, croutons that I can make from gf bread, and crunchy lettuce. I canโt wait to make this!
Oh, and I love Ashleyโs website too. Just beautiful.
Thanks, Amy! Iโve opted for the more colorful, vegetarian salads since I gave up chicken, but youโre rightโthis Caesar salad is something! Hope you love it.
Really nice version of classic salad :)
I think that your recipes are great, however there is one caveat. Parmesan is not, and never has been, vegetarian. It is made using rennet.
Hey Marc, I addressed this in my post. Whole Foods and a couple of other brands offer vegetarian Parmesan made with vegetable rennet.
I appreciate your recipe. I will try it.
Iโm just loving Date Night In (even as a single gal!). It is beautifully written and I want to make everything in the book. Gorgeous photos, Kate!
I have similar feelings towards my cookbook collection. So many, so much good, so little time/stomach space, but I want to eat it all! Love this recipe Kathryne. Will you be my Valentine?
Iโm yours! โฅ
That sun-dried tomato dressing looks stellar and I love the parmesan-crusted croutons!
Those photos are beautiful! This has been added to my menu for next week, canโt wait to try it! Defintely love that there arenโt any anchovies :)
The dressing sounds delicious โ canโt wait to give it a go!
That dressing! Canโt wait to make this wonderful looking salad.
I donโt ask about cheeses eitherโฆhonestly, I donโt even really believe that the people who are cooking with them in restaurants have any idea anywayโฆso I might as well just take an ignorance is bliss attitude towards it. Pretty sure I would choose this dressing over the regular Caesar any day!
Yep, Iโm with you! Too bad we live too far away to go get some pizza together!
This looks crazy delicious! I love love love caesar salads and putting sundries tomatoes in the dressing is sheer brilliance. Iโll check out Ashleyโs cookbook for sure. :)
Tried this last night it was DELICIOUS and SO EASY!
On my lunchtime favorite list. Thanks Kate!
Awesome, thanks Carolyn!
Sun dried tomatoes are our friends, per sure! I often use them (the preserved in olive oil ones) whether in mixed-salads, in warm dishes or in spreads. I come from South of France, thatโs probably why I use them in every way imaginable : )
Kate!
Made this salad twice โ both for dinner parties with gluten free friends (left out the croutons) .. . always a hit. Thanks again for sharing your cooking talents. This is my favourite cooking blog! Cheers,
Sara
Thank you, Sara! So glad youโre enjoying my recipes. Thank you for sharing them with your friends, too!
I have now made five dishes from this website and have never been disappointed! I made this salad along with the Spinach Artichoke Lasagna and everybody raved about both. This caesar dressing is so good, I could eat it everyday with everything. I will definitely make this again. Thanks again Kate for a winner of a recipe!
Woohoo! Thatโs so nice to hear. Thank you, Karen!
Hey! I loved the idea of this recipe however I thought I should mention that parmesan cheese is not vegetarian. All parmesan cheese uses rennet otherwise it wouldnโt be parmesan.
Hi Biscuit, thatโs a good point, but Whole Foods sells Parmesan that is free of animal rennet. I think they use microbial rennet instead. Bel Gioso also makes a vegetarian parmesan.
This salad is my new fave!! Itโs amazing!! I even have the Date Night In cookbook and somehow this recipe slipped by me.
Iโm glad you found it on my site! Thanks, Ashley!
I have made this before and itโs great! nice change from the everyday salad. How many calories are in the dre
Thank you, Ashley! I did the nutrition information for the entire recipe. I didnโt break it down for each component. Sorry!
Thank you for the recipe. This was a really good recipe. Being Indian I had to add some spice to itโฆI add some pepper flakes before I blended it. Really good. Thank you again.
Youโre welcome, Padma!
This is the second time i have made this. such a delicious recipe and tastes decadent!! quick question for everyone, can you freeze the croutons and the dressing? i ask only because i would like to make this ahead of an RV trip and having frozen items is easier to transport and will last the length of the trip. cooking in an RV kitchen can be a challenge!!
I donโt think it will freeze well, especially the croutons would likely get soft. However, I canโt say for sure without trying it. They both should keep well for a few days. Have fun on your trip!
Hello. I just made this but itโs super thick like tomato paste. Iโll need to thin it out to dressing consistency, but I donโt want to add more oil. Any suggestions for something to thin it out that wonโt add a lot of fat and calories or cause it to separate like water? Thanks!
Hi LD! Iโm confused as to what is too thick? The dressing? I just want to make sure I understand to help.
yes, the dressing, it was chunky, didnโt look pretty but still tasted great!
Yes, the dressing, it was chunky, didnโt look pretty โ but still tasted great!
I love sun dried tomato dressings but iโm vegan. How would you adapt this dressing?