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You can make the most creative Caesar salad with sea beans, which have a sea-salt flavor that naturally flavors a vegan classic Caesar salad. Have you heard of sea beans? I have been lucky enough to try them at innovative restaurants, and now I spied them at my local farmers market to try them at home in this vegan Sea Bean Caesar Salad.
What are sea beans?
Sea beans are not a form of seaweed—they grow wild in coastal areas around the world, including the U.S. They are also not a true bean—they just look a little bit like them. In fact, sea beans are the fleshy stems and branches of a plant in the genus Salicornia. Indeed, they do have a salty, sea-like flavor, which offers a wonderful taste profile to plant-based cuisine when you are looking for seafood replacements. Look for sea beans at your farmers market, natural food store, or gourmet market to give them a try. It’s just one more interesting, exciting way to feature an unusual plant in your cooking. Remember, there are more than 40,000 edible plant species on the planet. And one way to diversify your plant-based diet is to try unusual, local, seasonable vegetables, which come in an array of colors, textures, flavors, and shapes. Sea beans is just one more exciting plant to put on your plate! Learn more about how to cook with sea beans here.
I tried my hand at cooking sea beans to star in a simple, vegan Sea Bean Cesar salad—using the sea beans to provide the sea flavor instead of anchovies. Remember that sea beans are salty—so don’t add extra salt when you cook these intriguing plants. I think this is a really simple, creative way to try sea beans the first time. Essentially this recipe for Sea Bean Caesar Salad is based on very few ingredients, which still allows the vibrancy of the sea beans to shine through.
Description
This vegan classic Caesar salad gets its sea flavor from sea beans, which is a plant that grows in coastal areas around the world. Try this easy, healthy vegan Sea Bean Caesar Salad as an intriguing way to feature sea beans.
Rye Croutons:
Salad:
- 1 ½ cups fresh sea beans
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained
- ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
- 6 cups assorted salad greens
- Preheat toaster oven or conventional oven to 375 F. Place cubed rye bread in a small pan, drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil, and place on top rack, baking for abut 7-9 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Remove and cool.
- Meanwhile, clean sea beans, separating pieces from woody stems to create portions of sea beans about 2-inches in length.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet and add sea beans and garlic, sautéing for about 2 minutes, just until sea beans turn bright green, but are still crisp. Remove sea beans from the skillet and set aside. Remove skillet from heat and deglaze by adding rice vinegar and soy sauce to the pan and stirring it into the remaining oil in the pan. Stir in capers and red chili flakes to create a vinaigrette. Cool slightly.
- Place salad greens in a mixing bowl and toss with sautéed sea beans and vinaigrette. Garnish with rye bread croutons.
- Prep Time: 12 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 97
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 389 mg
- Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 13 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
Keywords: vegan salad, sea bean salad, vegan caesar salad, sea bean, is caesar salad healthy
For other plant-based salad recipes, try these:
Spicy Cauliflower Salad with Cilantro
Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad with Peanuts and Papaya
Thai Salad with Carrots and Mint
Blood Orange Salad with Kale and Hazelnuts
Vegan Kale Caesar Salad
Beautiful Flower Salad with Rose Vinaigrette
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