I may no longer eat bacon...but that doesn't mean I don't love a ! The flavors of smoky tempeh bacon, crispy lettuce, and juicy tomato are tied together with their own acronym for a reason. While a BLT sandwich is always great, it also makes a fantastic BLT salad!!
I also love tempeh bacon in these dishes...With toasted bread and the most luscious avocado ranch dressing, this salad is one you'll be wanting to make over and over again. It's refreshing enough to be lunch on a hot summer day, and filling enough to be a dinner whenever you're craving it. And the dressing...well, I bet you'll want to put it on everything!
What's in this vegan BLT salad?
- Tempeh Bacon: this is my favorite vegan bacon option and it's easy to make! You could use a pre-marinated version (usually found near the rest of the tempeh) if you want to take a shortcut. If you prefer tofu over tempeh, you can make a tofu bacon with the same ingredients and method.
- Toasted Bread: I use my homemade gluten-free bread, but use regular bread if you're not GF! You can also use if you have any on hand. We're just aiming to recreate the bread from a BLT sandwich, which makes this salad veer into Panzanella territory!
- Romaine Lettuce: the crisp romaine is my favorite for this and the most reminiscent of a classic BLT. However, use your favorite green! Even arugula or another leafy green would work.
- Tomatoes: you can use a big heirloom tomato cut into chunks, or go for small and sweet cherry tomatoes as I did.
How to make avocado ranch dressing
The rest of this salad is good...but this dressing is the STAR! It may need to even become its own post - it's just so good. I'm not a mayo lover, so this vegan ranch dressing has no mayo! Instead, we turn to vegan yogurt and avocado for the creaminess.
This avocado ranch dressing recipe makes a little bit more than you'll likely need for the salad, but you'll want to dip everything in it and drizzle it on all things. It's PERFECT as a veggie dip, and also so good drizzled onto veggies and grain bowls.
To make it, you need:
- Avocado: a good, ripe avocado is the base of this creamy vegan ranch dressing!
- Dairy-Free Yogurt: I used Culina plain coconut yogurt. Plain yogurt with a little tang works best for this.
- Dairy-Free Milk: plain, unsweetened milk of your choice for this! I used almond milk.
- Lemon Juice: for tangy freshness. Fresh lemons are best!
- Apple Cider Vinegar: adds more tangy complexity.
- Garlic & Sea Salt: can't be without these two :)
- Fresh Dill: dried can be used, but fresh is best!
Making it is as easy as combining everything in a blender and whizzing it until it's smooth and creamy! If you want pieces of dill in the final dressing, just wait until the add to add it and then just pulse or stir it in.
Want to meal prep this salad?
This is a great vegan meal prep recipe because you can prepare all of the components ahead of time and assemble them just before eating for a delicious lunch or dinner.
We suggest storing the tempeh bacon, dressing, and croutons in separate containers to ensure that nothing gets soft or soggy.
More vegan salads you'll love:
