A hearty, healthy, allergy friendly Vegan Kale Caesar with creamy, cheesy flavored dressing and roasted chickpea croutons. You will savor this salad!
Why You Need This Healthy Kale Caesar Salad In Your Life
This Healthy Kale Caesar Salad is crunchy, heart, healthy and so filling. It is full of nutritious ingredients and flavor on each bite. Each kale bit is coated in the delicious vegan caesar dressing. This salad is gluten free and loved by everyone. It is versatile if you want to top it with baked tempeh or tofu, you can also serve it tp meat eaters with grilled chicken. It is an all around crowd pleaser. You can also make the vegan caesar dressing to dip with if you love it as much as our family does. The crispy seasoned chickpeas really take this salad over the top. They replace the croutons, and make this salad totally gluten free and healthier than your typical caesar salad.
Ingredients For Healthy Kale Caesar Salad.
Kale. Any style kale will work. We want the stems off and the leaves chopped. We will be massaging the kale (making the leaves softer) so if you aren't a fan of kale's rough texture, you will be pleased with the way we prep it here.
Chickpeas. Canned will work best. These will be our croutons.
Olive Oil. High quality olive oil with a light taste.
Lemon Juice. Fresh is always best!
Water. To thin out the dressing a bit.
Tahini. We want a drippy, well blended tahini. This is my favorite tahini in a convenient squeeze bottle.
Seasoning. Garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, nutritional yeast (optional), oregano, cayenne pepper, cracked pepper. To season the chickpeas and to add to our dressing.
Capers. They add the flavor to the dressing to mimic anchovies. Keep the juice/brine!
Avocado. To top the salad.
Vegan Parmesan. To add and mix into the salad
How To Make Healthy Kale Caesar
Step one. Rinse the chickpeas well in a mesh colander. pour them on a clean dish towel and roll them around a bit to collect any excess moisture. add chickpea seasoning together on a small bowl and whisk. Put chickpeas in a medium bowl, add in olive oil and seasonings and mix well to be sure they are evenly coated. Add to air fryer and cook on 350º for about 12 minutes. Be sure to turn them once. *If you have an oven style air fryer, place tin foil under the chickpeas to prevent too much seasoning from falling off. If in the oven, cook on a cookie sheet on 350º for about 20 minutes, turning often.
Step two. Make your dressing! Add all the ingredients to a medium bowl. If using an immersion blender, blend well. Add a bit more water until mixture is thin enough to mock typical salad dressing, we want each leaf to be coated well. So don't make it too thin. You want it to stick to the spoon. If you do not have an immersion blender, finely chop the capers before adding them to the bowl.
Step Three. Discard the stems from the kale, finely chop the leaves. Add to a large bowl. Pour olive oil and lemon juice over and gently massage the kale with your hands. This will soften the leaves and make them enjoyable to anyone! Next, pour dressing over, toss the dressing well so everything is evenly coated. Add in cheese, toss well. Top with avocado and crispy chickpeas.
Tips To Make Healthy Kale Caesar
Yes, Romaine or a 50/50 mix of romaine and kale will work wonderfully.
I have it linked above for my favorite brand. All grocery stores sell it in the nut butter aisle. It is made of sesame seeds and delicious.
Yes, but I suggest waiting to add the chickpeas until you are going to enjoy. The chickpeas will get stale and soggy quickly.
Add a small tsp of water more to the mix until desired consistency. You will need a whisk to properly mix the tahini and water.
If your dressing is too thin and watery consistency, you can whisk it really good and let it sit for about 2 minutes, it often thickens when it sits. If that doesn't do the trick, add a tbsp or two of tahini and whisk or blend well! You may want a tiny bit more salt if adding more tahini. Salt to taste.
Other Recipes To Consider
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Healthy Vegan Kale Caesar
Ingredients
For The Kale Salad
- 7 cups chopped kale
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup vegan parmesan *
- 1 thinly sliced, pitted avocado
For The Dressing
- ¼ cup well blended tahini
- 2 tbsp tahini
- ¼ cup warm water
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp finely chopped capers
- 1 tbsp caper brine
- ½ tsp garlic powder
Crispy Chickpeas
- 1 15 oz can of chickpeas drained
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tsp crushed, dried, oregano
- ¼ tsp Cayenne pepper *optional
Instructions
- Rinse the chickpeas well in a mesh colander. Pour them on a clean dish towel and roll them around a bit to collect any excess moisture. Add chickpea seasoning together on a small bowl and whisk. Put chickpeas in a medium bowl, add in olive oil and seasonings and mix well to be sure they are evenly coated. Add to air fryer and cook on 350º for about 12 minutes. Be sure to turn them once. *If you have an oven style air fryer, place tin foil under the chickpeas to prevent too much seasoning from falling off. ** If in the oven, cook on a cookie sheet on 350º for about 20 minutes, turning often.
- Time to make your dressing. Chop capers up into little bits. Add all the ingredients to a medium bowl. If using an immersion blender, blend well. Add a bit more water until mixture is thin enough to mock typical salad dressing, we want each leaf to be coated well. So don't make it too thin. You want it to stick to the spoon.
- Now we put the salad together. Discard the stems from the kale, finely chop the leaves. Add to a large bowl. Pour olive oil and lemon juice over and gently massage the kale with your hands. This will soften the leaves and make them enjoyable to anyone eating. Next, pour dressing over, toss the dressing well so everything is evenly coated. Add in cheese, toss well. Top with avocado and crispy chickpeas. If making ahead, wait to add the avocado and chickpeas until serving.
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