Kale Caesar Salad
This kale Caesar salad is a healthy twist on the classic. It uses kale greens for a nutritional boost, and is topped with crunchy chickpea croutons, fresh parmesan cheese, and a lightened-up creamy Caesar dressing. Everyone will enjoy this delicious salad!
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
Crunchy Chickpeas
- 1-15 oz can chickpeas low sodium or no sodium preferred
- ½ Tablespoon light olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt optional
Dressing
- ½ cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt or 1-2%
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 1 Tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 large garlic clove
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon water
Lemon Garlic Marinated Chicken (optional)
Salad
- 2 bunches Kale any variety- curly or Tuscan
- Parmesan cheese shaved or grated
- Ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Crunchy Chickpeas
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a 9x13 baking pan with aluminum foil lightly greased (or parchment paper).
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Dry chickpeas as much as possible with a paper towel.
- Place the chickpeas into a small bowl. Add the olive oil and lightly stir to wet all the chickpeas. Add the oregano, parsley, garlic powder, basil, and black pepper and stir well.
- Spread the chickpeas onto the prepared baking sheet. Optional: sprinkle the sea salt evenly on the chickpeas
- Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. If chickpeas are not quite crunchy yet, bake for another 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Chicken (optional)
- Refer to my lemon garlic marinated chicken recipe or use your favorite chicken
Caesar Dressing
- Add all the ingredients to a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
Salad
- Strip the leaves from the stems of the kale and rip the leaves into bite size pieces. Wash and dry the kale (be sure to dry completely). Add the dried kale to a large bowl.
Assemble the salad
- Add some of the dressing to the kale. Massage with your hands (can put gloves on for this) until kale is soft and tender. *
- When ready to serve, add the chickpeas and parmesan cheese and stir well. Toss with additional dressing to your liking.
- Divide into bowls and serve topped with sliced chicken, or protein of choice. Garnish with additional black pepper to your liking.
Nutrition Facts
per 1 serving salad; based on 4 large servings (nutrition facts also include 4 oz chicken + ¼ chickpea crouton recipe)
368 Calories, 12 gram fat, 42 gram protein, 19 gram total carbohydrate, 8 grams of fiber, 4 gram sugar, 366 mg sodium
Notes:
Be sure to remove the stems from the kale. The stems are tough and stalky for a raw salad.
Use my lemon garlic marinated chicken recipe or add your favorite protein to make this a complete meal. Options include: shrimp, fish, steak, hemp seeds, nuts, tofu and more.
*kale should reduce down in size from massaging it