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If you shy away from salads because you find yourself hungry 45 minutes after eating one, you aren’t alone. This Kale Caesar Salad is not your average salad. It’s actually filling, creamy and crunchy. Plus, this is a vegan salad, so no bloating, cramping or bathroom runs from a dairy-filled lunch.
Salad isn’t always a filling lunch option, yet I find myself full and satisfied after sitting down to this fun dish. Dress it up to your preference and get ready to enjoy a truly tasty creation.
Ingredients in Kale Caesar Salad
I’ve got two drool-worthy secrets to making this kale caesar salad vegan AND enjoying it even more.
- I smother the whole creation with my Garlic Lemon Aioli. It is seriously good and super easy to make. If you forget to soak the cashews ahead of time then just pour some hot water over them and let them sit for 10 minutes before draining and using.
The Garlic Lemon Aioli is super easy to make, remember to give your cashews time to soak. If you forget to soak them ahead of time, pour hot water over them and let them sit for 10-15 minutes. The drain and add to the recipe. - I use my Vegan Parmesan Cheese recipe that totally tastes like the real deal and yet is completely dairy-free AND packed with protein. Book! I keep a jar of this wonderful creation on hand at all times since it goes with almost everything.
Vegan doesn’t have to be gross, less flavorful or boring. This kale caesar salad still has the creamy dressing and the crunch. It fills me up and doesn’t give me the uncomfortable side effects that dairy does.
How to Make Kale Caesar Salad
- Massage the kale: Squeezing the kale with oil helps soften the hard fibers and aids in digestion. It’ll feel strange the first time you do it, but after the first bite you’ll be sold. If kale isn’t your thing, then swap for dark romaine or do half romaine, half kale and enjoy!
- Puree the dressing: I like to do this in my Vitamix Ascent A3500 blender because I get the best results. Yet you can also make the cashew aioli in a food processor or other high-speed blender. You might want to double the dressing to have it easier for the blades to puree everything.
- Add toppings: What you put on top of your salad is what makes it memorable. Try adding garlic baked chickpeas to create more of a crunchy crouton result. And don’t miss out on the Vegan Parmesan Cheese— it’ll become a staple. Toast the pepitas for a soften crunch and a deeper flavor
Salad Prep Tips
You can make kale caesar salad a day or three ahead! I like to prepare the kale, toppings and dressing in separate containers until ready to eat. That way it’s not soggy and all I have to do it mix it together to eat it. Should last 4 to 5 days in the fridge this way.
Kale Caesar Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups kale stems removed and thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juiced
- ½ cup chickpeas canned, drained and rinsed
- 2 tbsp pepitas raw
- dash sea salt
- dash ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp vegan parmesan cheese
Garlic Lemon Aioli
- ¼ cup raw cashews soaked
- 1 garlic clove peeled
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp lemon squeeze of juice
Instructions
- In a food processor or high-speed blender (small container), puree the Garlic Lemon Aioli ingredients until creamy. If needed, add a few tablespoons of water. The mixture should be thick and creamy.
- Place the kale in a large serving bowl and drizzle it with oil. With clean hands, gently massage the kale until tenderized (5 minutes, at most). Squeeze the lemon juice over the top.
- Mix in the chickpeas and Cashew Garlic Aioli until well combined.
- Serve with pepitas and Vegan Parmesan Cheese.
Video
Notes
- Soaking the cashews for 2+ hours helps get the aioli creamy. If you’re short on time, flash soak in boiling water or just blend them raw. Yet you won’t get as creamy of a dressing.
- Massaging the kale helps relax the leaves as well as takes out some of the bitterness.
- If you don’t have kale on hand, swap with spinach or romaine lettuce.
- Kale does have a bite, so if you’re new to kale then use half kale, half romaine to start.
- Toasting the chickpeas slightly before adding gives them a crouton-like texture.
Nutrition
Common Questions
It depends on what’s in it. The one you get at a restaurant, drowning in dressing and covered in croutons probably isn’t. Yet my version is 100% plant-based, creamy and filling.
This Kale Caesar salad omits the cheese and dairy-based dressing, replacing them with vegan ingredients. My salad has a vegan cheese sprinkle (that’s wonderful!) as well as a dairy-free dressing that you might need to double because it’s so good.
Caesar dressing is dairy-based, which makes it vegetarian yet not vegan. My Kale Caesar salad has a cashew garlic aioli that is super creamy and flavorful and 100% vegan.
I’ve always loved kale, but the oil massage is a game changer for tenderness. The chickpeas add such a nice contrast of texture and add to the tastiness of this salad. I’m a fan of Caesar salad, but I think this is better! If you don’t care for kale, I feel this could be what converts you.
I guess I put too much lemon juice. The flavor was too sharp. And I’m not a fan of kale (but I do love chickpeas & pepitas.)
This sounded like an odd combination of ingredients, but it actually worked! Very tasty.
Kale and I have never been friend because it is so ruff on my gut. So I used spinach. I didn’t buy the kale this week because of that reason. I saw your video on how to massage it to make it more digestible. I will try that next weak with a smaller bag. That was a great thing to include in your video, that. was the first time I have ever heard of that. I made the dressing exactly like you said and it was good. I love chickpeas, cashew, and garlic with lemon that was very good and satisfying. I will try this with the kale next after I go shopping.
Very flavorful and delicious! Always looking for ways to incorporate raw garlic for the health benefits, and this does not disappoint!
A great summer salad when the kale is exploding in my garden!
Love the flavor of this salad. The dressing is delicious!
I love this salad!!!
Picked the kale from the garden and went to work creating yummy dinner
Another amazing recipe. I have had such fun with these salads.
This is my absolute favorite salad! I tried it first during the winter cleanse and have eaten it many times since. It’s creamy, crunchy, and super flavorful.
Really liked this salad. It was filling and the cashew dressing was tasty. I had never made dressing with cashews before.
Massaging kale makes a huge difference!
If you were like me and love the combination of kale and garbanzos, you will absolutely love this salad! The combination of kale, cashew crema salad dressing are only elevated by the garbanzo beans. Perfection!
Kale Caesar
I love kale salad and I like that this recipe gave me new ideas. I prepared it for a pre breakfast and lunch.
I sprinkled nutritional yeast on top in place of an vegan cheese and used walnuts in place of pepitas.
I use lemon and balsamic vinegar for dressings.
Delicious!
I loved this recipe! Massaging the kale so key! I’ll make again 🙂
I’ve never been a fan of Caesar salad. This is probably the best kale Caesar i’ve ever tried.