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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.
Seemed difficult to make the dressing in the food processor. I think I added 1/4 cup or more of water to get it creamy. Delicious in the end.
I really enjoyed this salad too! I did follow the subs list for the kale as I am definitely not a fan, but this too is a keeper. I agree with others who have said I am so glad I am learning how to make so many healthier dressings myself…what a treat! Thank you for another great recipe.
I overdid the garlic a little. Otherwise the salad was good.
So….I’ve never had kale before. And I’ll eat most anything. So today I found out that I like kale! The cashew garlic aioli is hearty enough to stand up to the kale. Used up my cannelini beans instead of chickpeas. I will definitely make this again.
Good flavor i the dressing. Not too much of a kale fan.
What a treat to have a vegan Caesar salad! The kale & the cashew garlic aioli are delicious! Next time, I am going to toast the chickpeas and use as a topping.
Oh so yummy! Lots of delicious garlic flavour and very filling with addition of the chick peas. I totally appreciate this heathy version of a Cesar salad.
Very good salad! Love the flavors and loved the addition of the “parmesan cheese” (recipe listed separately). I did a 50/50 blend of kale and lettuce because my kale looked stiff and intimidating but next time I would do all kale. The massage technique worked great. I will definitely make this again!
Ceasars are one of my favs!!
This healthy nutrition packed version, BIG WIN!!
Aioli is the star – I’m going to use it as veggie dip!! The salad was great too, but the Aioli takes it !! ❤️
I’m not a fan of kale or aioli and my spouse refuses to eat either, so substitutes to the rescue! Could not find dark romaine so green turned out to be an ok option.
I am amazed at how delicious all the salads of this challenge have been…hard to pick a favorite! One more to go….have a feeling it will be another winner!
Love how massaging kale make so much different and dressing is so good. A winner with my family.
OMG. Maybe my favorite salad of all, I love Caesar salads and this one is so good, the dressing is amazing. Full disclosure, I didn’t realize that I had a soak cashews ahead of time so, I used my cashew cream and added all of the other ingredients and a little bit of water to thin it out and it is by far my favorite dressing ever
I’m not a fan of kale or chickpeas but the dressing was awesome! I tried it!
This salad was soooo good! The cashew garlic ailoi was delicious. Pretty quick and easy to throw together as well. Perfect amount of ailoi but a little too much cheese sprinkle. Might become one of our staple salads!
Really like this salad. The kale is perfect for this. I was looking for a recipe to replicate the one from my local vegan resto, mission accomplish.