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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.
Wow! A nice change from regular Caesar salad
I’ve really enjoyed the new spins on the same vegetables that I’ve been using in salads for years
I loved how is Zesty the dressing was my family can be a little cautious when I make new things but they have loved each and every salad and are sad that the 10 day salad challenge is slmost done
I love that your whole family has been participating AND enjoying this 10 day challenge with you, Joni! Family of Rawkstars!
Excellent recipe! There is no need for bottled store bought salad dressings. This dressing easy, simple, so good.
Wow! A nice change from regular Caesar salad
I’ve really enjoyed the new spins on the same vegetables that I’ve been using in salads for years
I loved how is Dusty the dressing was
Another new favourite
A very non traditional but extremely delicious Caesar salad! Especially liked the cashew aioli with an added splash of lemon juice!
So much about this salad was new to me: the cashew aioli, massaging the kale, the vegan parmesan. I skipped that last one for the sake of convenience (I had dairy Parm in the fridge), but I was pleasantly surprised with this recipe. It was filling & flavorful – I will revisit this one!
The Kale Caesar Salad is insanely good and the cheesy topping is to die for!!
What makes this a perfect salad is the way the flavors perfectly blend and compliment each other without any one standing out over the other.
On my own, I certainly would have added too many pepitas and garbanzo beans and it would not have been nearly as good. There is genius in the details!
Definitely going to my next potluck! YUM!!
I love all the ingredients. Yummy salad and dressing!
I love Kale and enjoyed this take on a Caesar salad. I think I was too skimpy on the lemon and garlic in the aioli and will increase both next time.
It’s amazing how much I can enjoy the vegan version of something so much more than the original. Granted I don’t really like actual Caesar salad; I’m generally not a fan of creamy dressings. SGS consistently makes great choices of ingredients to create excellent flavour combinations! Toasted chickpeas was the piece de résistance.
Aww! I’m so glad you’ve found a Caesar salad recipe that you can enjoy! Thanks, Grace! 🙂
I replaced the mustard with some of the chickpeas, wasn’t sure I’d like it but it was very tasty
I’m pretty sure I’ll be making this salad again. Loved every bit of it even if I couldn’t get the Aioli as creamy as it should have been. I’ll do better next time!
Kale Caesar Salad was very good! I liked the cheeze sprinkle. I had a some difficulty making the dressing but finally got it done. It was not completely smooth but good enough. I would make this again.
If you’re making this in a full blender pitcher or a large food processor, you can try doubling or tripling the recipe – especially since you know now that you like it! It should help with the consistency if there is more volume to blend.
Great job, Mickey! 🙂
I liked the salad. But I put too big of a garlic clove in the dressing, and it was so overwhelming. I used the remaining strawberry dressing from day one to help off set the garlic. I love kale so this was a good salad for me.
I loved this salad!!! My husband has a fantastic green thumb and we are blessed with a bounty of kale in our garden. I’ve never used it in salads because I just didn’t enjoy the texture. Well, I have learned the solution: a good massage in olive oil does the trick! I could not believe how that tenderized the kale, and made for a perfectly delightful salad. I’ll be making this one again!
I wish I could like kale! I use it in smoothies and powder it to sprinkle on stuff, but can’t do it in salad or kale chip form. I gave it a go, though, and if I liked kale this would be delicious!
Wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this one, but the fresh lemon juice squeezed over the massaged kale brought it to the next level! I could eat this every day. Creamy, crunchy, with a little zip – delicious!