Kale Caesar Salad
Prep time
Total time
This vegan-style take on a traditional caesar salad is a perfect pre-prep option for the work week. It will stay fresh for 2-3 days in the fridge and is a great choice for the whole family!
Author: Crystal
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: Vegan
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 2 bundles kale, washed, de-stemmed and torn into bite size pieces**I used organic black or lacinato "dinosaur" kale (6-8 cups chopped)
- 2 tsp avocado oil
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 avocado, large
- 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 3 Tbsp hemp hearts
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, washed and rinsed
- *Optional ingredients: pumpkin seeds, apricots, peppers, tomato, grilled chicken, eggs
- ** For more of a crouton like crunch, try adding roasted chickpeas
Instructions
- Massage the prepared kale leaves with lemon juice, oil and salt.
- Mash, process or blend the avocado, nutritional yeast, hemp hearts and garlic until combined. It is ready when you have a thick and creamy sauce.
- Add the avocado mix to the kale leaves and massage well - get your hands dirty!!
- **Alternatively mix the kale and sauce in your food processor using the dough-blade.
- Top with chickpeas and any other desired proteins or vegetables
Traditional caesar salads are notorious for being high in calories, saturated fat and provide little value other than a yummy flavour. Using kale to replace the romaine not only boosts the nutrient density, but also serves as a perfect salad-base to make for the busy work week. Kale is a more robust-leaf relative to other salad greens which results in a salad that does not wilt after a few days! 
This salad uses simple, purely plant-based ingredients and takes less than 10 minutes to pull together. I like to make a double batch as this salad will get eaten much quicker than you think!!
The trick to making the kale less “tough” and more palatable in a salad, is to massage. Yes, this means getting in there and getting your hands dirty!! The massaging technique helps to break down the tough cell walls and leaves you with a silky smooth texture.
If you’re not one to get your hands dirty, try using the ‘soft dough-blade’ in your food processor and mix the dressing with the kale for 5-10 minutes.
