Meet the new queen of greens! Kale has become so trendy lately because of its strong nutritional values, while remaining very affordable and easily available. Restaurants are reaping the benefits of making kale salads (kale is cheap to buy) and selling them for 10-15$ in NYC! That’s the usual here though and I barely bat an eye these days at exorbitant prices. Instead of buying their pricey, neatly packaged bowl of leafy greens with a dressing on the side though, I took a peek at how they use this veggie and created my own little recipe at home!
A couple of days ago, I needed a side to go with the baked chicken katsu I had made and thought a kale Caesar salad would be perfect. Crunchy and light – the right match for chicken katsu and perhaps some air fryer french fries.
Kale Caesar salad is so yummy! I actually prefer using kale over romaine lettuce as the leaves are firmer, so they don’t wilt so quickly. You can pour dressing over, toss the salad, leave it in the fridge and come back to it a few hours later. It’s still gonna look and taste great! I have a feeling this is going to be the first of many kale salads I’ll be making this summer!
I also made my own croutons and couldn’t believe how easy they were to make:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF, slice some bread and put the pieces on a sheet tray.
- Drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle a little salt and give it a toss.
- Bake for 15 minutes and voila! You’ll have some nice, homemade croutons.
It’s also healthier since many store bought croutons tend to be high in fat.
The dressing can be made in a blender or in a bowl with a whisk. This is a very authentic, oil based Caesar salad dressing which tastes completely different than the creamy ones sold in grocery stores. A true classic Caesar tastes like lemon, anchovies and eggs – though I’ve omitted eggs for this one. If I can’t find high grade quality eggs to use raw, I prefer going without.
Kale Caesar salad
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Mixing Bowl
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
This easy kale Caesar salad is a delicious way to get all your nutrients in one easy salad bowl.
Ingredients
- 6 heaping cups kale, chopped bite size
- 1 clove garlic clove
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Juice and zest of one lemon
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan
- 6 anchovies in oil (drained and patted dry)
- Croutons
Instructions
- Put the garlic, dijon, lemon juice and anchovies in a blender. Blend until smooth and very slowly add olive oil. The dressing should be almost creamy. You can also do this by hand, using a whisk.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss the kale with the dressing, add the parmesan, croutons and lemon zest, and toss one more time.
- Season with salt and pepper and serve cold.
Notes
This kale caesar salad will keep in a storage container, refrigerated, for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 375
- Sugar: 2.4
- Sodium: 628mg
- Fat: 35g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3.4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 8.8g
- Fiber: 1.2g
- Protein: 10.9g
- Cholesterol: 19.7mg
This is a brilliant twist on caesar salad! I have a bunch of baby kale in the garden, and now I know what I am doing with it. Pinning 🙂
Yay! Thank you!
I just made this! I nixed the anchovies and added 3 tsp of Worcestershire to it instead, with roasted garlic(I added about 4 cloves)! The dressing tastes amazing and I have it tossed on the kale now for dinner. My family really doesn’t care for the “rawness” of the kale so I try to marinate it and it really helps to tender the leaves quite a bit! Thanks for the great and tasty recipe!
I’m so glad you liked it! Marinating the kale really does help I agree 🙂 I usually make it an hour or two before serving, which helps the leaves tenderize. I’ll try with Worcestershire!