Kale Caesar Salad

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 chicken and pepper stew I’d made and thought a kale Caesar salad would be purrfect! Low in calories, crunchy and light – the right match for chicken stew and perhaps some potatoes too? (Did someone say cheesy pesto potatoes? I’m hungry now.)

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. Why not, it’s so easy! Preheat the oven to 350, 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. Throw the tray in the oven and boom! 15 minutes later you’ll have some nice, golden home made 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.

If you have some leftover kale (this kale Caesar salad uses about half a large bunch), try my kale and sweet potato soup, it’s really healthy and easy to make as well!

Kale Caesar salad

Print Recipe

This easy kale Caesar salad is a delicious way to get all your nutrients in one easy salad bowl.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 4 people 1x
• Category: Salad

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 6 heaping cups kale (roughly 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

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Put the garlic, dijon, lemon juice and anchovies in a blender. Blend until smooth and very slowly add olive oil (you can also do this by hand, with a whisk). Your dressing should be almost creamy.
2. In a large mixing bowl, toss kale with the dressing, add parmesan, croutons and lemon zest, and toss one more time.
3. Season with salt and pepper and serve cold.

Nutrition

• Calories: 426
• Saturated Fat: 8

Recipe Card powered by