Best Kale Caesar Salad

This Best Kale Caesar Salad Recipe is a healthy kale Caesar salad featuring a mix of raw kale, Romaine lettuce, roasted brussels sprouts, cherry tomatoes, croutons, golden raisins, and pistachio nuts all tossed in a delicious homemade Caesar dressing without anchovies.  Serve this healthy Kale Caesar Salad as a side to grilled chicken or fish, or as a light vegetarian main.

Healthy Kale Caesar Salad is a fresh crunchy make-ahead salad that comes together in a pinch and it tastes even better the next day.  

A Classic Caesar salad made with Romaine lettuce, croutons and Parmesan cheese and tossed in a Caesar salad dressing is one of those simple salads that seems to be popular with just about everyone.  We switch things up just a bit with this Kale Caesar Salad recipe by using a mix of curly kale and Romaine lettuce, and by adding in brussels sprouts, cherry tomatoes, raisins and pistachio nuts. One of the really great things about this Kale Caesar Salad, is it tastes even better the next day after the kale leaves have soaked in some of the dressing.

Kale Caesar Salad Recipe

This healthy Caesar salad with kale has a few more ingredients added to the mix than classic Caesar salad does, which adds extra flavor and texture and makes it a really satisfying salad that your whole family will love!

• Greens – We use a mix of curly kale and Romaine lettuce for this salad, but you can use all kale (or all Romaine) if you like.
• Brussels sprouts – Easy roasted Brussels sprouts adds flavor and makes this salad more satisfying.
• Croutons – What would a Caesar salad be without croutons? We use homemade Herb Croutons or Parmesan Croutons for this salad.
• Tomatoes – We add cherry tomatoes to the mix, but you could add cut wedges of Roma tomatoes instead if you like.
• Extras – We toss in golden raisins to add a little sweetness to this earthy salad, and pistachio nuts for a little crunch.
• Salad Dressing – We use a light homemade Caesar Dressing without anchovies to things with.

Variations

• Toss Parmesan cheese shavings into the mix.
• Add grilled chicken or fish on top of the salad to make it a complete meal.

How to Make Caesar Salad with Kale

This Kale Caesar Salad is so easy to make and comes together in about 40 minutes start-to-finish.  While the croutons and brussels sprouts are roasting in the oven, get the rest of the salad and dressing pulled together.

1. Make croutons: Cut the bread into cubes, toss in olive oil and spread in single layer on baking sheet and bake. 
2. Roast Brussels Sprouts: 
3. Make Caesar dressing: Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth or add the ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk by hand.
4. Assemble salad: Add the chopped kale and Romaine lettuce to a bowl. Toss in the cooled brussels sprouts, golden raisins, pistachios and tomatoes.  Drizzle dressing over the ingredients and toss.  Add finely grated parmesan cheese or shavings (if using) and croutons and toss again.  Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.

Caesar Salad Dressing

We omit the anchovies and raw egg for this quick and easy-to-make Caesar dressing.

• Garlic
• Lemon juice
• Dijon mustard
• Mayonnaise (I prefer Best Foods)
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Parmesan chee

How to Make Caesar Salad Dressing

Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.  This is my preferred method for making this dressing because it turns out creamier.  But if you don’t want to dirty your blender, then here’s the method for hand-whisking this dressing.  Either way, this dressing comes together in about 5 minutes start-to-finish.

• Slice garlic:  Thinly slice the garlic and mash the slices with a fork or the side of a knife to form a paste.
• Whisk lemon juice, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise and garlic: Add the lemon juice, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise and garlic to a bowl and whisk to blend well.  
• Add olive oil:  Gradually drizzle the olive oil in with the lemon juice, Dijon mustard and mayonnaise mixture until emulsified.
• Stir in parmesan cheese:  Stir in the parmesan cheese and blend well.
• Season:  Add salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
• Storage. Store dressing in an airtight container or mason jar with a tightly sealed lid. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Should I Remove the Stems From Kale?

The kale stems of curly kale and Lacinato kale (Dinosaur kale) are tough and chewy. You don’t need to remove the stems if you’re adding kale to juices or smoothies, or tossing them in soups, stews and a stir-fry, but when it comes to salads, it’s better to remove the stems first.

How Do You Cut Kale From The Stem?

There’s a couple of easy methods to remove kale from the stem, one is to simply tear the leaves from the stem and the other is to cut the leaves away from the stem.

1. Tear Leaves – Hold the stem in one hand and pull the leaves away from the stem with your other hand.
2. Cut Leaves – Cut kale one leaf at a time by placing a whole piece of kale on a cutting board and fold it in half so the long stem is facing outward.  Using the tip of a small sharp knife, cut along the sides of the tough stems.

Is Kale Good For You?

Kale is highly nutritious, rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and its low in calories.  

• Rich with Quercetin and Kaempferol, which are powerful antioxidants 
• Good source of Vitamin C (also antioxidant)
• Rich source of beta-carotene (another antioxidant)
• Good source of Vitamin K which is important for blood clotting
• Contains indole-3-carbinol, which is a substance that may possibly help prevent certain types of cancer
• Rich with lutein and zeaxanthin which are powerful nutrients that protect eyes from cataracts and macular degeneration
• It’s low calorie and high water content may help with weight loss

What’s in Caesar Dressing

Traditional Caesar salad dressing recipe is a mix of garlic, tangy Dijon, Parmesan cheese, freshly-squeezed lemon juice, raw egg yolks and anchovies.  Classic Caesar salad (made with Romaine lettuce tossed with Caesar salad dressing) was the creation of  Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant who owned restaurants in America and Mexico. 

The Caesar salad dressing recipe we use for this healthy Kale Caesar salad recipe is a vegetarian version, using mayonnaise instead of raw egg yolks and omitting the anchovies altogether.  If you’re like me, you’ll have these simple Caesar dressing ingredients on hand so you can make it on a whim any time you crave it.

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Yield: 4 Servings

Best Kale Caesar Salad

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

This Best Kale Caesar Salad Recipe features a fresh mix of raw kale, Romaine lettuce, roasted brussels sprouts, cherry tomatoes, croutons, golden raisins, and pistachio nuts all tossed in a delicious homemade Caesar dressing without anchovies. 

Ingredients

For the Croutons

• 6 cups day-old bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 6 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated

For the Brussels Sprouts

• 10 Brussels sprouts, sliced in half lengthwise
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• pinch of salt

For the Caesar Salad Dressing

• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3-4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

For the Salad

• 1 bunch of curly Kale, stem removed and chopped
• 1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
• 10 Roasted Brussels sprouts
• 1 cup homemade croutons
• 12 Cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup roasted pistachios nuts and 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1 cup Caesar salad dressing

Instructions

For the Roast Brussels Sprouts

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Add 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil to a medium bowl.
3. Add cut brussels sprouts and toss in the olive oil.
4. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the sprouts.
5. Pour sprouts on a foil-lined baking sheet in a single layer.
6. Roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes until they turn crispy on the outside.

For the Croutons.

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium low heat.
3. Transfer the bread cubes to a mixing bowl and drizzle the melted butter over them. Toss well to coat bread.
4. Immediately sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese over the bread cubes and toss again.
5. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the croutons are crisp and golden colored on the outside.
6. Stir once or twice while baking. At the half-way mark, you can sprinkle more Parmesan cheese over the croutons if you want them extra cheesy.
7. Remove from oven and cool before tossing in salads

For the Dressing

1. Whisk lemon juice, Dijon mustard and mayonnaise in a mixing bowl.
2. Gradually drizzle in olive oil and whisk until emulsified.
3. Whisk in parmesan cheese. Add black pepper to taste.

Note: You can also add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. This is my preferred way to make this dressing.

Prepare Kale and Romaine

1. Using the point of a knife, cut along the sides of the kale stems, then chop the kale leaves into bite-size pieces.
2. Cut Romaine leaves lengthwise and gather in a bunch, then cut them across into bite-sized pieces.

Assemble Salad

1. Add chopped kale and Romaine lettuce to a large bowl.
2. Add the roasted Brussels sprouts, cherry tomatoes, golden raisins and pistachios and toss.
3. Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss so ingredients are lightly tossed.
4. Add croutons and Parmesan cheese shavings (if using) and toss again.
5. Divide salad evenly on salad plates.

Notes

Variations

• Toss Parmesan cheese shavings into the mix.
• Add grilled chicken or fish on top of the salad to make it a complete meal.

How To Cut Kale From The Stem

There's a couple of easy methods to remove kale from the stem, one is to simply tear the leaves from the stem and the other is to cut the leaves away from the stem.

1. Tear Leaves - Hold the stem in one hand and pull the leaves away from the stem with your other hand.
2. Cut Leaves - Place a whole piece of kale on a cutting board and fold it in half so the long stem is facing outward.  Using a sharp knife, slice the leaves down along the stem.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1720Total Fat: 143gSaturated Fat: 34gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 103gCholesterol: 100mgSodium: 2997mgCarbohydrates: 94gFiber: 21gSugar: 24gProtein: 30g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.