Healthy Charred Kale Caesar Salad

Kale Caesar Salads are super popular right now; they’re everywhere, all over restaurant menus and Pinterest.  I was fascinated by the idea of a Kale Caesar Salad and when I first tried one at a restaurant, I was disappointed… it was mostly romaine lettuce, definitely not-homemade croutons, a barely visible shaving of parmesan, a lack of dressing, and the only highlight was a few pistachios sprinkled in for good measure.  Not how I imagined a Kale Caesar Salad…. So I decided to make my own, better version at home.  This is the ultimate healthy Charred Kale Caesar Salad with garbanzo bean croutons.

Charred kale is the best.  The charring process enriches kale from a very hearty lettuce to a savory, slightly crunchy, tender leaf.  So of course I used charred kale for my salad. Kale has lots of health benefits too.  Check out this article with 26 Science-Backed Health Benefits of Kale.

And then I decided to use roasted garbanzo beans in place of croutons.  The garbanzo beans add fiber and protein, which is slowly digested and will keep blood sugars low (bonus nutrition fact!).  And roasted garbanzo beans enhance the flavor of any dish you add them too.  And they make a good snack (another food obsession).  You could make this salad as a vegetarian main entree, or I recommend pairing it with my Best Chicken Thighs in Lemony Greek Yogurt Sauce.  It’s delicious with chicken.  I’ve been making this for Kris for the last few months and we absolutely love it!!!  You can chill or serve this as a warm salad.

I was a little hesitant to post this salad because I feel like there are sooooo many Kale Caesar Salads, and I didn’t want to add to the noise.  There are also a ton of Greek yogurt salad dressing recipes out there as well.  But because I can’t get over how amazingly good this salad is, I decided to go for it and post it!

To experience how truly awesome this salad is, you have to make your own Caesar dressing; it won’t be the same if you use store-bought dressing.  And you have to use full fat Greek yogurt.  And do not leave out the anchovies!  You must add the anchovies.  But only one or two anchovies.  One time when I was making the dressing, I added three anchovies because there were only three left, and I didn’t want to just throw away the last little anchovy…. I thought it tasted okay, maybe a little salty, but Kris….well, Kris said it was so awful he wanted to puke… haha.  Lesson learned, only one or two anchovies in Caesar dressing.  Besides that one instance when I added the extra anchovy, Kris has had nothing but praise for this salad.

Hope you love this salad as much as we do!

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Healthy Charred Kale Caesar Salad

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

35 mins

 

Savory charred kale tossed with roasted garbanzo beans, homemade Greek yogurt dressing, and shredded parmesan.

Course: Dinner, Salad, Vegetarian

Servings: 2 -4

Author: Emily

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of kale washed, stems removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
• 1 can of garbanzo beans rinsed and drained
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup pistachios
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• For the Dressing: 1/2 cup full fat Greek yogurt 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese, 2 tbsp olive oil, juice 1/2 lemon, 1 minced garlic clove, 1-2 anchovy fillets, 1/4 tsp dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste.

Instructions

1. To roast the garbanzo beans: heat 1 tsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garbanzo beans to skillet and season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until garbanzo beans are crispy and slightly charred. Once garbanzo beans are roasted, remove from heat and place in a large bowl.
2. To char kale, heat skillet over medium heat, add 1 tsp olive oil. Add half of kale to skillet, season with salt and pepper. Let kale roast for 5-8 minutes and then remove from pan, add to bowl with garbanzo beans. Char remaining kale.
3. To make the Caesar dressing: In a medium bowl mix together Greek yogurt, parmesan, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, anchovies, dijon, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. To serve, toss charred kale and garbanzo beans with Greek yogurt Caesar dressing, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, and 1/4 pistachios. Can be serve warm or chill for 1 hr prior to serving.