Kale Caesar Salad Recipe (Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Paleo)

If you still haven’t ventured into the delicious world known as kale and chard, let me reassure you: there’s a reason for the green food craze!

People often ask me for recipes so they can become familiar, and comfortable, with these greens. This recipe is a delicious way to test out the world of kale and chard.

Kale-2

Kale and chard are the new spinach. Both are incredibly good for you (read about that here). Kale has the benefits found in broccoli, cabbage, and radish.  Chard is in the spinach family, and has all the same benefits. All cancer-fighting, youth-promoting. Kale even helps your brain because of the sulfuric compounds.

Curly Kale in GardenWe are bless to have a huge crop of various types of kale this season. In this recipe, I was able to blend two types of kale, chard, and a few amaranth leaves. I didn’t go crazy on the amaranth leaves, as I didn’t want it to change the recipe too much.

Dino Kale-Curly Kale

On the left: curly kale. On the right: dino kale. (Side note: You can buy these as starts and easily grow them in a small box or large pot. It feels great to eat what you grow. =0)

Chard-Amaranth Leaves2Left: Chard leaves. Right: amaranth leaves

 This recipe is versatile. You won’t actually need any amaranth in this recipe. I added it because our garden is going crazy with leafy food! You can use any type of greens you have. Since most grocers now carry either kale, chard, or both, let yourself have the adventure of these greens. If you have access to other greens, like mustard or kohlrabi greens, toss those in here too!

[ctt title=”Kale and chard are the new spinach.” Share the love and tweet this recipe to your pals.” tweet=”Kale & chard are the new spinach. Eat em in this caesar salad. http://ctt.ec/9k723+ #vegan #vegetarian #paleo #glutenfree @franceslarnold” coverup=”9k723″]

If you’re not feeling too adventurous, you can also use regular romaine or spinach.

Kale - Chard_Caesar Salad 10Thoroughly wash your greens. Shake off excess water. Then, chop.

Kale - Chard_20150708_15_44_03_ProTell me those greens aren’t beautiful. I double dog dare you. ;0)

Kale - Chard_Caesar SaladInto the bowl they go! Add half of your greens, dressing & 1/3 of the cheese.

Kale - Chard_Caesar Salad3Toss well to coat. The volume of greens will shrink.

Kale - Chard_Caesar Salad2Add the other half of the greens, dressing, 1/3 of the cheese. Toss again. Watch the greens compress.

Homemade Casear Salad DressingHomemade caesar dressing. It’s very inexpensive and wildly easy to make.

Kale - Chard_Caesar Salad5Place in serving bowls. Sprinkle remaining cheese over salad.

Kale - Chard_Caesar Salad8Or, top with onion flower if you “accidentally ate” the rest of the cheese. =0)

Kale - Chard_Caesar Salad9Onion flowers from the garden give a light onion flavor. Did you know these are also edible?

Kale - Chard_Caesar Salad6Delicious! Try it with a little sourdough toast.

Kale - Chard_Caesar Salad 7Lasts in the fridge about 2 days (if people somehow resist scarfing it down).

Ready to dive in, foodie friends? Here we go!

Salad Ingredients

  • 1 bunch organic kale – kale is notoriously sprayed with a lot of pesticides
  • 1 bunch chard (or any mashup of greens that you might have available)
  • 4 tablespoons Caesar Vegan Dressing (I love this co-op and buy it from them)
  • 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan or Reggiano cheese
  • Optional: 1/4 cup chopped green onion, chives, or onion flower

Instructions: 

Wash your greens well. Remove the fibrous stems (you can keep the softer portion of the stem. Reserve the stems in your veggie crisper, as they are great in a smoothie, soup, or sauteed.)

Shake off excess water. Chop greens into 1-inch pieces. (Pro tip: stack the leaves. Make long slices from top to bottom of leaves. Then, cut cross-wise, so that you have 1-inch pieces.)

Add greens to a bowl. Add dressing and cheese. Mix thoroughly. If the greens don’t all fit in your bowl, mix half of the greens and blend with half of the dressing & cheese. Then add the other half and blend.

Vegan Caesar salad dressing recipe is here

Vegetarian Caesar salad dressing recipe is here

Paleo Caesar Salad dressing recipe is below:

Ingredients

Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.com

  • 4 small garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 small can anchovies (or 5 filets)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon gluten-free Worcestershire sauce
  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients into blender. Blend until smooth and well-combined. Adjust spices if needed.

Dino KaleOrganic kale. We let the garden bugs and slugs have dinner before having our own. Because we are polite to nature like that.

Let me hear your feedback

Sooooo, what do you think? If you give this a thumbs up, PLEASE SHARE IT. Just push any of those social sharing buttons so that your buddies can have a chance to try something new, too. In the comments, let me know how you eat your greens!

Can I get a “kale yeah?”

Now, go get your nom-nom on,

signature Frances

Comments

One response to “Kale Caesar Salad Recipe (Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Paleo)”

  1. Thanks Frances! I’m always looking for more kale recipes, and summer time is perfect for more salads.

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