This delicious Kale Caesar Salad is bright, fresh, hearty, and so delicious! The creamy tahini caesar dressing, crispy chickpeas, and perfectly cooked chicken all come together to make the perfect salad.
Why You’ll Love This Lemony Kale Caesar Salad with Chicken!
- It’s hearty – the addition of kale makes this salad hearty, delicious, and filling. This is a great way to use kale if you’ve been looking for some new ways to add it to your diet.
- It’s full of flavor – fresh lemon zest, the best tahini caesar, crispy chickpeas, and perfectly seasoned chicken all come together to create a salad that is PACKED with flavor!
- It’s SO EASY to make – this salad has a few step to get you to the end goal but each one couldn’t be easier.
Kale Caesar Salad Video: Watch How to Make This Recipe
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Kale Salad Ingredients
Chicken Breast: to make sure this salad is packed with protein we’re using boneless skinless chicken breast. The chicken is seasoned simply but perfectly and is a great addition to the salad.
Kale: this recipe calls for tuscan, also called lacinato, kale.
Romaine: I like to combine both kale and romaine in my salad so that’s what we’re doing here!
Pumpkin Seeds: not only are pumpkin seeds delicious and add some extra crunch to the salad, they’re also packed with nutrients.
Crispy Chickpeas: these are crispy, delicious, and add the perfect crunch to the salad.
Red Onion: a little red onion adds just the right amount of delicious onion flavor.
Lemon Zest: fresh lemon zest is such a delicious addition to this salad. The lemon flavor combined with the tahini caesar dressing and all of the other elements of the salad is just so good.
Shaved Parmesan: this is a must have in any good Caesar salad. It adds the perfect salty, nutty, bite.
Tahini Caesar: this creamy dressing pulls the salad together in the most flavorful way.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Curly Kale – if you prefer the taste or texture of curly kale then feel free to swap it for tuscan kale in this recipe.
- Pumpkin Seeds – swap the pumpkin seeds for sliced almonds or chopped candied nuts instead.
- Chickpeas – don’t have time to roast the chickpeas? no problem! just rinse them, drain them, and then add to the salad. If you still want that extra crunch then feel free to buy pre-made crispy chickpeas instead!
- Chicken – swap the chicken for another protein, like salmon, if you prefer! You could also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs if you like.
Creamy Tahini Caesar
What pulls this salad together is the delicious and creamy tahini caesar dressing. It’s a fun spin on a traditional caesar dressing that I know you’ll love!
Here’s what you need:
- greek yogurt
- tahini
- garlic
- parmesan cheese
- water
- lemon juice
- dijon mustard
- Worcestershire sauce
Recipe Variations
- Add extra veggies – want to add a few more veggies to your salad? go for it! Bell pepper, cucumber, or tomato would all be delicious additions.
- Add fruit – try throwing in a handful of dried cranberries or thinly sliced apples to the salad.
- Keep it vegetarian – leave out the chicken altogether and add some diced avocado instead.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make this Kale Caesar Salad Recipe
Step One: Make the crispy chickpeas! Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet parchment paper. Spread the chickpeas onto the baking sheet and drizzle on the olive oil. Toss the chickpeas until coated in oil. Roast the chickpeas at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, or until the chickpeas are crispy and deep golden brown. Remove the chickpeas from the oven and immediately season them with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Toss until well coated.
Step Two: Make the tahini caesar dressing! Add the Greek yogurt and tahini to a mixing bowl and whisk together until well combined. Next, slowly stream the water into the tahini mixture while whisking until well combined. Next, whisk in the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, crack black pepper, and salt. Lastly, fold in the grated parmesan cheese. Adjust the salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste. If you would like the dressing to be a thinner, add an additional tablespoon of water at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
Step Three: Add the chopped kale and chopped romaine to large mixing bowl. Toss with a few spoonfuls of caesar dressing until well coated. Top the salad with pumpkin seeds, sliced red onion, crispy chickpeas, lemon zest, and shaved parmesan cheese. Set aside while you make the chicken.
Step Four: Season the chicken breast on both sides with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and then add the chicken breast. Cook for 5 minutes per side until the chicken is golden brown and internal temperature is 165 degrees. Let the chicken rest for five minutes before slicing.
Step Five: Top the salad with the warm chicken and serve.
Meal Prep Tips
Want to make this recipe for your weekly meal prep? Here are my favorite tips:
- Make the chickpeas: you can make the crispy chickpeas a few days in advance and store them in an airtight container in your pantry.
- Make the dressing: make the dressing in advance and then store in an air-tight container like a mason jar.
- Chop and store your veggies: make throwing your salad together extra easy by chopping your veggies in advance and then storing in air-tight containers in the fridge.
- Assemble but leave off the dressing: you can easily assemble the salad a day in advance and leave off the dressing until 30 minutes to an hour before serving.
How to Store
Store any leftover salad in an air-tight container in the fridge for 1-2 days.
More Delicious Recipes
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I hope you give this Kale Caesar Salad a try! It’s the perfect hearty and delicious salad! If you do give this recipe a try, let me know!
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Print
Kale Caesar Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: lunch and dinner
- Method: oven and stoevetop
- Cuisine: italian inspired
- Diet: Gluten Free
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: lunch and dinner
- Method: oven and stoevetop
- Cuisine: italian inspired
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 4 cups chopped lacinato/tuscan kale
- 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/3 cup crispy chickpeas
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
- zest of one lemon
- 1/4 cup shaved parmesan cheese
Tahini Caesar
- 1/3 cup whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup tahini
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
- juice of 1 large lemon
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Crispy Chickpeas
- 1 – 15oz can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and dried with kitchen towel
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
For the Chicken
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast (split in half lengthwise)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Method
- Make the crispy chickpeas! Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet parchment paper. Spread the chickpeas onto the baking sheet and drizzle on the olive oil. Toss the chickpeas until coated in oil. Roast the chickpeas at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, or until the chickpeas are crispy and deep golden brown. Remove the chickpeas from the oven and immediately season them with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Toss until well coated.
- Make the tahini caesar dressing! Add the Greek yogurt and tahini to a mixing bowl and whisk together until well combined. Next, slowly stream the water into the tahini mixture while whisking until well combined. Next, whisk in the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, crack black pepper, and salt. Lastly, fold in the grated parmesan cheese. Adjust the salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste. If you would like the dressing to be a thinner, add an additional tablespoon of water at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
- Add the chopped kale and chopped romaine to large mixing bowl. Toss with a few spoonfuls of caesar dressing until well coated. Top the salad with pumpkin seeds, sliced red onion, crispy chickpeas, lemon zest, and shaved parmesan cheese. Set aside while you make the chicken.
- Season the chicken breast on both sides with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and then add the chicken breast. Cook for 5 minutes per side until the chicken is golden brown and internal temperature is 165 degrees. Let the chicken rest for five minutes before slicing.
- Top the salad with the warm chicken and serve.
