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Caesar Chickpea Kale Salad
This dense bean Caesar salad comes together with pantry staples and just 20 minutes of hands-on prep. No cooking required except the quinoa and crispy breadcrumb topping. It’s a hearty, fun twist on classic Caesar that only gets better as it sits.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Units
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SALAD
- 4 cups finely chopped kale
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 2 ounces shaved Parmesan cheese
- 3.5 ounce jar capers, drained
- 3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds
DRESSING
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- zest + juice of 1 lemon
- 2 cloves garlic, grated (or finely minced)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
FOR SERVING
- crispy breadcrumb topping
- shaved Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- MASSAGE KALE. Add kale, lemon juice, olive oil, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper to a large bowl. Massage until it turns bright green and begins to wilt. Set aside.
- MAKE DRESSING. In a medium bowl combine yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, Dijon, Worcestershire, fish sauce, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning to suit your taste. Don’t skimp on the salt!
- ASSEMBLE. To the bowl of kale, add chickpeas, quinoa, Parmesan, capers, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.
- DRESS + TOSS. Pour most of the dressing over the salad. Toss to coat everything evenly. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
- SERVE + ENJOY! Toss with the remaining dressing just before serving. Garnish with my crispy breadcrumb topping and shaved Parmesan. Enjoy!
- SHARE THE LOVE. If you loved this recipe, please leave a 5-star rating and review below!
Notes
- Don’t skip massaging the kale. It breaks down that tough, bitter exterior and wilts it into a beautifully tender, delicious leafy green.
- This dressing is thick on purpose. If it feels too thick to toss easily, a teaspoon of water loosens it right up without watering down the flavor.
- Fish sauce does the same job as anchovies but much more conveniently. I promise the dressing won’t taste like fish!
- Hold back the breadcrumb topping and a portion of the dressing until serving time. Adding them too early turns your crunch into mush.
- The salad actually tastes better on day two once the kale has had time to soften more and soak up all that garlicky dressing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of the recipe
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 2.2 g
- Sodium: 1091.6 mg
- Fat: 17.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 31.8 g
- Fiber: 8.9 g
- Protein: 18.3 g
- Cholesterol: 11.4 mg
Find it online: https://midwestfoodieblog.com/caesar-chickpea-kale-salad/
