Kale Caesar Salad with The Best Dressing

Where all my caesar salad lovers at??? When the weather gets warm I start craving salads and fruit. This kale caesar is so good, even kale haters love it! The magic is in the homemade caesar dressing. Word on the curb is this dressing is one of the best you will ever have!

Start with the best dressing you will ever make. Combine mayo, anchovy paste, worscestshire sauce, grated garlic, lemon juice, dijon mustard, kosher salt, black pepper, & grated parmigiano reggiano cheese. Mix well and refrigerate. It’s a good idea to grate all the parmigiano reggiano cheese at this stage so it’s ready for the other components of this recipe.

Next prepare the fresh kale greens. I used curly green kale for this recipe but sometimes I use lacinato or tuscan kale. Clean the kale thoroughly. Kale tends to hold a lot of dirt. I cleaned the kale (and all of my produce) with a mixture of baking soda, vinegar and water. I soak the greens in the liquid for about 5-10 minutes, then rinse thoroughly. After the kale is cleaned, I remove the stem, slice into ribbons and set aside.

Make the parmesan crisp by baking grated parmigiano reggiano cheese on parchment paper for 10 minutes until light golden brown and crisp. This is optional but I highly recommend it. The parmesan crisp gives the salad another level of flavor.

Making croutons is really easy and they can last up to 3 weeks. I slice or tear bread into pieces, drizzle with olive oil, add spices of choice, bake in the oven about 10-15 minutes until toasted.

Assemble the salad and enjoy!

The Kale Caesar Salad with the Best Dressing You’ve Ever Had

kale greens with caesar dressing, croutons, and a parmesan crisp

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 2 bunches kale greens
• 1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese grated

For the Parmesan Crisp

• 1 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese grated

For the Croutons

• 1 loaf fresh italian or french bread

For the Dressing

• 1 cup mayo
• 1 tsp anchovy paste
• 1/2 garlic clove grated
• 1 tbsp worcestshire sauce
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• kosher salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese grated

Instructions

For the Dressing

• Combine dressing ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve

For the Croutons

• Cut or tear bread into cubes
• Drizzle olive oil over bread cubes and add spices of choice
• Bake in the oven for 10- 15 minutes until toasted

Parmesan Crisp

• Add 1 cup of grated parmigiano reggiano cheese, divided into two mounds, to a parchment lined baking sheet
• Bake for 10 minutes or cheese has melted and is a light brown color, set aside
• Clean kale, slice into ribbons
• Gradually dressing and remaining cheese and massage into kale
• Add a little more dressing than you need as the kale will "soak up" the dressing
• Refrigerate for 15 minutes to overnight until ready to serve (kale will not be soggy)
• Assemble salad by adding dressed kale to a bowl, croutons, & parmesan crisp
• Enjoy!

Course: Salad

Keyword: caesar, kale, lunch, Quick & Easy, recipes, salad