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Plant Based Recipes

This Kale Caesar Will Make Getting Your Greens in Easy

Image shows vegan kale caesar salad topped with vegan parmesan cheese in a large green bowl

Get this super green in a delicious way with a vegan creamy kale caesar salad.

Ready in under 5 minutes, this salad will stay crisp so you can have leftovers for lunch the next day…

…that is if there are any leftovers, because with a recipe this delicious, I wouldn’t count on it ?

Why you’ll LOVE this Vegan Kale Caesar

This Salad is so CREAMY!!!

It’s packed with punchy garlic, fresh lemon and all of those classic caesar flavors we all love.

….you would never guess it was dairy-free!

This caesar salad is a better choice because it’s:

  • ultra-creamy using a cashew base
  • perfectly seasoned with garlic, lemon, and capers
  • high in fiber, iron, beta-carotene, vitamin k, and manganese
  • low in cholesterol, saturated fat, salt, and sugar
  • ready in under 5 minutes
  • great for leftovers the next day
Image shows vegan kale caesar salad topped with vegan parmesan cheese in a large green bowl

Ingredients for a Kale Caesar Salad

Most of these ingredients you’ll probably already have if you normally eat a plant-based or vegan diet.

You will need a high-powered blender like a Vitamix for this recipe.

Alternatively, you can use a regular blender or food processor, but you have to soak the cashews overnight in the fridge before you can make this dressing.

The cashews can be soaked by covering them with 2 inches of water and placing them in the fridge. Be sure to drain them and discard the soaking water before adding them to the blender.

For this salad you’ll need:

  • Raw Cashews. Roasted cashews will not blend as well for this recipe. If you are nut-free, you can swap these for an equal amount of sunflower seeds.
  • 1-2 fresh lemons, juiced.
  • Capers. You can find these in the same aisle as the pickles.
  • Fresh garlic. I used two large cloves, but you could add up to 4.
  • Dry mustard. You can swap this with a teaspoon of yellow or dijon mustard.
  • Black pepper.
  • Vegan parmesan cheese. You can buy this in-store, or you can make your own at home using this Vegan Parmesan Cheese recipe.
  • 2 large bunches of kale, tough stems removed.

You can easily remove the tough stems from the kale by running a knive down the center.

These stems are great to use in soup stock, or blended in a green smoothie or even saved for the juicer.

Image shows vegan kale caesar salad topped with vegan parmesan cheese in a large green bowl

How to make a great kale caesar salad

I love how easy it is to make this salad dressing.

Just through all of the ingredients (except for the parmesan and kale) into the blender and blend on high speed for about 2 minutes.

Then you can toss the kale with the dressing and top with the parmesan cheese and more fresh cracked black pepper.

More vegan recipes to enjoy:

Here are some of my favorite recipes to eat with a kale caesar.

What to add to a Caesar Salad

I love topping a ceasar salad with crispy tofu chicken to make it a well rounded full meal.

Here are a few more ideas:

  1. Crispy BBQ Chickpeas. These will add a bacon flavor to the salad.
  2. sauteed mushrooms
  3. Cooked green lentils
  4. kidney beans
  5. homemade croutons. Just cube your favorite bread (like this oil-free whole wheat) and add some seasonings. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes until crispy and brown.
Image shows vegan kale caesar salad topped with vegan parmesan cheese in a large green bowl

How to soften kale for a salad

If you’d like the kale to take on more of a lettuce texture you can acheive this by massaging it with the dressing.

The acidity from the lemon juice will break down the cell walls in the kale making it soft.

Massage the kale for 3-5 minutes until it reaches the consistancy you’re after.

Vegan Kale Caesar Salad

This vegan Caesar doup is 100% oil-free, egg-free, and super delicious! Packed with punchy garlic and a fresh lemon zing, your greens never tasted so good!

Course Salad
Cuisine American, Canadian, vegan
Keyword Kale Caesar Salad
Prep Time 5 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 98 kcal
Author Megan Kerry

Ingredients

Ingredients Check:

  • 1 cup raw cashews soaked overnight if using a standard blender or food processor
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/4 tsp. dry mustard
  • 1 tsp. capers chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/4 tsp. ground pepper or to taste
  • 2 tbsp. vegan parmesan "cheese"
  • 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 8 cups kale or romaine lettuce

Instructions

  1. Add all of the ingredients excapt for the vegan parmesan cheese and lettuce into a high-powered blender.

  2. Blend on high speed for 2 minutes, until very smooth.

  3. Toss the lettuce with the dressing and top with additional vegan parmesan and fresh cracked black pepper.

Recipe Notes

**Nutritional information is an estimate only.

I love to top this salad with Crispy Tofu Chicken and serve it as “chicken” caesar wrap the next day.

When you toss this dressing with kale, the kale will remain crispy overnight.

New Vegan Meal Plans are Available NOW!

This Vegan Kale Caesar recipe is taken directly from my Classic Italian Comfort Vegan Meal Plan.

Whether you’re new to this whole plant-based thing, or you’ve been eating this way for a while, having a delicious meal plan ready to go is such a time saver.

Learn more about the plans here.

Pin it

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Text reads Ultra Creamy Vegan Kale Caesar. Punchy garlic and fresh lemon zing. egg-free, oil-free, dairy-free. megankerry.com Image is a kale caesar salad topped with crispy tofu chicken.

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Megan Kerry

Megan Kerry is a Vegan Lifestyle Educator and Licensed Practical Nurse. Her content focuses on vegan recipes and ethical living. She is a mom of four children, a long time vegan, and an even longer time foodie. She loves veganizing any and all dishes and sharing her recipes and lifestyle tips with all of you!

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