Cashew Kale “Caesar” Salad
Are you bored by salads? Bagged lettuce with dressing… I get it, it’s easy, but boring.
You need to charge up your salad game and I’ve got a great recipe to add to your rotation…
The Cashew Kale “Caesar” Salad.
There are 3 reasons I love this salad:
1. It’s so flavorful! Crunchy, salty, bright, and creamy.
2. It’s not going to wilt even with the dressing, which makes it great to meal prep. Double the recipe and have enough for tomorrow, without it getting soggy – like any other salad would. It’ll even taste better the next day!
3. This is not a wimpy salad. If you’re going to treat your salad like a full meal, make it a full meal! Make it delicious and filling.
This is a healthy and flavorful take on a kale caesar.
Yes, it’s dairy free, but you wouldn’t know it. Cashews give the dressing its creaminess and nutritional yeast gives a cheesy flavor with extra vitamin B too.
I add capers for some salty, acidic bursts of flavor, plus an extra boost of antioxidants.
The crunchy topping is my favorite part. Do not skip this! Trust me. The seeds give it crunch, hemp seeds give a boost of plant based protein and the nutritional yeast give more cheesy flavor – and those B vitamins again.
You could use all kale if you want, but I think the cabbage gives a nice change of texture.
Make this salad asap and let me know how much you love it by tagging me on Instagram @alannadesalvonutrition
Cashew Kale “Caesar” Salad
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- 1 bunch dino kale thinly sliced
- 1 small head of cabbage ~3 cups, thinly sliced, or ½ of a large cabbage
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons capers
- 1 lb cooked chicken shredded
- Dressing
- ½ cup cashews soaked in hot water for 20-30 minutes
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 anchovy filets
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Crunchy Seed Topping
- ¼ cup hemp seeds
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds or pine nuts
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 clove garlic finely minced or grated
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- First, put the cashews in a small bowl and submerge in hot water to soak for a minimum of 20 minutes.
- Mix the sliced kale and cabbage in a large bowl. Toss with the salt, juice of 1 lemon and olive oil. Set aside while you make the crunchy topping.
- In a small bowl combine the hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, nutritional yeast, salt and garlic powder. Drizzle in the olive oil and stir to combine. Set aside while you make the dressing.
- Strain the soaked cashews and add them to a blender or food processor along with the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar and salt. Blend until it creates a smooth paste. It will likely be thicker than a “normal” dressing. It will mix in well once it’s tossed with the greens, but you can thin it with a tablespoon of water, if you want.
- Now assemble the salad! In the bowl with the kale and cabbage, add about 3 tablespoons of dressing and toss. Add more dressing until you have your desired amount of dressing to greens ratio. You will likely have extra dressing.
- Toss in the capers and shredded chicken. Top the salad with about half of the crunchy seed topping. Again, you don’t have to use all of it and you’ll likely have leftovers. Serve, top each salad with a little extra crunchy topping and enjoy!
- This salad will keep for about 2 days in the refrigerator. The dressing and topping will keep for 5-7 days in the refrigerator which makes this recipe great to have on hand for quick weekday meals.
