Description

Think dino kale and crunchy romaine, topped with crispy roasted chickpeas, blitzed croutons, vegan parmesan, and a creamy vegan Caesar salad dressing. It’s the perfect winter salad imo!

Ingredients

Scale

Crispy chickpeas

1 can (15.5 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Olive oil

Lemony Caesar Dressing

1 cup cashews, raw
3/4 cup water
3 tbsp lemon juice (about 1 medium lemon)
1 tsp lemon zest (about 1 medium lemon)
1 tbsp vegan worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
1 tbsp non-pareil capers, drained
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Salad

1 small head dino kale, finely chopped
1 small head romaine lettuce, finely chopped
2 cups croutons, crushed or lightly blitzed in a blender*
1/4 cup vegan parmesan, finely grated**

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Instructions

Roast the chickpeas. Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dump the chickpeas onto the baking sheet, and sprinkle over the salt, spices, and olive oil. Toss to combine. Bake the chickpeas in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. If you’re making croutons from scratch, I’d bake them with the chickpeas and then take them out after 8-10 minutes.
Make the dressing. While the chickpeas bake, prepare the dressing. Soak the cashews in a big bowl of boiling water for 10 minutes. Once the cashews are soaked, drain and rinse with cold water and add into a high-speed blender with the rest of the salad dressing ingredients. Blend the dressing on medium, slowly ramping up the speed to high. Let the dressing blend for 2 minutes until smooth and creamy. Taste test and adjust for salt.
Prep the lettuce and kale. The last step is to prep the lettuce and kale. My top tip here is to finely chop the lettuce and kale into small pieces; it just tastes better.
Assemble. Add the chopped lettuce into a large bowl, followed by the blitzed croutons, chickpeas, vegan parmesan, and a generous drizzle of the dressing. Toss to combine, adjust salt, and add more dressing as needed. Enjoy!

Notes

*I like to blitz the croutons in my spice grinder once or twice, it makes the croutons smaller and helps the croutons coat every single leaf in the salad. Leave the croutons whole if you prefer, both ways work. Speaking of croutons, I highly recommend making homemade croutons; they taste so much better. Slice 4 thin slices of sourdough bread, and cut them into small even-sized cubes. Dump the bread onto a parchment-lined baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of kosher salt. Toss and rub the bread until it’s coated in the oil and spice mixture. Bake in the oven at 450°F for 8-10 minutes or until golden-brown and crisp. They burn fast, so keep an eye on them at the 7-minute mark. Keep in mind that the croutons will continue to crisp as they cool on the counter.

**Love VioLife vegan parmesan cheese.