We've talked about my aversion to a traditional Caesar dressing before and I'm happy to say I'm working through it! But, in the meantime, I've also discovered the best vegan Caesar dressing ever and this Avocado Kale Caesar is going to be your new go to! PRO TIP: If you have leftovers, or are looking for a lunch on the go, you can convert this recipe into a Chicken Caesar Wrap.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
This Kale Caesar literally everything I've wanted in life and more. Crispy lettuce, crunchy breadcrumbs, the tahini dressing of your dreams and some Everything But The Bagel seasoning to boot. I'll be chowing down on this all week long and I can guarantee that I won't get sick of it. But... If you want to switch up the greens, try my epic go-to kale salad. Delish!
The dressing is like a smooth and creamy hummus that gives the kale the BEST flavor. I make it ahead of time every sunday night and keep it on hand to use all week long. It saves for about 10 days in the fridge but I promise you'll go through it even faster! It's also great drizzled on top of some roasted veggies!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- French Bread a few days old
- Olive Oil
- Unsalted Butter
- Garlic
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Italian Seasoning
Tahini Caesar Dressing
- Tahini
- Fresh Lemon Juice
- Olive Oil
- Garlic
- Water
- Kosher Salt
- Salad
- Tuscan Kale
- Romaine Heart
- Gaby’s This is Everything Seasoning
- Avocados
*For a full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card below.
How to Make Avocado Kale Caesar
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the bread into small cubes. Transfer cubed bread to a parchment lined baking sheet.
Step 2: Drizzle the bread with the olive oil and butter and then sprinkle with garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
Step 3: Using your hands, gently toss the croutons and make sure they are coated with all the oils, butters and seasonings.
Step 4: Bake for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.
Step 5: In a small bowl, whisk together the tahini, lemon, oil, and garlic.
Step 6: Whisk until smooth. Add the water and continue mixing and season with salt.
Step 7: Transfer the lettuce and kale to large bowl and add the dressing and toss to coat.
Step 8: Add the croutons, tuck the avocado in, and sprinkle the salad with the everything but the bagel seasoning blend. Serve immediately.
How to Store Avocado Kale Caesar
I would recommend eating this fresh since it does not stay well with the dressing mixed. That said, you can store any extra dressing and croutons in the fridge for a week, and make more salads.
Tips & Tricks
Dressing keeps in the fridge for a week, and extra croutons are never a bad thing either. This means you can enjoy salad any day of the week!
FAQs
Which kale is the best for this salad?
I recommend Tuscan Kale for this salad. If you only have curly kale, you can use it, however, it is less tender which makes it slightly less suited for this salad. If you choose to use it, I recommend removing the ribs and shredding it finely.
Can I make this gluten-free?
Yes! Just use gluten-free bread or nuts instead of the french bread for croutons.
Similar Recipes
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today
Avocado Kale Caesar
Ingredients
Croutons:
- 6 ounces french bread a few days old
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Tahini Caesar Dressing:
- â…“ cup tahini
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons water
- kosher salt
Salad
- 1 bunch Tuscan kale ribs removed and shredded
- 1 whole romaine heart shredded
- 3 tablespoons Gaby’s This is Everything Seasoning
- 2 ripe avocados cut into large wedges
Instructions
To make the croutons
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut the bread into small cubes. Transfer cubed bread to a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Drizzle the bread with the olive oil and butter and then sprinkle with garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
- Using your hands, gently toss the croutons and make sure they are coated with all the oils, butters and seasonings.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.
To make the dressing
- In a small bowl, whisk together the tahini, lemon, oil, and garlic. Whisk until smooth. Add the water and continue mixing and season with salt.
To prepare the salad
- Transfer the lettuce and kale to large bowl and add the dressing and toss to coat. Add the croutons, tuck the avocado in, and sprinkle the salad with the everything but the bagel seasoning blend. Serve immediately.
STRONGLY recommend to use the whisk attachment of an immersion blender to blend the dressing together. Otherwise it’s a pain with the tahini!
we use a blender!! but yes, it takes elbow grease to do it by hand! lol
Love this! Easy to prepare and very flavorful! Instead of French bread, I used stale sourdough sliced bread from Trader Joe’s and came out so good!
This salad is sooo good! I even converted my husband who usually doesn't like kale. This is great as I always have kale from my weekly csa box, definitely a repeat meal.
Could you please give us options to your seasonings? Loyal followers would appreciate that.
This was really good! The croutons are amazing.
The best! Loved everything about it- the crunchy croutons, dressing, everything! I added chicken for some protein and it was just nummy. Thanks Gaby!!
I love a solid salad for dinner but it’s got to be hearty so this was perfect. I skipped the bread just because we are avoiding gluten, and added roasted sweet potatoes. My husband loved this recipe too!
This was SUCH a nice change from the heavy cashew-based caesar dressing that I usually make. The kale + romaine combo was perfect and the croutons were the perfect topping. Will be making again, thank you for this inspiration!
Best. Salad. Ever. Been craving salad for days and finally made this today and hands down the best dressing I’ve made and the everything seasoning is the perfect addition!
So yummy ! I have tried and failed to make a good tahini dressing . When I made this last night I thought it was OK . However ... I just used it again for lunch and After sitting overnight and it was nice and cold it was so much better ! I will add this one to my list for sure . The only other thing I did was massage my kale with a little olive oil / lemon juice . I prefer kale that way !
This is my new favorite salad! The dressing is delicious and the homemade croutons are everything!! Sometimes I add grilled chicken to the top to make this a full meal - so so good!
Thank you for posting this kale salad!!! Can I substitute Baby Kale or romaine lettuce?
either or!