Kale Avocado Caesar Salad is one of my favorite recipes. Plus it’s one of the tastiest ways I know to eat kale.
Topped with my Super Caesar Dressing, you can enjoy this salad on its own as a light main salad, or as a side salad or starter.
The dressing is also fantastic as a dip for veggies or dressing for other types of salads, or as an alternative to a thicker sauce for raw wraps and sandwiches.
And kale is so good for you: it’s high in calcium and iron, as well as vitamins A, C, and K. Plus it’s a great anti-inflammatory and helps you detox!
Kale is even said to contain compounds that can help prevent certain types of cancer.
If however you have a thyroid condition, use raw kale in moderation as suggested here.
On to the recipe!
Kale Avocado Caesar Salad recipe
Serves 4 as a light main salad (see tips), or more as a side salad or starter.
You will need:
A knife and cutting board
A blender or hand blender (for the dressing)
Ingredients for the salad
- 1 big bowl (about 8 cups/600g) of chopped and washed kale (or cavolo nero cabbage or other dark green leaves), large middle stems removed (see picture below)
- ¼ cup/60ml avocado oil (or olive oil, but avocado oil is super tasty!)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 large avocado, flesh scooped out and cubed
Ingredients for the Caesar dressing
- 1 cup/140g cashews (soak them first – see tips)
- ½ cup/120ml water
- 1/3 cup/80ml olive oil
- ¼ cup/60ml cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped, or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (see tips)
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup, honey, or xylitol (or a pitted date)
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
How you do it
Wash your kale and remove the tough inner stem from the leaves. Save the stems to use in juices or smoothies.
Roughly chop the leaves and put them into a big bowl.
Add the oil and sea salt, and massage the leaves gently (this will help soften the kale before you add the dressing).
Blend all of the dressing ingredients and pour over your salad, mixing well.
Just before serving, top with the cubed avocado and other toppings, if desired (see tips).
Serve and dare your friends to tell you that this isn’t the best salad they’ve ever tasted!
Rocking Raw Chef tips
- For best results, soak the cashews overnight before blending (unless you have a high-speed blender – and even then, your dressing will be creamier if the nuts are well soaked). Then use the soak water from the cashews as part of the total amount of water needed for the dressing. Easy!
- Any leftover Caesar dressing will keep for at least 5 days in the refrigerator.
- Unlike other types of leaves, kale actually tastes better slightly soft. So you can make your salad a few hours in advance: massage the leaves in the oil and salt, make the dressing, and then add the dressing and avocado at the last minute.
- For turning this salad into a quick main meal, double the amount of avocado and top with handfuls of cashews, sprouts, mixed chopped veg, or pieces of chicken/fish/shrimp for those who want meat.
- You could also incorporate cooked pasta, rice, or slices of cooked potato for the “cooked carb” lovers.
- I love this salad with some sprouted crackers too. I make mine myself (you can learn how to make crackers as part of one of my coaching programs), but if you want the five-minute version of sprouted crackers, Amazon has a large selection. You’ll be spoiled for choice!
And what’s more…
This recipe is featured in my 5-Minute Salads and Sauces, along with recipes for Way Better Than Waldorf Salad, Succulent Sprout Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing, Mango Tango Chili Sauce and more.
Enjoy your Kale Avocado Caesar Salad!
And of course, let me know what you think in the comments!
