Next Post
Eggs in Purgatory with Chile Butter and Feta.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
This Kale Caesar Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Crispy Chickpeas is not your average salad. Sweet potatoes and chickpeas tossed with olive oil, smoky chipotle, and paprika, then roasted until lightly charred, crispy, and delicious. Everything is tossed together with a creamy, lemony parmesan tahini dressing, hearty winter kale, shredded brussels sprouts, and avocado. This salad is easy to throw together, colorful, healthy, and filling. Enjoy this for dinner and save the leftovers for lunch the next day. It’s the perfect wintry salad to kick-start clean eating in 2020.
By now I think you all know how I feel about salad. I despise a boring salad (i.e lettuce and very little else). But I LOVE a GOOD salad (i.e one with greens…carbs and cheese). And if it’s a salad with warm roasted vegetables…well, that scores major bonus points with me. Enter this kale Caesar salad, it’s everything you could ever want a winter salad to be. It has texture, color, a mix of warm roasted vegetables, fresh greens, cheese, and the best creamiest dressing.
And yes, it’s still healthy and so perfect for January.
I’ve been excited to share this salad since the day I first made it…all the way back before Christmas. We’re slowly getting to the end of the recipes I made while my family was in town for the holidays. This salad was inspired by every member of my family…with the exclusion of four of my brothers, of course. Those boys don’t love salad of any kind, so I made this recipe mostly with the girls of the family in mind. I knew everyone (myself included) would devour this recipe in minutes. It’s all the things we love.
The salad details.
Start by roasting up the sweet potatoes and getting the chickpeas extra crispy.
I tossed the potatoes with spicy chipotle powder and smoky paprika for a sweet and spicy flavor. I love this combination of sweet potatoes and spicy, smoky chipotle. But if you prefer a less spicy salad, simply reduce the amount of chili powder or omit it all together. You’ll want to give the potatoes a head start on cooking since they take longer than the chickpeas, but once the potatoes have softened a bit, add the chickpeas right to the same baking sheet and roast until crispy.
The chickpeas end up soaking up some of the spices from the potatoes causing them to come out perfectly seasoned and extra crisp.
While the sweet potatoes and chickpeas roast, toss the salad together. It’s a simple mix of shredded kale and finely shredded brussels sprouts. I love using hearty kale and shredded spouts for winter salads. Not only do they hold up incredibly well to dressings (making them perfect for meal prepping), but they feel heartier. The salad ends up being more filling than your typical green salad.
If you don’t love brussels sprouts, you can just use all kale. Either way, the salad will still be great.
Now, on to that creamy parmesan dressing…
It’s truly one of my favorite dressings…bold statement, but true.
The classic Caesar dressing contains anchovies and raw egg yolk, but this dressing has none of that. I know that technically this is really not a Caesar salad, but hear me out. The flavors are spot on…better if you ask me.
So what’s the key? A combination of creamy tahini (sesame seed paste), Dijon mustard, and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce (did you know that one of the main ingredients in Worcestershire is anchovies?). The tahini adds the creaminess that the raw egg yolk would add, while the Dijon and Worcestershire sauce add all the savory, salty flavors that the anchovies would add. Promise, it’s just as delicious…better actually.
Bonus? No raw eggs means you don’t have to worry about any kind of stomach issues while enjoying this Caesar. I know from experience how not-fun it is to eat a Caesar salad that’s delicious going down…but not so delicious coming back up. Yes, been there, done that.
Meal prepping?
This is your salad! The kale and sprouts hold up wonderfully once this salad has been tossed, I’d say a good day or two. If you want to make the salad last even longer, leave the dressing off, then add just before serving.
The vegetables can be roasted a few days ahead of time and eaten chilled or warmed. Either is great, but you know I love them warm.
As I mentioned, this is not your average Caesar salad. In fact, some of you may argue that this is not a Caesar salad at all since the dressing does not include raw egg yolk or anchovies. Trust me, I debated calling this a Caesar, but in the end, I found the favors to be so similar. So I’m sticking with it.
It’s surely not a classic Caesar, but it surely is delicious. Which is what’s most important in my book…so ENJOY.
Looking for other winter salads? Try my winter pomegranate salad or my super green sun-dried tomato herb salad.
If you make this kale Caesar salad with sweet potatoes and chickpeas, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How To Video:
Kale Caesar Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Crispy Chickpeas
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 515 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 small sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch circles
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder, use to your taste
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 (14 ounce) can chickpeas, drained
- 1 large head kale, shredded
- 4 cups shredded brussels sprouts, or 1 additional head of kale
- 1-2 avocados, sliced
Parmesan Tahini Dressing
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 cloves garlic, grated
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.2. On a large rimmed baking sheet, combine the sweet potatoes, 2 tablespoons olive oil, chili powder, paprika, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Toss well to evenly coat. Transfer to the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, add the chickpeas and remaining oil. Toss with the sweet potatoes and return to the oven for another 20 minutes, until the chickpeas are crisp and the sweet potatoes tender.3. Meanwhile, in a large salad bowl, combine the kale and brussels sprouts. 4. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.5. Toss the roasted sweet potatoes and chickpeas in with the salad. Add the dressing and toss to combine. Top the salad with avocado and additional parmesan. Serve and enjoy! The salad keeps well for 3-4 days in the fridge, add the avocados just before serving.
This post was originally published on January 9, 2020
I love all of your recipes I’ve tried (especially your 30-minute butter chicken meatballs!) – but this is remarkable! Not much can make me stomach kale but wow. The dressing and the sweet potatoes and chickpeas! I let the potatoes and chickpeas come back to room temp before mixing and it was great. Thanks, Tieghan!
Wow yes! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you Grace! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
This salad was AMAZING! Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. The sweet potatoes, spicy chick peas, and tangy dressing was the perfect combination.
Thank you so much Tracey! xTieghan
How do you keep your chickpeas from popping in the oven?
Hi Lindsay! I have not had issues with my chickpeas popping in the oven. I am sorry, I am not really sure how best to advise. Are you using a rimmed baking sheet?
This was REALLY good, Tieghan! Such a surprising combo of flavors! I subbed red leaf lettuce for the kale. I loved the spicy sweet potatoes with the dressing! So glad I tried this!
Thank you so much Coby! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Thanks for the delicious recipe. I guess I can’t post a picture here but it looks great. Lunch prep done for a couple of days. And, I must say that you deal very graciously with those who post negativity. Keep it up!
Amazing! Thank you so much for trying this Donovan! I am so glad it turned out so well for you! xTieghan
We made this a few nights ago. It was so so good! Was worried the sweet potatoes were too much but they were perfect. Thanks! Enthusiastic new follower!!
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you so much Shannon! xTieghan
This salad was fantastic ! The dressing will definitely be in my go to list for salads – it is very similar to Cesar, but lightened up and I really love the tang. I added some fresh dill to mine along with the parsley to great success. The salad as a whole is equally as good with roasted mushrooms to replace the sweet potatoes – I could see myself using whatever veggies I have on hand to top this. Thank you so much !
Thank you Megan! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This was delicious! About long does the dressing keep by itself in the fridge?
Hi Tina! The dressing will keep for at least 1 week in the fridge. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
So, so good, Tieghan!! And SO fast and simple on a late night.
We are not fans of the currently popular Kale, so I mixed 50% baby Kale with 50% Spinach. When you bake the sweet potatoes and chickpeas until crunchy . . . oh so good! Thanks. (:
Thank you! Fast and simple, but delicious is the best! So glad you loved this! xTieghan
This was so good! I forgot Brussels but didnt even miss them. I was a little worries about the dressing because I have never tried tahini before but it was amazing!!! Taste like caesar dressing and pairs so well with the kale, avo and chickpeas. Will definitely be making this again.
Thank you so much Cicely! I am so glad to hear that this turned out so well for you!! xTieghan
This was absolutely delicious!!! The dressing tastes like a perfect Caesar! Thank you so much!
Thank you Cassandra! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This is a keeper!!! I made this tonight and my husband RAVED!!!! I’ve got some leftover dressing (which is SO delicious) and some leftover crispy chickpeas. I’ll be using them again which is really good The leftover salad is my lunch tomorrow.
Thank you, Tiegan!
Thank you Deborah! I am so glad you both loved this os much! Thank you!! xTieghan
I made this last night! Did not have chick peas or brussels sprouts, but it was still delicious and different!! Would like to try it exactly as written next time.
Thank you! I hope you love it more with the chickpeas and brussel sprouts! xTieghan
I made the recipe according to the original posting which said 1 T chipotle powder. I thought that was too much but I always like to follow a new recipe exactly. Glad to see the change to 1-2 t.
We love vegetables and are looking for new recipes to add to the rotation. This is a keeper! The crunch of the Brussel Sprouts, the creamy avocado, and the dressing were a delicious combination. Next time, it will be even better since there won’t be too much chipotle powder. Thank you again for the correction.
Thank you so much Claire! I am so glad you enjoyed this! xTieghan
made this for lunch and it was just delicious! Was short on time so we ended up buying a similar dressing from Whole Foods, but can’t wait to make the dressing in the future. The veggies are delicious, and we added chicken for some extra protein. Great for meal prepping as well!
Thank you so much Morgan! So glad to hear that this turned out so well for you! xTieghan