I’m here to tell you that you need this grilled asparagus caesar salad in your life! I swear. It’s not just any old asparagus. Oh my gosh. This… is so delicious. So much tastier than it even looks. Truly! This is the best thing I’ve eaten off the grill in a long time. And if […]
I’m here to tell you that you need this grilled asparagus caesar salad in your life!
I swear. It’s not just any old asparagus.
Oh my gosh. This… is so delicious. So much tastier than it even looks. Truly!
This is the best thing I’ve eaten off the grill in a long time. And if you follow my week in the life posts, then you know we grill all year long! I still usually grill at least one dinner a week and we grill on the weekends too, even when it’s cold and snowy.
So it’s not like we’ve been without the grill!
But there is something about this asparagus. Maybe because it’s the first REAL taste of spring and summer off of the grill?
It’s my yogurt caesar dressing – I know I just rambled on about it when I shared our go-to kale caesar.
Asparagus spears that are tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper then thrown on the grill. In a pinch you really could roast these but they just won’t have that smoky, charred flavor.
There’s lots of parmesan.
I like to use both shaved parmesan and then a finely grated parmesan to really hit all the spots.
And sourdough croutons! I like to grill the sourdough slices too, then chop or tear them into pieces. Of course, you could do breadcrumbs like I do in the kale salad. But having bigger croutons here makes the whole dish a little more substantial since there aren’t any greens.
The secret is seasoning everything as you go. Seasoning the asparagus, the bread, the dressing. It’s key!
Oh! And let me tell you about my asparagus caesar hack. Last week I grilled the asparagus and the bread. And then I drizzle the caesar on a slice of the bread, topped it with multiple asparagus spears and parmesan. Kind of like an asparagus caesar toast!
It was perfect too.
Really, it’s all of the flavors here that come together and make you crave warmer weather. Charred, smoky vegetables, creamy dressing, crunchy, golden sourdough. Nutty and savory parmesan.
Everything is super simple, but really delicious when combined. I love a recipe like that.(more…)
Hello, my favorite kale caesar salad! You gorgeous thing, you. I could eat you every single day! My kale caesar is not groundbreaking, but it is something I’ve been making for years. As in, maybe almost a decade? Possibly more? I have my caesar dressing in many places here on the blog, and also have […]
You gorgeous thing, you. I could eat you every single day!
My kale caesar is not groundbreaking, but it is something I’ve been making for years. As in, maybe almost a decade? Possibly more?
I have my caesar dressing in many places here on the blog, and also have some versions of my kale salad (this pizza, this shrimp salad), but not a clear kale caesar post that I can point you to! Which I have needed so many times. Finally, we have a dedicated post to my kale caesar salad!
Because next to the howsweeteats house salad, this is the most made salad in our house. Easily once or twice a week! It’s Eddie’s favorite salad.
Also, there’s a different version (kale + same dressing + something else!) coming in my new book, Everyday Dinners! It’s another variety that we love so much, especially this time of year, and I can’t wait for you to see.
Now back to the caesar. I love all kinds of caesar salads, but kale is our go-to. It’s so chewy (in a good way) and satisfying. It’s hearty enough that if you happen to have leftovers, they actually last a day in the fridge. And my favorite part: it’s a salad you can mostly prep ahead of time. Like, you dress it ahead of time and it only gets BETTER. It doesn’t get soggy or wilty.
It’s more filling that a traditional caesar too.
My caesar dressing uses a base of plain greek yogurt which we adore. It also uses anchovy paste, and I have to say that’s the part that makes it extra special. I’ve said it for years but try not to leave that part out! It definitely adds to the traditional caesar flavor and doesn’t taste fishy whatsoever. I promise.
Now the buttery breadcrumbs? Oh my.
Here’s why I like the breadcrumbs over croutons:
With the toasty, buttery breadcrumbs, you can get a bit of crunch with EVERY bite. As a huuuuge texture person, this is so important to me. I love getting crunch with every bite – which also adds flavor, of course.
Yes, of course I love a good homemade sourdough crouton at times. But the crunchy bread crumbs sprinkled all over and spread throughout is key.
I also like to toss the salad thoroughly with freshly grated parmesan. So parmesan cheese also gets into each lettuce crevice and bite. Salty, nutty wonderful flavor. It’s so darn good.
So here we are and I hope you love it!
I know this is a little boring for a Monday inspiration recipe, but it’s a back-to-basics recipe, a staple in the kitchen and something that can be used as a starter course or for dinner itself. It’s versatile, tastes fantastic and is a key recipe to throw in your arsenal.
This kale caesar salad is such a delicious classic! Massaged kale, yogurt caesar dressing, parmesan cheese and buttery, crispy breadcrumbs.
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Prep Time 25minutes
Total Time 25minutes
Servings 4people
Author How Sweet Eats
Ingredients
1 to 2bunches of curly green or tuscan kale, stems removed and torn into pieces (about 6 to 8 cups)
4garlic cloves,minced
3tablespoonsgreek yogurt
2tablespoonsparmesan cheese
1tablespoondijon mustard
2teaspoonsred wine vinegar
1teaspoonanchovy paste
1/4teaspoonsalt
1/4teaspoonpepper
1/2lemon,juiced
1/3cupolive oil
1tablespoonunsalted butter
½cupseasoned panko breadcrumbs
½cupfreshly grated parmesan,for topping
Instructions
Wash the kale and tear it from the stems. You can leave it in bigger, leafier pieces or run your knife through it a few times to shred it up! Place the kale in a large bowl.
To make the dressing, add the garlic, yogurt, parmesan, mustard, vinegar, anchovy paste, lemon juice, salt and pepper to a food processor and blend until pureed. With the processor still on, stream in the olive oil until a creamy dressing forms. (This will probably make more dressing than needed, but you can store it sealed in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days and stir well before using.)
Add about 1/4 cup of the dressing (or even 1/3 to 1/2 cup if you use it on 2 bunches of kale) on the kale to start and toss well to distribute, even massaging it with clean hands. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
To make the breadcrumbs, heat the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and stir to coat them in the butter. Toast for 2 to 3 minutes, until they are golden in color and crunchy. Turn off the heat.
Drizzle the kale with more dressing, sprinkle with parmesan. Top with the crunchy breadcrumbs. Serve immediately!
The very best Caesar salad recipe! This stunner has the perfect balance of creamy homemade dressing, crunchy croutons, and crisp lettuce. Some foods are classic for a reason. Like frosty vanilla bean ice cream or hot crispy French fries, this classic salad is basic but truly irresistible. Meet the perfect Caesar salad! Yes, you can buy a packaged storebought version with sub-par dressing and soggy croutons. But make all the components at home and it’s a knock out stunner. We’ve perfected all the elements so that you can make them at home. The savory, creamy dressing will instantly become a household favorite. And the crunchy garlicky croutons…well, you’ll be eating them off the baking sheet. How to make the best Caesar salad This homemade Caesar salad is absolutely magnificent. From the first bite, you’ll be singing its praises. (Promise.) Here are the ingredients to make an absolutely perfect version of this classic: Homemade croutons: Don’t even think about purchasing a box! Tear the bread into uneven pieces to make fluffy, crunchy orbs. Best Caesar dressing: Our recipe is so good, you won’t want to buy it again. Romaine hearts: We like the romaine hearts, the sweet and crunchy portion of […]
The very best Caesar salad recipe! This stunner has the perfect balance of creamy homemade dressing, crunchy croutons, and crisp lettuce.
Some foods are classic for a reason. Like frosty vanilla bean ice cream or hot crispy French fries, this classic salad is basic but truly irresistible. Meet the perfect Caesar salad! Yes, you can buy a packaged storebought version with sub-par dressing and soggy croutons. But make all the components at home and it’s a knock out stunner. We’ve perfected all the elements so that you can make them at home. The savory, creamy dressing will instantly become a household favorite. And the crunchy garlicky croutons…well, you’ll be eating them off the baking sheet.
How to make the best Caesar salad
This homemade Caesar salad is absolutely magnificent. From the first bite, you’ll be singing its praises. (Promise.) Here are the ingredients to make an absolutely perfect version of this classic:
Homemade croutons: Don’t even think about purchasing a box! Tear the bread into uneven pieces to make fluffy, crunchy orbs.
Best Caesar dressing: Our recipe is so good, you won’t want to buy it again.
Romaine hearts: We like the romaine hearts, the sweet and crunchy portion of a head of romaine. These are sold usually in packs of 3 in the grocery. You can also use a large head of romaine lettuce.
Parmesan cheese shavings: You need grated for the dressing, so grab yourself a block of the stuff.
Tips for Caesar salad croutons
You’ll start with the croutons for this Caesar salad. All they need is 15 minutes in a hot oven! You can prep the rest of the salad while they bake. Here are our tips for the best homemade croutons:
Use great bread: The better the bread, the better the crouton! Use artisan bread, French bread or sourdough bread from the store, or leftover homemade bread.
Tear the bread into pieces: Tearing the bread into small pieces makes for crispier croutons with crevices that catch the dressing!
Add garlic powder. Our croutons recipe is for garlic croutons, which have the perfect savory flavor.
Bake until crispy (about 15 minutes). You’ll use a low temperature, 300 degrees, and bake until just crispy. The croutons crisp up after baking .
The secrets to homemade Caesar dressing
This Caesar dressing recipe is our favorite that we’ve been making for years! It’s a healthy spin on the standard but it tastes just as good. It’s also easily made vegetarian. Here are a few notes on this Caesar dressing:
Greek yogurt gives it a healthy spin. Instead of going all mayo and oil, we’ve added a little Greek yogurt too. This keeps it creamy but cuts a few of the calories. We use this philosophy in our Ranch Dressing recipe too.
Use anchovy paste, or don’t: it’s optional! Traditional Caesar dressing gets its savory flavor from anchovies, so we’ve used it here. It adds a huge amount of flavor! But this dressing tastes just as good without it. Feel free to make a vegetarian Caesar dressing and it’s just as good.
There’s no raw egg. Standard Caesar dressing uses raw egg yolks (like a homemade mayo). But this recipe is so full of flavor, it doesn’t need it.
Make ahead instructions for Caesar salad
Once you’ve got your creamy dressing and crunchy croutons, all you need is romaine hearts and Parmesan cheese shavings to bring together that perfect Caesar salad. Want a few time savers for putting it together? Here’s how to make it ahead:
Make the dressing up to 1 week in advance. Make it and refrigerate up to 1 week: the flavor tastes just as good!
Make the croutons 2 days in advance. Make the croutons and let them cool completely. Then store in a sealed container for up to 2 days. The flavor gets gradually staler over time, so the closer to fresh they are, the better.
Variations: make it a main dish!
If you take all this time to make Caesar salad…why not turn it into a main dish meal? If you serve it topped with protein, it makes about 4 servings. Here are a few ideas:
Chicken Caesar Salad: Top with grilled or cooked chicken for the classic restaurant main dish.
For the croutons: Make the Homemade Croutons, but tear the bread into pieces instead of slicing it into cubes.
For the dressing: While the croutons bake, make the dressing. Grate the garlic, or finely mince it. Grate the Parmesan cheese as finely as possible (it’s helpful to use a microplane or the fine holes on a grater). Juice the lemon. Whisk together all the ingredients in a bowl. Store refrigerated (keeps at least 1 week).
For the salad: Tear the romaine leaves into pieces (or chop them). Top each salad with Parmesan cheese shavings, croutons, and dressing.
Notes
*Romaine hearts are easy to find packaged separately in the produce aisle.
Category:Salad
Method:Raw
Cuisine:American
Keywords: Caesar salad
More great salad recipes
We love salads! If you do too, here are a few more great salad recipes to try:
Broccoli Salad Crunchy and savory sweet, it stars broccoli, raisins, and a flavor-popping dressing.
Perfect Italian Salad Crisp veggies, crunchy croutons, tangy pepperoncini, and a punchy homemade dressing.
Antipasto Salad Hearty and full of zingy flavor, with lots of crunchy veggies, olives, artichokes, cheese, and Italian herbs.
Classic Corn Salad Fresh and full of tangy flavor, with bursts of bright tomato and basil!
Caprese Salad Pair perfectly ripe, juicy tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and peppery basil.
The most delicious blackened shrimp kale caesar is on the menu today! It’s a simple yet flavorful recipe. There’s not much in that bowl, but it tastes like heaven! Promise. Pinky swear. This is one of those salads that doesn’t need much. Clearly! All we have is some massage kale dressed in my favorite caesar […]
The most delicious blackened shrimp kale caesar is on the menu today!
It’s a simple yet flavorful recipe. There’s not much in that bowl, but it tastes like heaven! Promise. Pinky swear.
This is one of those salads that doesn’t need much. Clearly! All we have is some massage kale dressed in my favorite caesar dressing and some blackened shrimp.
THAT IS IT.
Oh and a few rogue pieces of shaved parmesan. I swear you don’t need much more. Both the kale and shrimp are heavily flavored. The shrimp acts like the (somewhat?) crunchy croutons to our caesar salad. The kale is chewy enough without being tough. There is texture and flavor and oh my heck what else do we need?
The shrimp is easy. You use melted butter and a mix of cajun-ish seasonings and spices to get the flavorful coating. Cook it in a skillet for a few minutes and you’re good to go. I guess if you didn’t want the skillet mess, you could also cook it on a sheet pan for 8 or so minutes like I do with my lime shrimp fajitas.
Then you’d have a sheet pan mess, but whatever! It’s worth it for a deeeelish meal.
The kale caesar? Well, I don’t even know what to say about that, other than this is my go-to for kale caesars! Sometimes we go through periods of eating this salad once a week. Eddie absolutely LOVES it, I think it’s his favorite salad that I make.
What I love about it is that it’s super flavorful on its own, but additionally, it makes a great base for practically ANYTHING.
Everything you put on this kale caesar complements it well. Or I guess I should say that the kale caesar is what does the complementing, because it’s such a fantastic base!
It’s the perfect meal to add to your lenten friday line up. It’s also really great for dinner anytime at all.
And perhaps what I love most: the kale caesar is almost better the next day. YES. It sits in the dressing, basically massages in the fridge and the texture becomes even softer and the taste more flavorful. It’s a salad you can actually prep entirely before if you’d like! Just keep the shrimp separate and then mix everything at once right before eating.
This blackened shrimp kale caesar is loaded with flavor. Spiced, buttery shrimp pan fried until golden, then thrown on kale caesar salad. Delish!
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Prep Time 25minutes
Cook Time 15minutes
Total Time 40minutes
Servings 2to 4 people
Author How Sweet Eats
Ingredients
kale caesar
1to 2bunches of curly green kale,stems removed and torn into pieces
4garlic cloves,minced
3tablespoonsgreek yogurt
2tablespoonsparmesan cheese
1tablespoondijon mustard
2teaspoonsred wine vinegar
1teaspoonanchovy paste
1/4teaspoonsalt
1/4teaspoonpepper
1/2lemon,juiced
1/3cupolive oil
shaved parmesan,for garnish
blackened shrimp
1poundraw peeled and deveined shrimp
2teaspoonssmoked paprika
2teaspoonsdried oregano
1teaspoongarlic powder
1teaspoononion powder
1/2teaspoonsalt
1/2teaspoonpepper
1/2teaspooncrushed red pepper
4tablespoonsunsalted butter,melted
1tablespoonolive oil
Instructions
kale caesar
Tear, shred or chop the kale and place it in a bowl. You can actually chop it as much or as little as you like - depends on how you like to eat your kale salad!
To make the dressing, add the garlic, yogurt, parmesan, mustard, vinegar, anchovy paste, lemon juice, salt and pepper to a food processor and blend until pureed. With the processor still on, stream in the olive oil until a creamy dressing forms. (This will make more dressing than needed, but you can store it sealed in the fridge for about 3-4 days and stir well before using.)
Add about 1/4 cup of the dressing (or even 1/3 to 1/2 cup if you use it on 2 bunches) on the kale to start and toss well to distribute, even massaging it with clean hands. Let it sit for 10 minutes. While the kale marinates in the dressing, cook your shrimp!
blackened shrimp
Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel.
In a bowl, whisk together the paprika, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and crushed red pepper.
Place the shrimp in a large bowl. Drizzle with the melted butter and toss well to coat. Sprinkle the seasoning all over the shrimp and toss well so they are all coated in the spices.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the olive oil. Add the shrimp in a single layer (you may need to do this in batches) and cook until golden and crisp on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Do not overcook or the shrimp will be chewy!
Remove the shrimp and place it on the kale salad. Garnish with shaved parmesan if you’d like!
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