Holy moly! I like a ton of parmesan toasted bread on my salads! This parmesan and garlic toasted bread kale caesar salad is a new favorite around here! Crunchy, toasty bread that’s seasoned with melted butter, parmesan cheese, and garlic. And unlike a traditional Caesar salad where you’ve got 5 sad little croutons on the whole thing, by crumbling the bread, we get a little bit each time, making each bite absolutely perfect! Besides my obvious favorite part, there’s also finely shredded kale – use any kind you like. And the pièce de résistance – an easy yogurt-based Caesar dressing. By swapping the mayo and egg yolks for yogurt, I can pretty much eat this salad every day of the week!
What do you need to make a kale Caesar salad?
French bread: I use French bread from the bakery section of my grocery store. Day-old bread works best as it takes less time in the oven to toast. However, fresh bread will work too. It’ll just take a bit more time to dry out and get crunchy!Parmesan: You’ll need grated parmesan to toss on the bread to get all golden, and you’ll want a handful of shaved or shredded parmesan for the saladButter: A drizzle of melted butter and garlic seasoning help flavor the crunchy toasted bread that we use for the salad.Seasonings + Sauces: I use Asian fish sauce instead of anchovy filets in my Caesar salad dressing (an ingredient I never have on hand.) If you’re vegetarian, feel free to omit it from the recipe entirely or use a vegan fish sauce. You’ll also need a big pinch of garlic salt or garlic powder and salt for the toasted breadcrumbs. Garlic Cloves: a few cloves flavor the Caesar salad dressing.Mustard: A squeeze of dijon mustard is what I use. Feel free to use honey mustard if that’s what you have on hand – you only need a teaspoon!Lemon juice + vinegar: A splash of lemon juice and red wine vinegar gives this salad the acid that it needs.Yogurt: I use regular yogurt for this recipe as it’s an ingredient I always have on hand. Feel free to use greek yogurt instead if that’s what you have! Oil: We’ll use just a splash in the Caesar salad dressing. I use sunflower or canola oil because it’s colorless and flavorless, but you could even use olive oil or even avocado oil if that’s what you have on hand.Kale: I use curly kale in this salad. But you could also use lacinato kale for this recipe. It just adds a hint of bitterness, imo.
Here’s how to make the most delicious kale Caesar salad:
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
Everyday Kale Crunch SaladLemon Basil Arugula Pasta SaladThe Best Summer PanzanellaSesame Chicken Pasta Salad with Ginger DressingIsraeli Couscous Chickpea SaladMediterranean Pasta SaladMarinated Mozzarella Tomato Salad
Day-old bread works best for this recipe and would take less time to toast than fresh bread. The recipe is written with fresh bread, but if you have stale bread, it’ll probably toast in closer to 12-15 minutes the first time around. Toasting time may vary if you use GF, whole wheat bread, or other types of bread.Toasted parmesan bread can be made a few days in advance. Store in an airtight container. If it loses some crunch, just reheat in a 300ºF oven until toasty and crunchy again.
