Kale Caesar Salad with Chicken - It's Salad Season
When the weather begins to get warmer I start to crave salads and there’s nothing easier than a main dish salad that includes all the elements of a meal! This Kale Caesar Salad is filled with chicken, delicious homemade croutons, avocado, and lots of freshly grated Parmesan! Lemon juice and zest give it a freshness that really brings the flavors together! It may seem like this salad has lots of steps, but it really comes together easily, especially if you’ve already grilled your chicken or if you use rotisserié chicken!
If you have the time, the homemade croutons are definitely worth making because they are soooo much better than the store bought ones! This salad also holds up pretty well if you have leftovers because the kale doesn’t wilt easily, but I doubt you’ll have any leftovers at all! I know you’ll love this delicious salad as much as I do!
Kale Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- Salad Ingredients
- 5 slices sourcough bread
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and Honey Aleppo Pepper (optional)
- 3 bunches curly kale
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese
- 3 grilled chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken
- 2 avocados, diced
- Lemon Casear Dressing Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 generous teaspoons Dijon mustard
- A splash of Worcestershire sa
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Cut sourdough into bite sized pieces and toss in the olive oil. Season with a salt and Aleppo pepper. Heat a frying pan over medium heat and toast cubed bread until golden and crunchy. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Remove stems from kale and tear or chop into pieces. Place in a large salad bowl.
- In a separate bowl, prepare the dressing. Whisk together mayonnaise, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, garlic, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until you have a creamy dressing. Adjust seasonings and add more olive oil if necessary.
- Pour the dressing over the kale and massage it into the kale with your hands. Add the grilled chicken, croutons, avocado, lemon zest and Parmesan cheese to the salad! Serve with a chilled bottle of rosé and enjoy!
The over-the-top gorgous flowers are from a local flower farm called Rodwell Roots and I arranged them in a vase from Haand! Don’t forget to use code CRAZYBLONDELIFE for 15% off your order from Haand!
I’ve shared my salad bowl several times, but just in case you missed it, it’s from a fabulous little boutique in Richmond Virginia called Creme de la Creme! I use this bowl so often and it’s perfect for serving this salad! This size is the smaller of the two they have in stock and I really want a big one next because, my family is growing and I’m going to need a big bowl! I hope you’ve enjoyed this post! Please let me know if there are any recipes you would like to see here! I’m very excited about spring and cooking with fresh local ingredients!
I’m going to be cooking a lot more in the near future and I’ve been thinking about doing some cooking classes on Zoom! I’d love to know if anyone would be interested in these? I think it would be a way to show more in depth videos and explain more complicated processes! Leave a comment and let me know if you’d be interested! Thanks for reading and Happy Saturday!