Kale Caesar Salad with Crispy Chickpeas

Substituting romaine with healthy and hearty kale and adding crispy fried chickpeas in place of the croutons gives you a killer salad!           Caesar salad is always a crowd pleaser, no doubt. We get cravings for it in our house. But of course, I love to mix up a classic at times and tonight is no exception.

To start, I am mixing up a thick, creamy and decadent Caesar dressing full of intense flavor. This dressing cuts through the green’s slight bitterness and breaks down the leaves from tough to tender-crisp.

I am adding some anchovy paste that I have on hand to my dressing because my favorite Caesar salad of choice would be topped with some briney, meaty white anchovy fillets.  Since I can’t get these fresh fillets at home, I’ll use the paste which is a bit saltier, but I am still picking up that briney blast!

For the “croutons,” I am making pan-fried chickpeas that are crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside.

I’m draining and drying these canned chickpeas first so that I get the crispiest results.

Then I am tossing them in an olive oil coated pan and giving them a good sizzle for 4-5 minutes or until the outside is a beautiful golden color.

They add the perfect crunch to this salad but would also be a healthy snack option.

This superfood salad was so easy to make and assemble with this punchy bright-tasting Caesar flavor and crispy chickpeas.

This salad pairs so perfectly with my Potlatch Seasoned Smoked Salmon and the savory and healthy meal is ready in just 30 minutes.