We’re pretty big into Caesar Salad around here, in fact, it’s one of the only things that we eat on a regular basis! It’s also our favorite date-night recipe to make because it’s so easy, and we never get tired of it! After you make a recipe with someone many times, it starts to become easy enough to do in your sleep – which is perfect for those nights when you’re completely exhausted at the end of the week but still wanting something healthy and ultimately satisfying! I first came across the idea for switching the traditional romaine in a Caesar Salad for kale over at The Roasted Root, and I was captivated by the idea instantly! I don’t know how the winter season goes at your grocery stores, but in Montana the lettuce can start looking a little peaky in December and that can last right up to springtime. Kale on the other hand remains fresh looking year round, so it’s a natural choice for salads and smoothies. So… of course, right about the time I got totally addicted to a Kale Caesar, they stopped carrying the baby kale I was so attached to! But that’s alright because instead I discovered this thing called Power Greens which is a mix of baby kale, spinach, and baby beet greens. We’ve been buying a couple pounds of Power Greens each week and absolutely loving them! The mixture of different greens has a great balance of flavor, and they do double duty as a perfect mix for green smoothies as well!
Pine nuts become bitter when they’re toasted to a dark brown, so it’s best to toast them to a nice golden color. Over many batches of pine nuts, I’ve discovered that low heat in a cast iron skillet works best – almost every time I turn the heat up, I end up burning them, so low and slow is definitely the way to go!
One of the best parts of this salad is the bacon bits (of course)! They act as a crouton of sorts, and the bacon flavor is perfect with the hearty mix of greens.
You can use whichever kale you’re partial to for this recipe – we’re obviously a bit partial to the power greens mix I mentioned above!
And for more Caesar Salad fun, check out our variations below: Traditional Caesar Salad Chipotle Caesar Salad Creamy Basil Chicken Caesar Salad No reviews
