Healthier Caesar Salad – use roasted chickpeas for added flavor and crunch instead of croutons; the homemade dressing is out of this world, too!
The first post of February and I’m trying to make those healthy resolutions stick. One of my favorite salads is a crunchy, creamy caesar salad with loads of parmesan cheese and flavorful croutons. Since this year I’m trying to focus on finding balance in all aspects of life, I decided I should look to making this salad a little healthier too.
As of February 1st, I’ve officially started the Whole30! While this is not Whole30 friendly – although swap out a few ingredients and you probably could make it W30 approved – it’s still a healthier version of one of my favorites.
That being said – so many yummy Whole30 approved recipes coming your way this month.
Back to this salad!
We still have the creamy, tangy dressing that makes Caesar Salad Caesar Salad. Now it’s homemade and you can tweak it just to your liking – if you love it a little more tangy, make it that way! A little creamier? Make it that way!
Speaking of healthier and homemade…
I often make this with homemade mayo. Before you turn away, you don’t have to, but if you ever do decide to, it’s SO EASY! And actually really worth it — anyone interested in the recipe?
If you don’t want to make homemade mayo, Just Mayo
(GF, soy free, egg free!) is one of my new favorites. Avocado Oil Mayo
is also super good. They’re both awesome healthy replacements for old-fashioned mayonnaise.
Then there’s the crisp Romaine Lettuce that is the trademark of Caesar Salad – topped with parmesan cheese slivers and croutons – or in this case, roasted chickpeas!
So these chickpeas: they’re roasted with spices that give them the same crouton flavor, and roasted until they’re crispy, making them the perfect healthy, and gluten-free, “crouton”! Do you remember when I used them a long time ago in this salad?
Go ahead and enjoy a little extra salad – because this one is tasty enough for seconds!
Healthier Caesar Salad
Ingredients
- 1 15- ounce can chickpeas
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Salt generously sprinkled (~1 teaspoon)
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- Red Pepper Flakes optional
- 1 cup cup mayonnaise
- 2-3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice ~1/2 lemon
- 2 teaspoons Worchestire sauce*
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded
- Pepper liberally sprinkled
- Pinch of salt if desired
- 1 head romaine lettuce chopped
- Parmesan shavings to garnish as desired
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425°F. Rinse chickpeas and pat dry. Toss chickpeas with olive oil and a liberal amount of salt. Roast for 25-30 minutes until crispy. Once removed from oven, sprinkle garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper, red pepper flakes, and additional salt as needed. Toss together. You want to wait to toss in the spices so they don’t burn while roasting.
- To mix the dressing, whisk together mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, Worchestire sauce, dijon mustard, parmesan cheese, and pepper. Set aside until ready to top salad.
- Toss together romaine lettuce, as much dressing as desired (you will have extra dressing left over), chickpeas, and parmesan slivers.
Notes
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By the Way…
This recipe is part of our collection of green salad recipes. Check it out!