This viral kale caesar salad has been all over social media and word is if you want to try it at bird pizzeria in Charlotte reservations are booked for months so you might want to try my copycat recipe while you wait.

kale caesar topped with pecorino Romano and bread crumbs

I can't Believe people are going CRAZY over a Kale Caesar Salad until I tried it myself

Kale is a garnish or a food you blend into a smoothie to pretend you're eating healthy. It's definitely not a food you crave or a menu item that takes over social media? Right?

Well, I had to give this viral salad a shot and see what All of the hype was about. The reason people seem to be drawn to the salad is the fake that it has so much cheese freshly grated on top you can't even see the kale.

After breaking down each component of the Kale Caesar I think I put together a pretty close copycat and when I posted the video on TikTok I even got the owners of Bird Pizzerias approval so I must have done a pretty good job.

Preparing the Kale

There are 2 things that will make a huge difference when preparing kale. First is to make sure you remove all of the stems, they are fibrous and need to be cooked for a long time to even be close to edible. The second is to "massage" the kale. Slap on some fancy black gloves and start giving the kale a deep tissue massage. The light color of the leaves will turn dark and will make the salad much easier to chew.

Texas Toast Croutons

The croutons on the Kale Caesar are smashed into breadcrumbs so I decided to eventually make well done slices of garlic bread using Texas toast. you want the bread to be stale if possible and bake it until its crispy from edge to edge then cool it completely before smashing it by had or in a food processor .

overhead view of the salad with a fork diving in

Cheese and Dressing

I found out from a video that they use Grande Padang cheese on top of the salad but that can be a little hard to find so I just used Pecorino Romano.

For the dressing I just used an easy dressing recipe that does use anchovies but no egg yolks. If you can't do anchovies you can substitute extra capers.

sprinting breadcrumbs onto the Kale Caesar salad

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Kale Ceasar Salad

Course Appetizer, Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword Caesar

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Servings

Calories 692kcal

Ingredients

1.5 lbs Kale stems removed
3 slices Texas toast
3 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
4 oz Parmesan Cheese fresh grated

Caesar Dressing

¾ cup Mayonnaise
2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
6 Anchovy fillets
1 lemon juice and zest
2 tbsp Capers w/ juice
2 Garlic cloves
1 tsp black Pepper
¼ tsp Kosher Salt
1 tbsp Worcestershire
2 tbsp water if needed

Instructions

Place Texas toast on a sheet pan and drizzle on both sides with olive oil, then seasoned with Italian seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder on both sides as well. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes at 300° until golden and hard but not burned. Pulverize using a mallet or a food processor then set aside.
Remove any stem pieces from your kale and chop if needed and a Small even pieces. Begin massaging the kale until it turns a deep dark green color. This will probably take 2 to 3 minutes.
Prepare the dressing by muddling capers, lemon juice, and anchovies into a paste, then combine with remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
To assemble the salad, pour dressing over the kale and toss until welcome combined then transferred to a large platter on a large platter. Great a ridiculous amount of Parmesan cheese, using a micro plane until you can no longer see the kale. Then sprinkle handfuls of the breadcrumbs on top and serve.

Notes

Notes*

Use Light mayo and a little less olive oil to really cut back on the calories from fat.

If you don’t like kale, yes you can use romaine hearts, I recommend chopping them finer than you normally would.

You can also use a store-bought Caesar dressing if you have one you prefer.

Nutrition