Brussels & Kale Caesar with Cheezy Garlic Croutons Recipe - Pinch of Yum
icon-arrowicon-chevron-whiteicon-chevronicon-commenticon-facebookicon-hearticon-instagramicon-instant-poticon-listicon-lockicon-meal-prepicon-nexticon-pinteresticon-popularicon-quoteicon-searchicon-staricon-sugar-freeicon-tiktokicon-twittericon-veganicon-videomenu-closemenu-open
Our recipes, your inbox. Sign up

Brussels & Kale Caesar with Cheezy Garlic Croutons

19 reviews / 5 average

Brussels & Kale Caesar! Papery-thin shreds of brussels sprouts and chopped lacinato kale, tossed with a creamy, garlicky, avocado-based vegan caesar dressing, topped off with the most addicting cheezy garlic croutons.

We have some things to talk about.

Er, THING. A single thing.

Specifically, a kale and brussels caesar that will make spring your favorite eating season.



We are talking papery-thin shreds of fresh brussels sprouts and a few handfuls of finely chopped lacinato kale, tossed and *thoroughly* saturated with a creamy, garlicky, avocado-based vegan caesar dressing that is puckery and briney in all the best ways. All that plus a scoop of the world’s most addicting cheezy garlic croutons and WE ARE ALL IN A REALLY GOOD MOOD.

Let’s Make A Kale and Brussels Vegan Caesar Salad!

I get it. The dressing (avocado, garlic, lemon, salt, a little mayo for creaminess) doesn’t look super pretty, but TRUST. It will bring this whole thing together.

Avocado caesar dressing in a food processor.

Cheezy Garlic Croutons – we have already discussed my obsession for these at length. They are non-negotiable.

Cheezy garlic croutons on a sheet pan.

No iceberg lettuce here, guys. This caesar brings in the A team: lacinato kale (the deep, dark stuff) and brussels sprouts.

The most important thing to make this whole thing work: A GOOD CHOP. Nobody needs to be eating huge chunks of kale right now, okay? Give it all a good knife (or mandoline) treatment.

Ingredients for Brussels & Kale Caesar in a bowl.

Toss it up and you’re good!

Wait. Toss it up, taste, adjust, eat five hundred cheezy garlic croutons, and NOW you’re good.

Close up of Brussels & Kale Caesar.

Thank you, vegan caesar salad, for teaching us all how to crave raw vegetables. ♡

Here is the recipe for the Cheezy Garlic Croutons!

Check Out Our Video For How To Make Brussels and Kale Caesar:

Click here to see the step-by-step web story instructions for this recipe!

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
A brussels sprouts salad with croutons and a lemon.

Brussels and Kale Caesar


  • Author: Lindsay
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6 meal-sized salads 1x

Description

Brussels & Kale Caesar! Papery-thin shreds of brussels sprouts and chopped lacinato kale, tossed with a creamy, garlicky, avocado-based vegan caesar dressing, topped off with the most addicting cheezy garlic croutons.


Ingredients

Scale

Vegan Caesar Dressing:

  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 avocado
  • 1/4 cup mayo (regular or vegan)
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons caper brine (optional! – replace with more lemon juice and salt)

Brussels & Kale Caesar:

  • 12 ounces brussels sprouts (68 cups shredded)
  • 1 bunch lacinato kale (68 cups chopped)
  • Cheezy Garlic Croutons

Instructions

  1. Dressing: Pulse all ingredients together in a food processor until smooth. Taste and adjust.
  2. Salad: Finely chop the kale. Shred the brussels with a mandoline. Make your croutons.
  3. Serve: When you’re ready to eat, toss the brussels, kale, dressing, and croutons together and enjoy! You can eyeball / modify the amounts of kale, brussels, dressing, and croutons that you use depending on your tastes and how many people you’re serving.

Equipment

Notes

This will make about 1 1/2 cups of dressing.

This preps super well (just store everything separately in the fridge!), but it won’t keep well once it’s tossed with dressing, so be sure to toss together only the amount that you’ll eat.

Garnish salads with lemon wedges and throw some capers on there if you’re bold.

  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Toss
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: vegan caesar salad, brussels and kale caesar salad, brussels sprout salad


One More Thing!

This recipe is part of our collection of yummy kale recipes. Check it out!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

44 Comments

  1. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Wow, this vegan Caesar salad looks amazing! I definitely have to try this. I used to love this salad very much but I haven’t tried it in vegan yet.

    Thanks Lindsay for this great recipe!

  2. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I’m not an avocado fan–what might be a good substitute in the dressing? Hummus maybe?

  3. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Sometimes the least attractive ingredients wind up being the most delicious meals! This would make a great lunch, yummy.

  4. Pinch of Yum Logo

    YUMMY!!! I think I will make it this weekend 🙂 How much (how big) do you think a serving size is? 1.5 cups maybe?

  5. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I am always afraid of slicing brussel sprouts or other small things with a mandolin — thinking that I will slice my fingers instead. Can then be sliced in a food processor instead?

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      To slice brussels sprouts on a mandolin, just stab the sprout with a fork and use the fork as handle. And keep all fingers in tact!

  6. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Hi! I’m excited to make this, one question: can I replace the mayo with greek yogurt or something else?

  7. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Holy smokes this was amazing and so simple to throw together. I also made the cheesy croutons and there are not enough words to adequately describe how good they are. Thanks for the yummy recipes.

  8. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I made this with a couple small tweaks and it was absolutely delicious! I used some croutons I got in a gift basket from La Madeleine instead of making my own and tripled the citrus juice. This is my new go-to salad. So good, so easy, I didn’t even mind having to clean the food processor. Can’t wait to eat it again tonight.

  9. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This has been our go-to the last few weeks. I haven’t done the shaved brussel sprouts, but the kale and dressing are fantastic! And of course the croutons but I left a separate review for those 😂

  10. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I’ve made this twice now and it’s absolutely wonderful, love the dressing. I added green apple and dried cranberries, it was a huge hit!

  11. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This is one of my favorite lunch recipes! I think the dressing makes it. I prefer it to store-bought Caesar. And I’m not normally a fan of brussels sprouts, but it’s so easy to sneak them in when they’re shredded.

  12. Pinch of Yum Logo

    We made this last night complete with the croutons. Of course, I did not have kale so I put in spinach instead. Delicious! Thank you!

  13. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Wow. This salad and the dressing are just fantastic. I never imagined I would like raw Brussels sprouts but you can’t even tell they are raw. As mentioned the croutons are critical and the dressing can be used on any salad as it’s just so light and creamy.

  14. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Hi!! How do I store the croutons? I just made them today they are AMAZING!
    How long will the dressing and salad last separator in the fridge for? Thank you!!

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      The dressing should keep in the fridge for about 5 days and the salad for about the same, maybe even a couple days longer. We’d recommend storing the croutons at room temp in a sealed container.

  15. Pinch of Yum Logo

    DELISH. I’ve made this salad at least a dozen times and everytime I love it more and more. It’s simple to make. I usually sub cabbage for the Brussel sprouts and add a little Parmesan cheese too 😉 Even my 3 and 5 year old gobble it up! Thank you. I adore your site and your recipes. You won me over with your crock pot veggie lasagna-genius!!

  16. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I made this through the week and it went down a storm with the whole family!
    My husband hates Brussels and even he loved it!
    I will be making this again

  17. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I made the dressing as written except I added fresh dill (to complement the seafood I used). I used it to dress equal parts spring greens and shredded cabbage, avocado, cucumber, grape tomatoes, and pan seared salmon. The dressing was wonderful, thank you for the recipe! Looking forward to trying the croutons the next time I’m craving caesar!