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This Kale Caesar Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Crispy Chickpeas is not your average salad. Sweet potatoes and chickpeas tossed with olive oil, smoky chipotle, and paprika, then roasted until lightly charred, crispy, and delicious. Everything is tossed together with a creamy, lemony parmesan tahini dressing, hearty winter kale, shredded brussels sprouts, and avocado. This salad is easy to throw together, colorful, healthy, and filling. Enjoy this for dinner and save the leftovers for lunch the next day. It’s the perfect wintry salad to kick-start clean eating in 2020.

overhead photo of Kale Caesar Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Crispy Chickpeas

By now I think you all know how I feel about salad. I despise a boring salad (i.e lettuce and very little else). But I LOVE a GOOD salad (i.e one with greens…carbs and cheese). And if it’s a salad with warm roasted vegetables…well, that scores major bonus points with me. Enter this kale Caesar salad, it’s everything you could ever want a winter salad to be. It has texture, color, a mix of warm roasted vegetables, fresh greens, cheese, and the best creamiest dressing.

And yes, it’s still healthy and so perfect for January.

I’ve been excited to share this salad since the day I first made it…all the way back before Christmas. We’re slowly getting to the end of the recipes I made while my family was in town for the holidays. This salad was inspired by every member of my family…with the exclusion of four of my brothers, of course. Those boys don’t love salad of any kind, so I made this recipe mostly with the girls of the family in mind. I knew everyone (myself included) would devour this recipe in minutes. It’s all the things we love.

overhead photo of Sweet Potatoes and Crispy Chickpeas on baking sheet

The salad details.

Start by roasting up the sweet potatoes and getting the chickpeas extra crispy.

I tossed the potatoes with spicy chipotle powder and smoky paprika for a sweet and spicy flavor. I love this combination of sweet potatoes and spicy, smoky chipotle. But if you prefer a less spicy salad, simply reduce the amount of chili powder or omit it all together. You’ll want to give the potatoes a head start on cooking since they take longer than the chickpeas, but once the potatoes have softened a bit, add the chickpeas right to the same baking sheet and roast until crispy.

The chickpeas end up soaking up some of the spices from the potatoes causing them to come out perfectly seasoned and extra crisp.

While the sweet potatoes and chickpeas roast, toss the salad together. It’s a simple mix of shredded kale and finely shredded brussels sprouts. I love using hearty kale and shredded spouts for winter salads. Not only do they hold up incredibly well to dressings (making them perfect for meal prepping), but they feel heartier. The salad ends up being more filling than your typical green salad.

If you don’t love brussels sprouts, you can just use all kale. Either way, the salad will still be great.

parmesan tahini dressing

Now, on to that creamy parmesan dressing…

It’s truly one of my favorite dressings…bold statement, but true.

The classic Caesar dressing contains anchovies and raw egg yolk, but this dressing has none of that. I know that technically this is really not a Caesar salad, but hear me out. The flavors are spot on…better if you ask me.

So what’s the key? A combination of creamy tahini (sesame seed paste), Dijon mustard, and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce (did you know that one of the main ingredients in Worcestershire is anchovies?). The tahini adds the creaminess that the raw egg yolk would add, while the Dijon and Worcestershire sauce add all the savory, salty flavors that the anchovies would add. Promise, it’s just as delicious…better actually.

Bonus? No raw eggs means you don’t have to worry about any kind of stomach issues while enjoying this Caesar. I know from experience how not-fun it is to eat a Caesar salad that’s delicious going down…but not so delicious coming back up. Yes, been there, done that.

side angled close up photo of Kale Caesar Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Crispy Chickpeas

Meal prepping?

This is your salad! The kale and sprouts hold up wonderfully once this salad has been tossed, I’d say a good day or two. If you want to make the salad last even longer, leave the dressing off, then add just before serving.

The vegetables can be roasted a few days ahead of time and eaten chilled or warmed. Either is great, but you know I love them warm.

As I mentioned, this is not your average Caesar salad. In fact, some of you may argue that this is not a Caesar salad at all since the dressing does not include raw egg yolk or anchovies. Trust me, I debated calling this a Caesar, but in the end, I found the favors to be so similar. So I’m sticking with it.

It’s surely not a classic Caesar, but it surely is delicious. Which is what’s most important in my book…so ENJOY.

Looking for other winter salads? Try my winter pomegranate salad or my super green sun-dried tomato herb salad.

side angled photo of Kale Caesar Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Crispy Chickpeas with spoon drizzling dressing over salad

If you make this kale Caesar salad with sweet potatoes and chickpeas, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Watch the How To Video:

Kale Caesar Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Crispy Chickpeas

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 515 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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Ingredients

Parmesan Tahini Dressing

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
    2. On a large rimmed baking sheet, combine the sweet potatoes, 2 tablespoons olive oil, chili powder, paprika, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Toss well to evenly coat. Transfer to the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, add the chickpeas and remaining oil. Toss with the sweet potatoes and return to the oven for another 20 minutes, until the chickpeas are crisp and the sweet potatoes tender.
    3. Meanwhile, in a large salad bowl, combine the kale and brussels sprouts.
    4. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.
    5. Toss the roasted sweet potatoes and chickpeas in with the salad. Add the dressing and toss to combine. Top the salad with avocado and additional parmesan. Serve and enjoy! The salad keeps well for 3-4 days in the fridge, add the avocados just before serving.
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Comments

  1. November 5 2021

    Served the kale & sweet potato salad to my family today. Loved it!
    This recipe is a keeper.
    Thank you very much!

    Else from the Netherlands

    Reply

  2. Prepping for a gathering tomorrow and the dressing is amaze!! Just roasted the sweet pots and chick peas, although I wouldn’t call the chick peas crunchy. They were growing and didn’t want them to burn so took them out. Any ideas? Should I put them back in at a lower temp setting?

    Reply

    1. Hi there! Hope you love this recipe! I would recommend putting them back in at a lower setting for future reference! 🙂 xTieghan

      Reply

  4. 3 stars
    425F for 40 minutes is way too long/hot for sliced sweet potatoes. 10 min per side is all that’s necessary unless you want black slices of burnt potato.

    Reply

    2. Re: 1 large head kale, shredded

      Kale does not grow to form heads. ,Kale leaves are often bunched for sale by produce departments.

      Reply

  6. 5 stars
    This is hands down my favorite salad recipe!!! I make this for dinner at least every other week. Thank you thank you!!

    Reply

    1. Hey Katie,
      Happy Wednesday! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Have the best day:) xTieghan

      Reply

  7. 5 stars
    Just made this and it was AMAZING we all loved it! The dressing is delicious. We topped with sliced radishes instead of the avocado.

    Reply

    1. Hey Emma,
      Awesome! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you giving it a go! Have a wonderful week:) xTieghan

      Reply

  8. This was so delicious and easy to make. The dressing was so good to. I will use it to put on other types of salad or pasta. My sister really loved it.

    Reply

    1. Hey Roxanne,
      Fantastic! I am thrilled that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a go! xTieghan

      Reply

  9. Sooo good! This reminded me of a homemade Dig Inn bowl (for those in the NYC area). Added baked red onion and broccoli instead of Brussels, based on what was in my fridge. The sauce is now my new go to Caesar!

    Reply

    1. Hey Aly,
      Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan

      Reply

  10. Maybe I just like my salads extra dressed, or maybe the dressing was just extra tasty, but I had to triple the amount! It seemed like the potatoes and chickpeas soaked it all in. My husband said he didn’t like the dressing by itself (weird- I was practically licking the inside of the blender) but he loved it once in the salad and said the sweet potatoes (another element he doesn’t enjoy independently) made the salad. He loved it, so that’s a win in my book!

    Reply

    1. Hey Elizabeth,
      Happy Friday! I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xTieghan

      Reply

  12. 4 stars
    I kinda followed the recipe haha but here’s what I did: subbed the chickpeas for pepitas toasted plain in the oven (can’t do chickpeas), just did the 2 bunches of kale, added raisins bc I found the dressing a bit too heavy on the tart/dijon-ey side. Maybe my lemons were big, but if I were to make this again I would decrease the dijon to like 2 tsp. I added 1/2 tsp granulated sugar to balance out the flavour and that helped. Also added croutons of course. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

    1. Hey Charlotte,
      So great to hear! Love that this recipe was enjoyed and thanks so much for making it! Have a great week? xTieghan

      Reply

  13. 5 stars
    I told myself I’d never follow a recipe for a salad. …yet here I am again! This was delicious, and although I’d never paid a Caesar type dressing with these spices, it works and I’m in love! Another winner, Tieghan!

    Reply

    1. Hey Autumn,
      So so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! Happy Sunday:) xTieghan

      Reply

  14. This dressing is amazing!!!! I made this tonight (without the chickpeas) and it was so good.

    Reply

    1. Hey Natalie,
      Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed. Have a great Wednesday! xTieghan

      Reply