BBQ Chickpea and Sweet Potato Kale Caesar Salads
Whenever I’m into a certain food or flavor, my taste buds demand it. I have to eat it every week. Then, I eventually burn out and find my next food obsession. Right now, it’s Caesar salads. I discovered this delicious Caesar dressing (#notsponsored) and I can’t get enough of it! If you don’t have access to this dressing and want to make this recipe right now, just use your favorite jar of Caesar dressing OR I’ve included my go-to dairy-free recipe that’s easy.
Typically, with my Caesar salads, I like crunchy romaine. However, here, with this finely chopped kale, it’s heartier, tastier, and with the other ingredients, it flows better. There are barbecue roasted chickpeas which are flavorful and give the chickpeas a meaty flavor.
Then, if you’ve never tried Japanese sweet potatoes, you must! I find them less sweet than a traditional sweet potato and a bit nuttier and drier. They’ve been on repeat at our home. Together with the chickpeas, fluffy kale with creamy Caesar and velvety avocado, this is the kind of meatless salad you’ll find yourself completely satisfied after and craving over and over again.
If you’re a meat eater, try this salad with some rotisserie chicken or BBQ chicken and simply roast the chickpeas without barbecue sauce so it’s not BBQ overload!
BBQ Chickpea and Sweet Potato Kale Caesar Salads
Ingredients
- 1.25 pounds Japanese sweet potatoes sliced into rounds
- olive oil to drizzle
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- salt and pepper
- 1 15.5oz can chickpeas, drained, rinsed
- 3 tablespoons barbecue sauce
- 1 avocado
- 5-6 cups of finely chopped kale don’t prep this before starting the recipe, you will have time during the recipe to do this
- to garnish: hemp seeds
- For the Caesar dressing*:
- ¼ cup raw cashews soaked overnight or at least for 2 hours
- ¼ cup unsweetened plain almond milk
- 1 large clove garlic sliced
- tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper
- *Or use a store-bought Caesar I love Tessemae’s and use about 6 tablespoons for this recipe!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and lay out the sweet potato rounds on one half of the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to combine. Season with paprika, salt, and pepper. On the other end of the baking sheet, add the chickpeas, pour over the barbecue sauce, and toss well to combine. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until sweet potatoes are fork tender.
- Meanwhile, prepare the Caesar salad dressing (if making homemade). Drain and rinse the cashews. Place into a high speed blender along with the almond milk, garlic, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Pour the dressing into a large mixing or salad bowl and set aside.
- Slice the avocado either in slices or cubes, per your preference and set aside. Finely chop the kale and set aside.
- Once the sweet potatoes and chickpeas are done, remove from the oven and set to rest. Add the kale to the bowl with the salad dressing and toss well to combine. Divide the dressed lettuce into bowls and top with equal amounts of chickpeas, sweet potatoes, avocado, and garnish with hemp seeds. Serve.
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