Caesar Salad Recipe With Crispy Chickpea Croutons & Creamy Dressing Salads Vegan Vegetarian Side Dishes Lunch Gluten-free

We love that salads can be a side dish for dinner or be the star! For this healthy salad recipe, crisp romaine lettuce is drizzled with a creamy tahini dressing and then topped with crunchy chickpea "croutons." Amazing! This is the perfect dinner or lunch if you're trying to eat healthier.

To make this salad you need to gather some wholesome, healthy ingredients. Here is your shopping list: canned chickpeas, olive oil, garlic, ground cayenne, tahini, lemons for juicing, Dijon mustard, romaine lettuce and Parmesan cheese. Check out the health benefits of chickpeas, the health benefits of lemon and the surprising health benefits of tahini! 

Serve this salad recipe for lunch, as a side dish or add grilled tofu, chicken or shrimp for a main dish salad. It's great for meal prep, too.

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

Chickpea Croutons

• 15 ounces (1 can) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ground cayenne, to taste

Dressing

• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salad

• 1 head romaine lettuce 
• shaved or grated Parmesan cheese or vegan Parmesan cheese

Recipe Notes

• You could use other mustards instead of Dijon like whole-grain or brown mustard.

• Try this recipe with kale or baby spinach.

• To make this salad vegan, use vegan Parmesan cheese.

Here's how to make it: 

1. To make the chickpeas, put them into a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add the olive oil, garlic and ground cayenne. Toss to coat. Pour them onto a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 400-degree F oven for about 40 minutes or until crisp. 
2. To make the dressing, combine the tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic and mustard. Season with salt and pepper.
3. To make the salad, put a pile of romaine or kale on serving plates. Drizzle with the dressing, top with some chickpeas and Parmesan. Finish with cracked black pepper, if desired. 

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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