This healthy Caesar Salad packs all the flavour you’re used to without all the calories and fat of the traditional salad! The Caesar dressing is made with Greek yogurt, though your family won’t be able to tell the difference unless you tell them!
My husband absolutely LOVES Caesar salad. It is easily his favourite salad and his favourite thing to order when we are dining out. Although I have always enjoyed it, my recent sensitivity to garlic has made it impossible to enjoy it when we’re out these days. There isn’t a bottle of dressing anywhere that does not have garlic in it. That’s true for most dressings, really, but especially so for Caesar which plays on a nice garlicky flavour.
A healthy Caesar Salad
Caesar salad is delicious- there is no doubt about that! Who doesn’t like its creamy, Parmesan-rich flavours? The added crunch of croutons makes it such a satisfying salad to eat! As far as health goes, however, it is not the healthiest salad to choose! One look at the calorie count on a menu and the shock of what you are consuming in a salad is enough to change your mind! Most of those calories are just from the dressing! Some are from add-ons like croutons.
A dressing is made with Greek Yogurt but tastes like the real deal!
Determined to make a healthier version at home, I set out to find a way to tweak a traditional Caesar dressing while maintaining all the flavour. Enter Greek yogurt! High in protein and vitamins, it is a much better alternative to mayonnaise. I should point out that I do still add a bit of mayonnaise to my dressing though as it needs a bit of fat to be extra delicious. Some Worcestershire sauce, Parmesan, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper and you have yourself a healthy dressing that’s delicious and nutritious!
A healthier crouton
Let me start by saying I have nothing against bread or croutons, specifically. I am a carb-lover and could not survive without my bread! That said, croutons tend to be fried in oil and don’t offer much nutritionally.
In this healthy Caesar salad, I swapped them out for crunchy roasted chickpeas. They’re crunchy and delicious and can be seasoned to your liking! Check out my recipe for Roasted Chickpeas to see how you can do this at home! You can make roasted chickpeas at home quite easily too! You can also find them at the grocery store in a variety of flavours! We always have a bag on hand and it came to good use in this salad!
If you love this salad dressing as much as we do and adore Caesar salads, check out my recipe for Kale Caesar Salad with Roasted Delicate Squash!
Healthy Caesar Salad with Roasted Chickpea Croutons
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (or coconut aminos for gluten-free, garlic-free alternative)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 clove garlic minced
Salad
- 1 head Romaine lettuce torn into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 cup roasted chickpeas
- more Parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl until well combined.
- In a large bowl, toss lettuce with the dressing in order to coat evenly. Add the chickpea croutons and toss again.
