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Chickpea Caesar Salad with a Cheater’s Dressing

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a bowl of chickpea Caesar salad
Katherine Gillen

Who doesn’t love a classic Caesar salad? It’s crisp, refreshing and loaded with the good stuff—namely, croutons, Parm and a salty-creamy dressing. What we don’t love is whisking a homemade aioli until our biceps are burning. Plus, the whole raw egg thing means not everyone can partake.

Enter this Caesar salad recipe: It features roasted chickpeas for a boost of protein that happens to be cheaper than chicken, plus a magical cheater’s Caesar dressing that skips the raw egg and anchovies. (The secret is store-bought mayo…we won’t tell if you won’t.)


Ingredients

Crispy Chickpeas

One 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Cheater’s Caesar Dressing

½ cup mayonnaise

Juice of ½ lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, grated

½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Assembly

Extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups cubed bread (such as sourdough)

Kosher salt

1 head romaine, chopped or torn into bite-size pieces

½ head radicchio, cored and chopped into bite-size pieces

Grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

Directions

1. Make the crispy chickpeas: Preheat the oven to 425°F. On a baking sheet, toss the chickpeas with a few tablespoons of olive oil, the paprika and salt until coated. Bake until the chickpeas are golden and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Make the dressing: Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, Parmesan, mustard, garlic and Worcestershire. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. If the dressing seems too thick (it should be about the texture of heavy cream), add a teaspoon of water and whisk to combine. The dressing can be made up to 1 day in advance and kept in the refrigerator.

3. Assemble the salad: In a large skillet, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the cubed bread and toss to coat in the oil. Toast until golden brown on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, season with salt and set aside.

4. In a large salad bowl, add a few spoonfuls of the dressing. Add the lettuce and radicchio and toss to coat, adding more dressing as needed. Top with the crispy chickpeas, croutons and more Parmesan cheese before serving.

Nutrition Facts
  • 557 calories

  • 39g fat

  • 40g carbs

  • 15g protein

  • 7g sugars

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Note: The information shown is Edamam's estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.

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Former Senior Food Editor

  • Headed PureWow’s food vertical
  • Contributed original reporting, recipes and food styling
  • Studied English Literature at the University of Notre Dame and Culinary Arts at the Institute of Culinary Education