High Protein Vegan Kale Caesar Salad with Crispy Chickpeas and Baked Tofu
A vegan kale Caesar with a creamy silken tofu dressing, crispy roasted chickpeas, golden baked tofu and garlicky sourdough croutons. Hearty enough for lunch.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Serves
- 4
High Protein Vegan Kale Caesar Salad with Crispy Chickpeas and Baked Tofu is a vegan lunch recipe made with extra-firm tofu, soy sauce or tamari, olive oil. It takes 50 minutes of hands-on time, serves 4, and each serving has 520 calories, 33 g of protein and 12 g of fiber.
Blended silken tofu makes the dressing thick and creamy without cashews or mayo. Capers, miso and nutritional yeast bring the salty, savory flavor that anchovies and parmesan usually supply. Chickpeas, tofu cubes and croutons all roast on one hot oven rack at the same time. Kale holds up to a heavy dressing much better than romaine, so you can massage it ahead and it stays crisp.
Ingredients
Baked Tofu
- 14 oz397 gextra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1 tbsp16 gsoy sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsp14 golive oil
- 1 tbsp5 gnutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp8 gcornstarch
Crispy Chickpeas
- 1 can240 gchickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted very dry, 15-oz can
- 2 tsp9 golive oil
- ½ tsp1.2 gsmoked paprika
- ¼ tsp1.5 gfine salt
Croutons
- 2 slices64 gsourdough bread, torn into bite-size pieces
- 1 tbsp14 golive oil
- 1 clove3 ggarlic, finely grated
Dressing
- 6 oz170 gsilken tofu, drained
- 3 tbsp15 gnutritional yeast
- 3 tbsp46 gfresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp27 gextra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp15 gDijon mustard
- 1 tbsp9 gcapers, plus 1 tsp of their brine
- 1 tsp5.7 gwhite miso
- 2 cloves6 ggarlic
- ½ tsp1.2 gblack pepper, freshly ground
- 2 tbsp30 gcold water, as needed to thin
Salad
- 2 bunchs320 glacinato (Tuscan) kale, stems removed, leaves thinly sliced, about 10 cups sliced
- 1 pinch0.4 gpinch of salt, for massaging
- 2 tbsp20 ghemp hearts, for sprinkling (optional)
- 4 60 glemon wedges, for serving (optional)
Kit: 2 rimmed baking sheets, parchment paper, blender or immersion blender, large salad bowl
Tips
- Press the tofu for at least 15 minutes under a heavy pan, or use a tofu press. Drier tofu browns faster and gets chewier edges.
- Lacinato kale is more tender than curly kale. If you use curly kale, massage it for an extra minute.
- Roast the chickpeas in a single uncrowded layer. If they pile up, they steam instead of getting crunchy.
Swap ideas
- Swap half the kale for chopped romaine
- Gives a lighter, crunchier, more classic Caesar texture. Dress it just before serving because romaine wilts quickly.
- Use 1 tbsp chopped green olives instead of capers
- Keeps the dressing briny but makes it a bit milder and fruitier.
- Use cubed tempeh instead of firm tofu
- Gives a nuttier flavor and firmer bite. Steam the cubes for 10 minutes before coating and roasting.
- Use gluten-free bread instead of sourdough and tamari instead of soy sauce
- Makes the salad gluten-free. GF bread crisps a little faster, so check it after 8 minutes.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
520kcal per serving
Everything else · 4 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 4.1 g 21%
- Sugars
- 5.2 g
- Sodium
- 727 mg 32%
- Potassium
- 921 mg 20%
- Calcium
- 981 mg 75%
- Iron
- 7.7 mg 43%
- Vitamin C
- 81 mg 90%
- Vitamin B12
- 18.77 µg 782%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Tofu, raw, firm, prepared with calcium sulfate, Soy sauce made from soy and wheat (shoyu), Oil, olive, salad or cooking, Nutritional Yeast Seasoning by BRAGG (fortified; legacy USDA Branded Foods entry as reproduced by NutritionValue.org), Cornstarch, Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt, Spices, paprika, Salt, table, Bread, french or vienna (includes sourdough), Garlic, raw, Tofu, soft, prepared with calcium sulfate and magnesium chloride (nigari), Lemon juice, raw, Mustard, prepared, yellow, Capers, canned, Miso, Spices, pepper, black, Beverages, water, tap, drinking, Kale, raw
Method
Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment.
Toss the tofu cubes with the soy sauce and 1 tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle the nutritional yeast and cornstarch over them and toss again until every cube is lightly coated. Spread the cubes on one sheet with space between them.
Roll the chickpeas in a towel to dry them well and throw away any loose skins. Toss with 2 tsp olive oil and the smoked paprika, then spread them in a single layer on one half of the second sheet. Hold the salt until after roasting because it draws out moisture and softens them.
Roast both sheets for 15 minutes. Flip the tofu and shake the chickpeas, then swap the sheets between racks.
Meanwhile, toss the torn sourdough with 1 tbsp olive oil and the grated garlic. Spread it on the empty half of the chickpea sheet. Roast everything for 10–15 minutes more. The tofu is done when it is golden and firm at the edges, and the croutons when they are crisp and deep golden. The chickpeas should look shrunken and rattle when you shake the pan. Salt the chickpeas while they are hot and let everything cool on the sheets for 5 minutes to crisp further.
While everything roasts, blend the silken tofu, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, Dijon, capers and brine, miso, garlic and pepper until completely smooth. Add cold water 1 tbsp at a time until the dressing is thick but pourable. Taste and add more lemon or salt if needed.
Put the sliced kale in a large bowl with a pinch of salt and about 1/3 of the dressing. Massage with your hands for 1–2 minutes, until the leaves darken, soften and shrink by about a third.
Add the remaining dressing and toss. Top with the baked tofu, crispy chickpeas, croutons and hemp hearts if using. Serve right away with lemon wedges.
Storage: Refrigerate the dressing in a jar for up to 4 days and the massaged, undressed kale in a covered container for up to 4 days. Keep the baked tofu in the fridge for up to 4 days. Store the chickpeas and croutons in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, and re-crisp them at 400°F for 3–4 minutes if needed. Dressed salad is best eaten within 1 day.
Questions
- How much protein is in high protein vegan kale caesar salad with crispy chickpeas and baked tofu?
- Each of the 4 servings has 33 g of protein, 12 g of fiber and 520 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is high protein vegan kale caesar salad with crispy chickpeas and baked tofu vegan?
- Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
- How long does high protein vegan kale caesar salad with crispy chickpeas and baked tofu take to make?
- 20 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking, so 50 minutes of hands-on time.
- Can you make high protein vegan kale caesar salad with crispy chickpeas and baked tofu ahead?
- Refrigerate the dressing in a jar for up to 4 days and the massaged, undressed kale in a covered container for up to 4 days. Keep the baked tofu in the fridge for up to 4 days. Store the chickpeas and croutons in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, and re-crisp them at 400°F for 3–4 minutes if needed. Dressed salad is best eaten within 1 day.
- What can I substitute in high protein vegan kale caesar salad with crispy chickpeas and baked tofu?
- Swap half the kale for chopped romaine — gives a lighter, crunchier, more classic caesar texture. dress it just before serving because romaine wilts quickly.. Use 1 tbsp chopped green olives instead of capers — keeps the dressing briny but makes it a bit milder and fruitier.. Use cubed tempeh instead of firm tofu — gives a nuttier flavor and firmer bite. steam the cubes for 10 minutes before coating and roasting.. Use gluten-free bread instead of sourdough and tamari instead of soy sauce — makes the salad gluten-free. gf bread crisps a little faster, so check it after 8 minutes..
- Does high protein vegan kale caesar salad with crispy chickpeas and baked tofu contain gluten or nuts?
- We can't say from our data — this recipe uses an ingredient we don't hold allergen information for, so treat the ingredient list as the only source of truth and check the labels on what you buy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published October 1, 2026 ·American