This Toasted Breadcrumb and Vegan Parmesan Kale Salad is what kale salads should always be - delicious! Ready in 30 minutes and tossed in a light lemon vinaigrette, this is the perfect side salad for any time of year!
Get ready to take everything you think you know about kale salads and throw it out the window.
This kale salad has so many good things going on.
Toasted breadcrumbs tossed in vegan butter; salty, savory vegan parmesan; crunchy sunflower seeds; chopped kale; finely diced red onion; and a lemon garlic vinaigrette that is so simple and packed with tons of flavor.
Are you convinced yet?
I hope the answer is...HELL YES!
First thing we need to do is make our breadcrumbs.
Today we are making these from scratch. Which is much easier than you'd think.
You ever have a few slices of bread left that are a day or two away from going bad? That is the perfect bread to use for this. It's already a little dry and will crisp up nicely in the oven.
Whether your bread is old or fresh, we're still going to toast it in the oven.
TSV TIP: I used whole wheat sourdough, but you could use any bread you have on hand - or gluten free bread if needed.
Once you have your bread nice and toasted, into the food processor it goes with some melted vegan butter.
TSV TIP: My go-to vegan butter is Earth Balance and the only vegan parmesan I use is GoVeggie.
The breadcrumbs will go back into the oven for one final chance to get brown and crispy.
And, while the bread is doing its thing, we are going to whisk up the dressing.
This dressing is one of my favorites. All you need is olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, salt & pepper. So simple, but so, so good.
Now that all of the "hard" parts are done (let's be honest, there's nothing hard about this recipe), we'll just combine everything in a large bowl and call it a day.
This salad is great on its own, but it also makes the best side salad>>>I'm thinking alongside a big plate of spaghetti topped with Spicy Marinara Sauce and Vegan Cauliflower Meatballs. Mmmmmmmmmm.
And I hope that after all of my gushing over this recipe you may have had a change of heart about kale salads. Fingers crossed!
*This recipe was inspired by Pinch of Yum!
Toasted Breadcrumb and Vegan Parmesan Kale Salad
Ingredients
FOR THE BREADCRUMBS
- 4-6 slices bread* GF if needed
- 3 tablespoon vegan butter melted and separated
- pepper to taste
FOR THE DRESSING
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 large lemon juiced
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- salt & pepper to taste
FOR THE SALAD
- 5 cups kale loosely packed and finely chopped
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- ½ cup vegan parmesan
- ¼ red onion finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place bread on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Remove bread from the oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes. Break bread into smaller pieces and place in a food processor. Pulse until breadcrumbs begin to form. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and pepper and pulse 2-3 more times. Spread the breadcrumbs back on the baking sheet and drizzle remaining butter over top. Place back in the oven for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are brown and crispy. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- While bread is cooking, make dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a bowl and stirring to combine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine kale, breadcrumbs, sunflower seeds, vegan parmesan, red onion and dressing. Toss to combine.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase I will receive a small percentage of the sale. Please know I would never link a product unless I have personally used it and loved it!
If you make this recipe be sure to snap a photo + post it + and tag #thissavoryvegan and @thissavoryvegan!
Amy B
This salad gets rave reviews from vegans and non-vegans! I’ve served it now a couple of times and it is wonderful… truly special. I make the breadcrumbs the night before, then toss the kale with the dressing an hour or two before serving, adding the breadcrumbs, vegan cheese (just nutritional yeast), and sub pine nuts for the sunflower seeds. I use the Trader Joe’s shredded kale, which has a lighter texture and doesn’t need massaging. So simple and so good. Thank you!!
Rene
Hi Amy - so glad you liked this! And those sound like great swaps!