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30 Minutes or Less

Quick and Easy Kale Caesar Salad

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dressing being poured over kale caesar salad

This kale caesar salad is bursting with fresh flavor! It’s hearty and super satisfying, but won’t leave you feeling weighed down. Fuel up on this healthy and delicious restaurant-quality salad for lunch or dinner!

caesar dressing being poured over a kale caesar salad

What You’ll Need

Kale – Duh! It wouldn’t be a kale caesar salad without it. There’s a pretty large variety of kale out there, and really any kind will work in this recipe. I used curly kale, but dino kale tastes just as good. To prepare your kale for this dish, start by removing the thickest part of the stem located at the base of each leaf. Once that’s gone, lay all kale leaves down on a cutting board horizontally and run your knife through them. Keep your cuts about 1 to 2-inches apart, anything bigger may become difficult to chew!

Romaine – Crunchy romaine adds the perfect, fresh bite to this healthy salad recipe! Since romaine is made up of mostly water, it’s softer and easier to chew than fibrous kale. I experimented with both a romaine and non-romaine version of this recipe, and adding in romaine is definitely the way to go! However, if you don’t have any romaine lettuce on-hand, feel free to make this salad without it.

Croutons – This kale caesar salad is allllll about a good crunch. We stop at literally nothing to add as much crunch to it as possible. Personally, I don’t think any caesar salad is complete without at least a few croutons – they’re arguably the best part! You can use store-bought croutons, but I included a note below this recipe on how to make your own homemade croutons. It’s actually super quick, easy, and that much more delicious.

Anchovy Filets – Guys, I don’t wanna hear it! Anchovies have such a bed rep, but they actually work wonders in many recipes. Also, if you think you “hate” anchovies, but enjoy caesar salads on a regular basis, then think again! Most caesar dressings contain some form of anchovies, or at least all the really good ones do. And don’t worry, 3-4 anchovy filets won’t make our dressing taste at all fishy. They simply add a delicious, briny touch that’s truly unmatched! Therefore, don’t make this recipe without them.

kale caesar salad being lifted out of a serving bowl

Add Protein

Turn this easy salad recipe into a complete meal by topping it with cooked chicken, shrimp, salmon, or some crispy chickpeas!

What Makes This Kale Caesar Salad So Healthy?

Kale is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet! I mean, it’s a literal superfood, so it’s full of:

  • Vitamin A – strengthens immune system.
  • Vitamin K – necessary to prevent blood clotting.
  • Folate – great for brain development.
  • Potassium – aids nerve and muscle function.
  • Vitamin C – prevents chronic diseases.
  • Calcium – builds strong bones.
  • Zinc – strengthens immune system and metabolism.

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free croutons instead!

Make it Dairy-Free: Either omit the parmesan cheese, or use nutritional yeast or your favorite non-dairy parmesan cheese in its place.

Vegan Option: Make this a vegan kale caesar salad by replacing the parmesan cheese with nutritional yeast, the mayonnaise with vegan mayonnaise, and the anchovy filets with a teaspoon of capers.

Kale Caesar Salad

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: Lunch, DinnerDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

0

minutes
Total time

5

minutes

This kale caesar salad is bursting with fresh flavor! It’s hearty and super satisfying, but won’t leave you feeling weighed down. Fuel up on this healthy and delicious restaurant-quality salad for lunch or dinner!

Ingredients

  • For the salad:

  • 1 bunch kale, stems removed and chopped

  • 4 cups romaine, chopped

  • 1 cup croutons, see Notes for homemade croutons

  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese shreds, optional

  • For the dressing:

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise

  • 3-4 anchovy filets

  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled

  • 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

  • Add all salad ingredients to a large bowl.
  • Add all dressing ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and combined.
  • Drizzle dressing over salad, toss to coat, then serve.

Notes

  • Homemade Croutons: Slice thick, crusty bread (such as French bread) into 1-inch cubes. Place cubed bread on a baking sheet and drizzle with about a tablespoon of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt and black pepper. Bake croutons at 350° Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

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30 Minutes or Less

Easy Breakfast Tacos (Freezer Friendly!)

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breakfast tacos with sliced avocado and vegan sour cream on top, and coffee on the side

One pan and a few simple ingredients is all you’ll need for the best EVER breakfast tacos! Smoky chorizo, creamy refried beans, fluffy eggs, and fresh avocado piled high atop warm tortillas. And did I mention they take just 15 minutes to make?! There truly is no better way to start the day.

breakfast tacos with sliced avocado and vegan sour cream on top, and coffee on the side

What You’ll Need

Tortillas – Either corn or flour tortillas will work for these breakfast tacos! I actually used Siete’s grain-free tortillas to keep my tacos a little lighter and healthier. Whatever tortillas you use, be sure to heat them up slightly in your pan to make them pliable and crispy around the edges.

Chorizo – The two most common types of chorizo are semi-cooked chorizo and dried chorizo. For this recipe, we’re looking for either semi-cooked chorizo or fresh chorizo. While uncommon, fresh chorizo works best in this recipe, so if you can find it definitely use it! Though I used semi-cooked chorizo and my breakfast tacos still turned out perfect. For semi-cooked, chop the chorizo into half or quarter moons then quickly cook in a hot skillet. For fresh chorizo, remove the meat from its casing and cook in a hot skillet until completely cooked through, crumbling the sausage as it cooks.

Eggs – They wouldn’t be breakfast tacos without some scrambled eggs! Luckily, scrambled eggs are super easy to throw together. Use as many or as few eggs as you’d like, I sometimes add a couple more into my scramble for extra protein.

Refried Beans – Either canned or homemade refried beans will taste delicious in this easy breakfast recipe. For homemade, I recommend this recipe, and for store bought, I prefer the Amy’s Organic Refried Beans.

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

  • Make it Vegan: Making vegan breakfast tacos is surprisingly easy with a few simple swaps. Cook up some scrambled tofu and double up on refried beans to make up for the lack of chorizo. The end result will be a delicious vegan breakfast with plenty of protein!
  • Make it Paleo: Use Siete Almond Flour Tortillas in place of regular tortillas to turn this into a paleo meal.
  • Make it Whole30: Ditch the tortillas and wrap these breakfast tacos in butter lettuce leaves instead! Also, make sure your refried beans and chorizo are Whole30 compliant. If you can’t find Whole30 compliant chorizo, use Whole30 compliant bacon instead.

How to Freeze Breakfast Tacos

  1. Wrap tortilla completely around filling, then wrap each individual taco in aluminum foil.
  2. Store in the freezer for up to 1 month.
  3. To reheat, place tacos still in foil in the oven at 350° Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.
Easy Breakfast Tacos (Freezer Friendly)
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Easy Breakfast Tacos (Freezer Friendly)

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: BreakfastDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

10

minutes
Total time

15

minutes

One pan and a few simple ingredients is all you’ll need for the best EVER breakfast tacos! Smoky chorizo, creamy refried beans, fluffy eggs, and fresh avocado piled high atop warm tortillas. And did I mention they take just 15 minutes to make?! There truly is no better way to start the day.

Ingredients

  • 8 small corn or flour tortillas

  • 4 ounces chorizo sausage, removed from casing or chopped

  • 8 large eggs, whisked

  • salt and pepper, to taste

  • 1 cup refried beans

  • 2 avocados, peeled and sliced

  • Optional toppings:

  • salsa

  • fresh cilantro, chopped

  • cheese

  • sour cream

  • hot sauce

Directions

  • Heat tortillas in a skillet over medium-low heat, one at a time, until soft and pliable then set aside.
  • Add olive oil to skillet and cook chorizo sausage until browned and cooked through, then remove and set aside.
  • Add whisked eggs to skillet, season with salt and pepper, and scramble until full cooked.
  • Warm refried beans in either the microwave or a small saucepan over low heat.
  • Assemble tacos by spooning some refried beans, then chorizo, then scrambled eggs into each tortilla. Top with sliced avocado and any other toppings you’d like.

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30 Minutes or Less

Bang Bang Shrimp Bowls

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close-up overhead image of bang bang shrimp bowl with cucumber, edamame, pickled red onion, and white rice

For a quick, easy, and delicious dinner – make these perfect bang bang shrimp bowls! Crispy cooked shrimp is tossed in a spicy, tangy bang bang sauce, then spooned over rice and a variety of veggies. Whip together this restaurant-quality meal in under 15 minutes, I promise you won’t regret it!

bang bang shrimp bowl with shrimp, cucumber, edamame, and pickled red onion

What You’ll Need To Make This Recipe

Shrimp – Do yourself a favor and purchase peeled and deveined shrimp for this recipe. Then, if the tails haven’t already been removed, go ahead and remove them before cooking the shrimp. If left one, the shrimp tails are a nightmare to remove once covered in bang bang sauce. So, make life a little easier and strip those shrimp before cooking!

Harissa Paste – Harissa is chili paste commonly used in Middle Eastern cooking. It’s delightfully spicy and loaded with delicious flavor. You should be able to find harissa paste at your local grocery store in either the spice aisle or ethnic food aisle. Though if you can’t find harissa paste available for purchase, there are a few homemade recipes floating around on the internet, such as this one.

Soy Sauce or Coconut Aminos – A touch of soy sauce adds a bit of tang to our bang bang shrimp sauce. It’s the perfect addition to help round out the savory flavors! Though if you’re paleo or currently on Whole30, feel free to use coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce in this recipe. It’ll provide that same irresistible briny flavor!

Cooked Rice – Use whatever kind of rice you’d like! White rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice… you get the idea. The use of cauliflower rice makes for a great low-carb, paleo, and Whole30 option!

Top Tips

  • Get the avocado oil in your skillet hot before adding in the shrimp. We want a nice, golden brown and crispy crust on our shrimp, and can only achieve this by cooking them in very hot oil. And thanks to the use of high heat, the shrimp will only take a few minutes per side to cook!
  • You can make this bang bang shrimp recipe in the air fryer if you’d like! To do this, simply add your shrimp to an air fryer basket, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt, then cook at 400° Fahrenheit for 5 minutes. Once shrimp is fully cooked, toss in the bang bang sauce and continue with the recipe as normal.
  • Ditch the bowls and serve this easy seafood dish however you’d like! Poke each shrimp with a toothpick to serve as a delicious appetizer. Or, place in lettuce wraps for super healthy bang bang shrimp tacos!

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Paleo/Whole30 – For a paleo or Whole30 meal, be sure to use compliant mayo, coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, and cauliflower rice in place of white or brown rice.

Make it Gluten-Free – The only ingredient in this dish which contains trace amounts of gluten is the soy sauce. Therefore, use tamari in place of the soy sauce to make this recipe gluten-free, I promise you won’t be able to taste the difference!

Make it Vegan – Fry up some cubed tofu in a bit of avocado oil (similar to how you would the shrimp) then use a vegan mayo for your sauce. Once the tofu’s crispy, add it to your sauce and serve it over bowls of rice and veggies!

Bang Bang Shrimp Bowls
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Bang Bang Shrimp Bowls

5 from 1 vote
Recipe by Samantha Course: Main, AppetizersDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

10

minutes
Total time

15

minutes

For a quick, easy, and delicious dinner – make these perfect bang bang shrimp bowls! Crispy cooked shrimp is tossed in a spicy, tangy bang bang sauce, then spooned over rice and a variety of veggies. Whip together this restaurant-quality meal in under 15 minutes, I promise you won’t regret it!

Ingredients

  • For the shrimp:

  • 1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp, tails removed

  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil, or any neutral vegetable oil

  • pinch of salt

  • For the bang bang sauce:

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise

  • 1 tablespoon harissa paste

  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce or coconut aminos

  • 1 teaspoon lime juice

  • For the bowls:

  • Cooked white or brown rice

  • Scallions, chopped

  • Pickled veggies

  • Sesame seeds

  • Cucumber, thinly sliced

  • Edamame

Directions

  • Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pat shrimp dry with a paper towel, season with a pinch of salt, then place in skillet and cook about 3-4 minutes per side or until opaque and slightly crispy.
  • Mix together all bang bang sauce ingredients in a large bowl. Add cooked shrimp to bowl and toss to coat in sauce.
  • Place bang bang shrimp over bowls of rice, and finish off with whatever other toppings you’d like.

Recipe Video

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