How to Make Chicken Caesar Salad – From Scratch

This chicken Caesar salad is one of our favourite salads for lunch or for dinner. It beats any restaurant or salad in a bag, because homemade is best!

chicken caesar salad on platter

Read more: Homemade croutons, Tender chicken breast 4 ways, Caesar dressing with NO anchovies.

Just be warned, this everything from scratch recipe is going to take way longer than a bagged salad kit!  But if you’re in the mood for a seriously good salad, it’s  worth the extra time and effort to make the dressing, croutons and seasoned chicken from scratch.

Let’s get to it!

ingredients for chicken caesar salad

Recipe for Chicken Caesar Salad

chicken caesar salad platter
Print Recipe
5 from 6 votes

Chicken Caesar Salad

A satisfying full meal salad that's best with homemade croutons, dressing and seasoned chicken. Make double or triple amounts of the dressing, croutons and chicken for use throughout the week. Prepared chicken and croutons can also be frozen.
Prep : 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

Seasoned Chicken

  • 3 boneless chicken breasts
  • 1 Tbsp canola oil
  • 1/2 Tbsp Montreal Steak Spice or your favorite spice blend (Lemon pepper, Seasoned Salt, etc.)

Seasoned Croutons

  • 3-4 slices thick bread (French, rye, sourdough, whole wheat, etc.)
  • 2 Tbsp butter or oil
  • 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning (oregano, basil, garlic pwdr)

Caesar Salad Dressing

  • 3 Tbsp plain Greek or Icelandic yogurt
  • 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • pinch black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/2-1 Tbsp milk if needed to thin

Salad

  • 1 head romaine lettuce
  • 1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
  • 1 lemon, sliced into wedges

Instructions

Seasoned Chicken

  • Remove filets from breasts if present. Place chicken on cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Use a rolling pin or flat side of a meat mallet to gently but firmly even out the thickness of the chicken breast. Cut 1/4 to 1/2 inch (1 cm) slices across the breast at a slight angle. Repeat with remaining breasts. Cut slices in half if you prefer smaller pieces.
  • Heat oil in large fry pan.
  • Add chicken pieces to pan and season with Montreal steak spice or your favorite seasoning. Stir and cook 5-7 minutes until cooked through. Set aside.

Seasoned Croutons

  • Cut or tear bread into 1/2" (1.5 cm) cubes.
  • Gently heat oil or melt butter in pan over medium heat, being careful not to burn it.
  • Add bread to pan and mix well to coat in melted butter or oil and sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
  • Fry bread until lightly browned, stirring frequently to ensure all sides get toasted.
  • Turn off heat and let cool.

Caesar Salad Dressing

  • In large jar, combine all ingredients except milk. Stir well to thoroughly mix ingredients.
  • If too thick, add as much milk as needed to reach desired consistency.
  • Taste and adjust seasoning.

Assembly

  • Wash lettuce. Dry well so dressing will stick better. Tear into bite sized pieces.
  • Assemble just before serving.
  • Toss lettuce with two thirds of the dressing. Arrange on platter.
  • Add croutons and chicken to top.
  • Drizzle with a little more dressing and garnish with shaved Parmesan cheese.
  • When serving, offer extra croutons, dressing, Parmesan and lemon wedges on the side for everyone to add as they wish.

Notes

Extra dressing can be stored in the fridge for 5-7 days.
Extra croutons will last in the cupboard for 3-5 days or for 3 months in the freezer.
Cooked chicken can be kept in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Tried this recipe?Mention @GetGettyS or tag #GetGettyS
chicken caesar salad ready to serve

Is Chicken Caesar Salad Healthy?

Well, it all depends on your definition of healthy. My point of reference is Canada’s Food Guide. To me a healthy meal consists of half a plate of vegetables, a quarter plate whole grains and a quarter plate of quality protein. The less processed the food, the lower in sugar, salt and saturated fat – the better.

Does this chicken Caesar salad meet those criteria? It meets a lot of them, but you could definitely make it better by considering your ingredients carefully. For example:

  • use oil instead of butter when making croutons
  • use salt free seasonings or reduce how much you use
  • use less Parmesan cheese (sodium) or consider replacing with Nutritional Yeast
  • use whole grain instead of white bread for croutons
  • replace some of the mayo in the dressing recipe with more greek yogurt
  • add more vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, gently cooked asparagus tips, etc)
  • mix in some spinach or kale with the romaine lettuce
  • simply use a little less dressing or thin it out with a little more milk or even water

Compared to most restaurant or commercial chicken Caesar salads, this homemade version stands up pretty well.

What to Serve with Chicken Caesar Salad

For us, this salad is usually supper – the whole supper. It has the veggies, the protein and the starch we need. But I get it, sometimes you want just a little more. How about one of these to go with your salad:

chicken caesar salad on plate
Caesar Salad topped with Fried Proscuitto

What do you serve with chicken Caesar salad or do you eat it like we often do – as a meal all on its own?

If you make this salad please take a photo and tag #getgettys so I can see it and like it!

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