Chicken Caesar Salad Recipe

Back in the day, I used to meet up with friends weekly for happy hour at Claim Jumper restaurant in Long Beach, Calif. My go-to dish was the Caesar salad. That one had no chicken, but the price was an unbelievable $1.50.

This recipe reminds me of those good old days. It’s creamy, salty, and earthy — with a satisfying crunch from homemade croutons. And, with the grilled chicken, this salad is hearty enough to make a meal.  

Chicken Caesar salad: What to expect

• Taste: The salad has the classic Caesar flavor you expect. Saltiness, some sharpness, a slight garlic undertone are the key flavors.  
• Texture: A good Caesar salad delivers on texture in more than one way. The croutons and some snappy Romaine pieces bring the crunch. The grilled chicken provides a tenderness, punctuated with its charred edges.   
• Foolproof factor: The easiest fail point of this recipe is adding too much Dijon mustard to the dressing. Go easy at first and then add more to taste.
• Timing: This recipe will probably take you 40 minutes to prepare.   

Chicken Caesar salad ingredients and how to use them

The ingredients below are for the salad, plus croutons and homemade dressing. The list may look long, but many are pantry items you probably already have.

• Boneless, skinless chicken breast: You’ll season the chicken breasts lightly, then grill them — which you can do outside on a charcoal grill or inside with a grill pan or George Foreman. You could also swap in rotisserie chicken or any other chicken that’s already cooked.
• Salt, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder: This combo of seasonings adds flavor to the chicken. You’ll mix ¾ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon onion powder. That creates your rub which goes on the chicken before you grill it.
• Romaine lettuce: I use an entire head of Romaine lettuce, but you can adjust the amount up or down as needed. I like to rinse the leaves one at a time, then hand-tear them into a salad spinner. Give the spinner a few turns and the lettuce is ready to go.
• Parmesan cheese: A ½ cup Parmesan cheese finishes your salad. Don’t buy the powdered stuff if you can avoid it. Get a block of Parmesan and grate it yourself for a fresher flavor.
• French bread: You’ll want about 2 cups of cubed French bread pieces for your croutons. This is probably about 1/4 of a standard French loaf, or four slices.
• Olive oil, fresh garlic, salad: Before you toast the croutons, you’ll toss them in 3 tablespoons of olive oil, two crushed garlic cloves, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
• Mayonnaise, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil: The Caesar dressing is made from 2 tablespoons mayo, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, scant ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon Worcestershire, ¼ cup olive oil, plus the anchovy mentioned below. I prefer avocado mayo and extra-virgin olive oil. Also, go easy on the Dijon because it can overtake the flavor of the dressing. If you don’t want to use mayo, try the Caesar dressing that goes with my flatbreads recipe.
• Oil-packed anchovy, minced: My husband ate Caesar dressing for years before he knew there was anchovy in it. This is the essential ingredient that creates that distinctive Caesar flavor. You can also use ½ teaspoon anchovy paste, which is a little easier to store than canned anchovies.  

Equipment needed

You will need:

• Big bowl
• Grill or grill pan
• Baking sheet
• Whisk

Optional kitchen tools that will make this recipe easier are:

• Salad spinner
• Mallet
• Sharp knife

Tips for success

Give yourself time to wash, tear, and dry the Romaine. Soggy lettuce will dull the flavor of your dressing. If you don’t have a salad spinner, lay the Romaine leaves out on paper towels to dry. You can also blot them gently.

I also recommend hand-tearing lettuce. Taking a knife to lettuce often leaves wilted edges; I’ve even had this happen using a plastic lettuce knife. This won’t happen if you tear the pieces gently by hand.  

If that sounds too tedious — I get it — start with a bag of torn and washed Romaine pieces so you don’t feel rushed.

More Caesar salad recipes you’ll love  

Once you invest in a can of anchovies or anchovy paste, you might as well keep making Caesar salads, right? The good news is that you can mix it up with fun recipes like these:

• Chicken Caesar pasta salad
• Chicken Caesar salad wraps
• Chicken Caesar salad pizza
• Chicken Caesar burgers

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