Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

This chicken Caesar salad with garlic-rubbed grilled croutons and grilled marinated chicken is a grilling lover's version of the classic Caesar salad.

This salad includes grilled marinated chicken, grilled sliced baguette garlic croutons, hearts of romaine lettuce, and shaved Parmesan cheese. This grilled chicken Caesar salad is a wonderful dinner to kick off grilling season.

Plus, the Caesar dressing is amazing.

I love grilled chicken salads, including Grilled Chicken Chopped Salad, and Grilled Chicken and Peach Tossed Green Salad. These salads are perfect for dinner when the weather gets warm.

This salad is tossed with a creamy anchovy, mustard, lemon juice, Parmesan, Worcestershire sauce, and olive oil dressing. (For a creamier Caesar dressing, try the one from my Kale Caesar Salad.) 

This salad is garnished with big garlicky croutons made from day old baguette slices.

By the way, Caesar salad was evidently invented by a San Diego restauranteur of Italian heritage who owned restaurants across the border in Tijuana to avoid Prohibition. The salad was typically prepared table side by waiters.

Whether or not anchovies and garlic were originally included in the dressing is disputed. Regardless, if their addition came along later, it was worth the wait.

Ingredients for this grilled chicken Caesar salad:

Hearts of romaine lettuce
Boneless skinless chicken breasts
A baguette, store bought or homemade
Olive oil packed anchovies or anchovy paste
Parmesan cheese
Fresh garlic cloves
Fresh lemons
Salt and pepper
Dijon mustard
Worcestershire sauce
Olive oil
Sherry vinegar
Canola oil

Tools to make this salad:

Some of the items below may contain affiliate links:

Extra large mixing bowl
Microplane Parmesan shredder
Vegetable peeler for shaving the Parmesan
Mini food processor (I actually use my mini food processor much more than my full-sized one)
Pastry brush

This dressing is super creamy. It’s loaded with Parmesan cheese and is emulsified in an instant in a mini food processor.

P.S. While traditional Caesar dressing included a raw egg, I left it out. I think it's just as tasty without it and you can keep leftovers in the refrigerator.

How to Make This Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad:

First, you marinate the chicken in a mixture of olive oil, lemon zest, garlic, salt, and pepper for at least 20 minutes and up to 24 hours.

To make the croutons, slice half of a day old baguette on and angle and brush the slices on both sides with olive oil. Grill the baguette slices on both sides and then rub the slices with raw garlic.

Next, you grill the chicken to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Tent the chicken with foil and set it aside.

After about ten minutes, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Finally, toss the lettuce, chicken, shaved parmesan, and dressing together and serve. Garnish the salad with the baguette croutons.

Chicken Caesar Salad Recipe Variations

If you want to be totally authentic, you can add a raw egg for extra creaminess. For safety, you can either use a pasteurized egg or “coddle” the egg by dropping an egg in bowling water for a couple of minutes. Another option is to add a tablespoon of mayonnaise instead of the egg.

To take grilled chicken caesar salad to a whole new level you could also grill the romaine. Cut the hearts of romaine in half lengthwise, brush the cut sides with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place them on the grill, cut side down and grill for 1 to 2 minutes until just slightly charred.

You could also put the salads on mini pie crusts and skip the croutons. 

Cookout Recipes

• Bacon Cheddar Potato Packs by Family Around the Table
• BLT Pasta Salad by Making Miracles
• Creamy Macaroni Coleslaw Salad by Blogghetti
• Dijon Potato Salad with Fresh Herbs by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Grilled Shrimp Piccata by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Grilled Tuna Steaks by That Recipe
• Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs by Sweet Beginnings
• Hoop Dee Doo Revue Cornbread by Simply Inspired Meals
• Korean Grilled Tuna by Palatable Pastime
• Low-Carb Chocolate Chip Bars by Art of Natural Living
• Orange Pesto Skirt Steak by Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Slow-Cooked Memphis-Style Ribs by Books n' Cooks

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Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Yield: 4 servings

Author: Karen Kerr

This chicken Caesar salad with garlic-rubbed grilled croutons and grilled marinated chicken is a grilling lover's version of the classic Caesar salad.

Ingredients:

For the Grilled Garlic Croutons

• 1/2 French baguette sliced on an angle
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 large garlic cloves peeled and cut in half

For the Grilled Chicken

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Dressing

• 1 - 2 ounce can anchovies rinsed
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 1/4 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons Finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup olive oil

For the Salad

• 3 Hearts of romaine lettuce leaves separated and washed and dried
• 1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

To Make the Garlic Croutons

1. Brush both sides of the baguette slices with olive oil
2. Grill the slices on a hot grill or grill pan until you have grill marks on both sides.
3. Remove from the grill and immediately rub both sides of the bread slices with the cut sides of the garlic to infuse the croutons with the flavor of garlic.

To Make the Chicken

1. Slice the chicken breasts into 1 inch thick slices.
2. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, salt, and pepper and toss with the chicken pieces.
3. Place the mixture in a plastic bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
4. In the meantime, set aside about 1/4 of the Caesar dressing.
5. Heat the grill and brush the chicken pieces with the set aside Caesar dressing.
6. Grill the chicken about 3 to 5 minutes per side, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Set aside.

To Make the Dressing

1. In the bowl of a mini food processor or a blender, blend the anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, sherry vinegar, mustard, sugar, finely grated Parmesan, and the Worcestershire sauce until smooth.
2. With the food processor or blender running, slowly stream in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified and thick. Set aside about 1/4 for brushing the chicken before grilling.

To Make the Salad

1. You can serve the salad with the romaine leaves left whole or torn into pieces. Toss the leaves with the chicken and the dressing to taste.
2. Garnish with the shaved Parmesan and garlic baguette croutons.

Calories
568.66

Fat (grams)
38.79

Sat. Fat (grams)
8.66

Carbs (grams)
22.71

Fiber (grams)
1.17

Net carbs
21.54

Sugar (grams)
3.14

Protein (grams)
33.96

Sodium (milligrams)
1279.39

Cholesterol (grams)
134.72

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2020/05/grilled-chicken-caesar-salad.html

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