Crisp Romaine Lettuce, herb grilled chicken, and an easy lemony homemade Caesar dressing turn this Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad into a lunch or dinnertime favorite.

This is quite possibly my favorite salad. I'm not sure though, because I have made quite a few great ones lately. Really, I love almost all salads, but I am a creature of habit. I find something I like and stick with it... well, forever. The nice thing about starting this blog is that I am switching up my meals a little more often. Let's face it, I could eat spinach quiche for breakfast and a salad of romaine and basil vinaigrette for lunch every day -- for months on end. Yeah, I know I'm boring or plain old lazy, or maybe a little of both.
You can find a version of Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad on almost any menu in Southern California. It's one of my favorite meals to order when we go out. From now on, I'll be making it at home. The traditional Caesar dressing calls for one to make a paste of anchovies, garlic and salt, then add Dijon mustard (a "cheat" for easier emulsification), egg yolks, then oil added drop by drop, to make a highly flavored pungent mayonnaise, finished off with lemon juice. Mayonnaise is not at all difficult to make -- if you use a blender or immersion blender (stick blender). But, preparing it by hand will give your arm a mighty workout even with the Dijon mustard "cheat".
The dressing for this Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad is super easy to prepare because it uses prepared mayonnaise - any good store bought brand will do, as will home made. I tailored the ingredients to my tastes and added lemon zest to jump up the lemon flavor a bit more. I LOVE lemon and try to sneak it into lots of things. My family enjoys this dressing so much, that I make extra for the kids to dip their veggies into. For the record, my son LOVED this salad, but my daughter is often harder to please. :( But, when I made a chopped salad with the same ingredients, she thought it was awesome. Could it have been the bacon I added to hers? Win!
Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound romaine lettuce 454 grams
- 12 ounces Garlic Herbed Grilled Chicken
- ¾ cup Lemony Caesar Dressing
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- freshly ground pepper to taste
Lemony Caesar Dressing
- 1 cup mayo
- 1 ½ teaspoons anchovy paste
- 1 clove medium - large garlic
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or more to taste
- zest of one lemon
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In bowl large enough to toss the salad, add the romaine, chicken and 1 cup of Lemony Caesar Dressing and toss to coat with clean hands or a large spoon and fork.
- Place the dressed salad into a serving bowl and sprinkle the shredded Parmesan cheese on top.
- Add freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Carsten
I found Ian's Gluten Free Italian Croutons; 1/4 cup is 20 calories and 3 net carbs.
Kim
I'll have to check them out, Carsten! Thanks for sharing your great find. -Kim
Claire Craig
Hi, just an idea, this salad would be great with some of your toasted bread in it. I don't know if they do in America but in Australia all Caesar salads have cubes of bread in them.
Kim
Yes, Claire, the traditional salad has croutons in it. I really haven't found a suitable low carb bread for low carb croutons, but I guess anyone could use their favorite low carb bread recipe for that. Thanks for the feedback. Have a wonderful day. -Kim
Matt
My kids love this as a chopped salad. Great!
gina
How much mayo is in the Caesar salad dressing? Am I just missing it?!
thanks
Kim
Hi Gina. No! You didn't miss a thing...I did! So sorry! 1 cup of mayo. I will change that now. Thanks for keeping me honest. Have a great weekend. -Kim