Chicken Caesar Salad With Homemade Croutons
This Chicken Caesar Salad With Homemade Croutons has the perfect creamy, slightly garlicky Caesar dressing drizzled over crisp romaine. Make this for a light dinner or even meal prep for lunch!
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Homemade Croutons
- 1 pound good quality bread, sourdough, Italian or French
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup olive oil, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Chicken
- 4 5 ounce boneless skinless, chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
Caesar Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (very fine)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1 clove garlic, very finely minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
Salad
- 2 large heads romaine, cut into bite sized pieces
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese, grated or shaved
Instructions
Croutons
- Preheat the oven to 375° F. Cut the bread into bite sized pieces and add to a large mixing bowl.
- Melt butter and drizzle over the bread cubes while stirring. Drizzle half of the olive oil over the bread. Sprinkle with the seasonings and toss well to coat the bread cubes.
- Spread the bread cubes over a rimmed baking tray and drizzle the cubes and drizzle the bread cubes with the addition olive oil to make sure they are well coated.
- Place the bread cubes in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until bread is toasted, stirring halfway through. Cool completely before storing.
Chicken
- While croutons are baking, heat a skillet over medium high heat with tablespoon of olive oil. Rub chicken breast with spice mixture and place in the hot skillet. Cook the chicken breast on each side for 5-7 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through and reaches 165° F. Set chicken aside to rest for a few minutes before slicing.
Dressing And Salad
- Meanwhile mix together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
- Add the chopped romaine to a serving bowl with the shaved parmesan cheese. Toss the salad with the desired amount of dressing ( the recipe may make more than you need so judge how much you like and save the rest).
- Sprinkle with croutons and top the salad with sliced cooked chicken.
- Serve immediately or for meal prep store components separately. *See notes.
Notes
Make Ahead
This is the perfect salad to make ahead for either lunch or dinner during the work week.
Croutons- can be made up to 2 weeks ahead and will stay crispy when stored in an airtight container. Make sure to cool the croutons completely before storing.
Caesar Dressing- this dressing can be made a week ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Chicken- the chicken can be cooked ahead and stored after it has completely cooled in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Assembling For Later- to keep the romaine crisp and the croutons from getting soggy, I like to keep all of the components in separate airtight containers and combine when ready to eat. You can always put the parmesan cheese with the romaine and separate the remaining ingredients in other containers.