Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

This post may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure.

This grilled chicken Caesar salad is a healthy, satisfying lunch or dinner. It’s packed with delicious flavors and hearty textures: grilled chicken breast, crisp romaine lettuce, avocado, parmesan cheese, ripe cherry tomatoes, and crunchy croutons. It’s drizzled with a rich and creamy Caesar salad dressing.

📌 Pin Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

🥗 Why We Love This Recipe

• It’s crisp and fresh. The perfect choice for a hot-weather day.
• It’s a restaurant-quality meal that’s healthy and satisfying. Enjoy it for lunch or dinner. Take this main dish to gatherings and potlucks.
• It’s a well-balanced salad with protein, veggies and dairy.
• Grilled chicken Caesar salad is quick and easy to assemble. You can buy the chicken strips, croutons and dressing at the store, and put the salad together in minutes.
• It’s a great make-ahead meal. Prep the chicken, croutons and dressing in advance. Refrigerate them separately in airtight containers. When you’re ready to serve and enjoy the salad, hand tear the romaine and add it to a bowl. Add in the other ingredients and toss to combine.
• You can make it “lite” by leaving out the croutons, and using this 👉🏻 healthy Caesar dressing made with Greek yogurt.

🛒 Ingredients

• Grilled Chicken Breast Strips: For a quick meal, buy a bag of ready-made grilled chicken breast strips at the market. They’re fully cooked, ready to eat. Or prep your own (boneless, skinless) chicken breasts with this tasty Mexican citrus marinade, and grill them at home. Another great option: buy pre-marinaded chicken breasts, ready for grilling.
• Haas Avocado: For the best taste and texture, look for a ripe California Haas avocado or a Mexico avocado – they have bumpy black, almost purple skins. Florida avocados have bright-green smooth skins and damp or watery flesh. There’s a real difference.
• Cherry Tomatoes: Look for bright-red tomatoes with firm skins. You can also use grape tomatoes, or a colorful mix of medley tomatoes.
• Shaved Parmesan Cheese: Rich, nutty, savory and bold, it’s visually appealing and adds a wonderful texture to the grilled chicken Caesar salad. But feel free to use shredded or grated parmesan instead.
• Romaine Lettuce: I prefer Romaine hearts – the center leaves of Romain lettuce. Small, sweet, crisp and sturdy, they’re the ideal texture and flavor for Caesar salad. Another great choice: little gem lettuce.
• Salad Dressing: Make this healthy Caesar dressing from scratch. Or for a quick-to-assemble salad, pick up a bottle of Johnny’s Great Caesar Salad Dressing at the store. It has a fresh homemade taste.
• Croutons: I make these crisp, crunchy, mini sourdough croutons. Because homemade always tastes best. But for a quick-to-assemble salad, feel free to use a store-bought bag of croutons. At the market, look for them in the bread aisle, or with the salad dressings. Some stores stock them in the produce section.
• Flaky Sea Salt: Enhances the flavor of the other ingredients. Add this seasoning to taste. Flaky salt has a pinchable texture that’s crushed between the fingers for better seasoning control.
• Freshly-Cracked Black Pepper: Adds rustic flavor, aroma and a bit of heat. Grinding it over the salad gives the dish more intense peppery flavor and texture than store-bought ground black pepper.
• Lemon Wedges: For serving. A squeeze of lemon juice over the salad makes it taste fresh and bright.

📖 Recipe Steps

RECIPE PREP: Butterfly or pound the chicken breasts so they’re no thicker than 1/2 inch. Marinate the chicken for at least 15 minutes in this flavorful 👉🏻 citrus chicken marinade. Make this 👉🏻 healthy Caesar dressing.

1. Heat a grill pan over high heat. Once the grill is hot, reduce heat to medium-high. Shake off excess marinade from the chicken. Place chicken on the grill pan. Cook 6 minutes, then flip and cook 6 to 8 minutes more, or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF. Remove the chicken to a board and cover it with foil. Let it rest 5 minutes before slicing it into thin strips (cutting against the grain) with a sharp knife.
2. Chop or hand tear the hearts of romaine into bite-size pieces over a large salad bowl.
3. Top the lettuce with sliced avocado, halved cherry tomatoes, (optional) sliced red onion, shaved parmesan cheese, and croutons.
4. Add strips of grilled chicken to the dish.

1. Season the grilled chicken Caesar salad with flaky salt and cracked black pepper. Drizzle Caesar dressing over the top. If desired, toss to combine. Serve on chilled salad plates.

👩🏻‍🍳 Recipe FAQ

These are the most commonly-asked questions when making a grilled chicken Caesar salad, and the most helpful answers for recipe success.

🍽 More Healthy Salads

Hungry for more healthy salad ideas for lunch and dinner? Try these hearty salad recipes that are packed with flavor. They’re tasty, satisfying and easy to make. Add them to your meal-plan rotation.

• Chinese Chicken Salad
• Tuna Pasta Salad
• Cold Spaghetti Salad
• Broccoli Salad with Bacon
• Strawberry Spinach Salad

Rate This Recipe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Flavor testers rated this the most flavorful grilled chicken Caesar salad recipe. They loved the colors, flavors and textures. They said they greatly enjoyed the dressing, as well as the recommended ideas for tasty add-ins.

If you agree this recipe’s a keeper, give it a 5-star rating in the comments. Then be a recipe hero. Share it with friends. 📌 Pin it to Pinterest.

Print

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad 👉🏻 Join the Convo

Are you excited to make this delicious salad? Will you enjoy it for lunch or dinner? Share your thoughts on this recipe in the comments below.