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This Chicken Caesar Salad recipe tosses crisp romaine lettuce and juicy grilled chicken in a garlicky homemade dressing made with Greek yogurt and bright lemon juice. It’s the classic made light and fresh! Easily keep it gluten-free, if needed, with from-scratch polenta croutons.
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: Italian
- Primary Cooking Method: Grill
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free option
- Skill Level: Easy
Why You’ll Love This Chicken Caesar Salad
This Chicken Caesar Salad is my take on a classic Caesar salad, and it’s such a nice little change-up of a traditional salad. What makes my recipe different?
Not only is it gluten-free with homemade Italian Herb Parmesan Polenta Croutons, but the dressing is lightened up with creamy Greek yogurt (see my Greek Yogurt Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe for tips on making a perfect dressing). We rely on lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan cheese to give it that familiar, savory flavor you love without being overly rich. You also won’t find any mayonnaise, eggs, or anchovies in this recipe, unlike other more traditional recipes, and I don’t think you’ll miss them! Here’s why you’ll love it:
- Super flavorful. Even without the added fish, you’ll find this salad to be plenty flavorful. Rely on Worcestershire sauce for umami flavor and a bit of saltiness.
- Hearty enough for lunch. I love Caesar salad for lunch and find it to be enough to fill me up without leaving me overly full. You could also add a small cup of Instant Pot Tomato Basil Soup on the side if you want a little more.
- Lighter yet still so good. I will always choose Greek yogurt over mayonnaise, both for its silky texture and tangy flavor that adds extra oomph to whatever you use it in. A bonus is that it contains more protein than mayo and is egg-free!
Recipe Ingredients
While some people like to add things like hard-boiled eggs, olives, tomatoes, or even avocado to their Caesar salad recipe, I kept this one simple. It only has five main components, and I’ve outlined them below. Scroll to the recipe card for the full ingredient amounts.
- Caesar Dressing: Greek yogurt (any type of Greek yogurt works, as long as it’s a plain variety), lemon juice, olive oil, worcestershire sauce, grated parmesan cheese, garlic, and Kosher salt.
- Croutons: You can buy a box or try my homemade polenta croutons made with cornmeal (or use polenta), water, salt, parmesan, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.
- Chicken: You will need 1 pound of chicken breast. I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breast to keep things easy.
- Romaine Lettuce: Romaine is the traditional lettuce for Caesar salad because it’s hearty enough to stand up to the thick dressing and still stay crisp. If you can’t get Romaine, use butter lettuce or even baby spinach in a pinch.
- Parmesan Cheese: Make sure to have extra Parmesan for serving.
Tips and Variation Ideas
- Add leftover chicken. If you don’t want to cook the chicken fresh to make this salad, you can use leftover chicken! I will often set aside chicken when I make Lemon Yogurt Marinated Grilled Chicken Breasts, Lemon Herb Slow Cooker Roast Chicken, or Rosemary Balsamic Roasted Chicken. You can also add more chicken if you want a heartier salad.
- Double up on the dressing. If you make a double batch of Caesar dressing, you can use it to pre-tenderize your chicken breast. The Greek yogurt will help keep the chicken extra moist. Here’s what to do: Place the chicken in the dressing and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight before cooking it on the grill or in a grill pan.
- Swap turkey. Make this a turkey Caesar salad with slices of Air Fryer Turkey Breast instead of chicken. It’s a different idea for Thanksgiving leftovers!
- Add anchovies. Some people say that adding anchovies or anchovy paste is essential. So if that’s you, feel free to add a little to the dressing, although I don’t think it’s necessary.
- Use store-bought croutons. Streamline prep by adding your favorite gluten-free croutons to the salad.
Can I Save Extras For Later?
This Chicken Caesar Salad recipe with a homemade dressing made with Greek yogurt is the classic salad made light and fresh! Keep it gluten-free, if needed, with from-scratch polenta croutons., in my opinion, tastes best when eaten as soon as it’s assembled, but you can save any leftovers for up to 2 days. Place them in an airtight container and store them in the fridge.
Make It a Meal
- Soup. Caesar salad goes well with all sorts of soups, from a Vegetarian Minestrone to a Butternut Squash Soup with Sage and Thyme.
- Veggie sides. Try Mozzarella Cauliflower Tots or Zucchini Tater Tots for an easy comfort food veggie side. Or add Oven-Roasted Asparagus, Gluten Free Asparagus Fries, or Pesto Roasted Potatoes next to a serving of salad.
- Grilled cheese. Make lunch a sandwich and salad with an Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwich!
- Fries. Add a side of easy Air Fryer French Fries or loaded Greek Fries.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
Chicken Caesar Salad
Ingredients
For the Greek Yogurt Caesar Dressing
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Worcesterhire sauce
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
For the Parmesan Polenta Croutons
- ½ cup cornmeal or polenta
- 1 ½ cups water
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
For the Chicken Caesar Salad
- 1 lb thinly sliced chicken breasts
- 8 cups romaine lettuce, chopped or torn
- 1 cup packaged or homemade croutons or Italian Herb Parmesan Polenta Croutons
- Additional parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
For the Greek Yogurt Caesar Dressing
- Combine the 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons Worcesterhire sauce, ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese, 2 garlic cloves, ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and whisk together. Store in the refrigerator.
For the Parmesan Polenta Croutons
- Bring to a boil, then cook, stirring almost constantly, for 15-20 minutes, or until the polenta is thick and sticky.
- Stir in the 2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning.
- Remove the polenta from the pot and place onto plastic wrap or in a baking dish sprayed with olive oil or cooking spray.
- Shape into a rectangle, about ½ inch thick, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator until cooled. Preheat your oven to 450°F.
- Cut the polenta into ½ inch cubes and place in a single layer, not touching, on a baking sheet coated with olive oil or cooking spray. Spray some more olive oil or cooking spray over the cubes.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, turning every 8-10 minutes, until browned and crispy. Set aside to cool on the pan. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
For the Chicken Caesar Salad
- Pour about ½ cup of the dressing over the 1 lb thinly sliced chicken breasts and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (or up to several hours if you have time).
- Preheat your grill to high heat.
- Place the chicken on the grill, reduce heat to medium, and grill for about 2-4 minutes per side, or until cooked through, depending on how thick your chicken is.
- Remove from the grill, and set aside.
- Toss the 8 cups romaine lettuce, with a few tablespoons of the dressing, divide between plates.
- Slice the chicken breasts into strips.
- Top lettuce with chicken, 1 cup packaged or homemade croutons or Italian Herb Parmesan Polenta Croutons, Additional parmesan cheese, and additional dressing, if desired.
Did you make this?
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This recipe was adapted from Jamie Oliver.
Wow! That’s a lot of obstacles to overcome for the ReDux, especially the stomach virus-no fun at all! Our salad sounds delicious, and I can absolutely do anchovies in Caesar, although I confess to not eating them other than that. Love the polenta crouton idea-definitely have to check that out! Happy ReDux 🙂
Ugh, a stomach virus is probably the worst thing ever for a food blogger!
I just love how you “Greeked” this up. And those polenta croutons sound to die for! Would it be bad if I just made an extra batch of that for snacking purposes?
Haha! Nope – we totally were snacking on the rest of the croutons that were left after we ate our salads 🙂
Heck, I’m very impressed with you pulling this out despite all those obstacle (esp. stomach virus – the worst aliment for a food blogger!) But your post is anything but lame and I think looks delicious. So glad you participated this month!
Thanks so much! Yes, the stomach virus did put a damper on things. Nevermind cook and eat – I didn’t want to type recipes or edit food photos either.
I took the easy way out, too, and used shrimp! Hey, it’s a little fish or they wouldn’t call it “shrimp”, right?
I think shrimp totally counts, especially if two little anchovies in an entire bowl of dressing counts 🙂