I love a good chicken Caesar salad, but unfortunately, there are a lot of bad recipes out there and people often get nervous that most recipes use a raw egg yolk. This one makes everything from scratch. The chicken is marinated in a Greek seasoning and lemon infused marinade, then grilled and sliced thin. Crisp Romaine lettuce is tossed with a super creamy Caesar dressing which uses mayo instead of the traditional, and oftentimes dreaded, raw egg yolk. Finally, for the croutons, Italian bread cubes are tossed with olive oil, dried basil, and Hungarian paprika, and then baked until the edges are crispy and the insides are warm and fluffy. Shards of salty Parmesan round out the meal. 

Perfect Chicken Caesar Salad

Serves 4-6

Ingredients for Marinade:

• 4 chicken breasts
• ½ cup olive oil
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 tablespoon Greek seasoning

Caesar Dressing

• ¼ cup mayo
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Juice of ½ a lemon
• Salt and Pepper
• ½ cup olive oil

Croutons:

• 3 cups Italian bread, cubed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon Hungarian paprika

To assemble:

• 2 heads Romaine lettuce, washed, dried, and torn (or 1 head romaine + 5 oz. container baby spinach)
• 2 vine-ripe tomatoes, diced
• Shards of Parmesan, for serving

Directions:

1. Marinate the Chicken: Combine olive oil, lemon zest and juice, garlic, salt and pepper, and Greek seasoning. Whisk well to emulsify. Marinate chicken for 2 hours. Grill the chicken 4-5 minutes per side on a grill pan until an instant read thermometer registers 165 degrees. 
2. Make the Dressing: Stir together mayo, mustard, anchovy paste, garlic, lemon juice, and salt and pepper, to taste. Whisk in olive oil in a slow, steady stream to emulsify.
3. Bake the croutons: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread cubes, oil, and seasonings on large sheet pan. Toss well. Bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown, tossing once. Keep an eye on it, it browns quickly. You want your croutons to be golden brown on the outside but still soft on the inside. 
4. Assemble the salad: Toss the romaine with the tomatoes. Slice the chicken and arrange on top of the salad. Top with croutons and serve dressing on the side. 

Note: The Greek seasoning mix I use has salt, dried garlic, oregano, sesame seeds, and lemon extract. Though you can substitute ½ teaspoon dried oregano, I highly recommend seeking out a Greek seasoning mix. You’ll find that you suddenly start using it on everything.

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