Say hello to my favorite chicken Caesar salad recipe! The chicken is tender and juicy, the croutons are crunchy, and the homemade dressing is out of this world!
This Caesar salad topped with juicy chicken has quickly become a family favorite. We use our classic Caesar salad as a base and add the most delicious Greek-marinated chicken and homemade croutons.
Once you try this salad, I’m betting you’ll be adding it to your favorites list. We’ve made it so many times lately, and I’m so excited for you to give it a try!
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: We use our Greek chicken marinade, which makes the chicken incredibly juicy, tangy, herby, and a little garlicky. It’s perfect for this salad. Use chicken breasts or thighs and marinate for at least 1 hour (up to 8 hours for maximum flavor). The marinade includes Greek yogurt, garlic, lemon, honey, balsamic vinegar, dill, and oregano.
- Lettuce (and/ or Kale): Romaine is classic for Caesar salad, and kale works beautifully, too. Tear or chop the leaves. If you’re using romaine, chop it just before serving since the cut edges can brown over time.
- Onion: We love adding very thinly sliced onion (almost shaved). It was inspired by a local restaurant, and it adds the best little bite. Slice as thin as possible (a mandoline is ideal).
- Parmesan: Parmesan goes in both the salad and the dressing. Use a good-quality Parmigiano-Reggiano and grate it fresh for the best flavor.
- My Caesar Dressing: You can make Caesar dressing up to a day in advance. I usually whisk it by hand, but a blender or food processor works too. My favorite recipe uses a raw egg yolk for classic richness. If you’d prefer to skip raw egg, see my eggless Caesar dressing.
- Croutons: Store-bought croutons work, but homemade are next-level. We have two easy crouton recipes (classic croutons and garlic croutons). Either one is excellent for this salad.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make the Best Chicken Caesar Salad
Tip 1: Marinate the chicken. For the best salad, I like marinating my chicken for an hour or longer (when I have the time). You’ll combine the marinade ingredients, add your chicken, and let it sit in the fridge until you are ready to cook the chicken.
Tip 2: Make the croutons. Homemade croutons are optional, but they are easy and taste much better than store-bought. I bake my croutons at the same oven temperature as my chicken, so everything is pretty streamlined.
Tip 3: Cook the chicken. As the croutons are baking, I start cooking my chicken on the stove to get a little color (I love using a grill pan). When both sides have some color, I transfer the chicken to the oven to finish cooking in the middle.
Tip 4: Make the salad. While the chicken finishes up in the oven, I prepare the salad. Chop and rinse the lettuce and kale, slice half an onion, shred or shave some parmesan cheese, and make the Caesar dressing. When everything is out of the oven and ready to eat, I toss it all together and dig in. It’s so flavorful!
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Perfect Chicken Caesar Salad
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
We use our homemade Caesar dressing and the most delicious Greek marinated chicken to make this salad. The flavor is out of this world! This salad makes 4 (very) generous servings or 6 generous side salads.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
For the Chicken1 teaspoon olive oil
2 teaspoons honey
1 ½ teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
½ teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 ½ pounds (680g) chicken breast or thighs
For the Salad2 hearts romaine lettuce
1 bunch of kale
Half medium sweet onion, sliced thin
Parmesan cheese shavings
1 batch of homemade Caesar dressing, ½ cup to ⅔ cup
4 cups torn or cubed day-old bread, about 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ to ½ teaspoon dried herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, or Italian seasoning, optional
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Marinate the chicken: Combine the olive oil, honey, balsamic vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, dill, oregano, yogurt, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl that is large enough to hold the chicken. Add the chicken, turning them around in the marinade so they are well coated. Marinate covered in the fridge for 1 to 8 hours.
2Prep: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, one for the croutons and the other for the chicken.
3Make croutons: Toss the bread with olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper in a medium bowl. Add dried herbs, if using, and toss well. Transfer to a baking sheet. Bake, stirring once, until crisp and lightly golden around the edges, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside.
4Sear the chicken: While the croutons bake, heat a grill pan over medium heat. Lightly oil, and then place the chicken into the pan. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until grill marks, but do not cook until cooked in the middle. Watch that your heat is not too high during this step, as the honey can burn.
5Finish the chicken in oven: Transfer the chicken to the prepared baking sheet and spoon over any remaining marinade from the bowl. Bake until an internal thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 165°F, about 15 to 25 minutes, depending on how thick your chicken is. Rest for 5 minutes, and chop into bite-size pieces ready for the salad.
6Prepare salad greens: Chop the romaine lettuce. Strip the leaves from hearty kale stems and chop or tear them apart. Rinse the lettuce and kale under cool water, then pat or spin them dry.
7Make the salad: Toss lettuce, kale, and sliced onions with a few generous spoonfuls of the dressing. If the salad looks dry, add a bit more dressing. Scatter over a few handfuls of the croutons and finish with parmesan cheese shavings and chopped chicken.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Alternatives for cooking the chicken: You can grill, bake, or cook the chicken in a skillet or grill pan. My favorite option is to sear the outside for color and finish in the oven. Since honey is in the marinade, it will darken quite a bit so watch for burning when you sear your chicken. You can skip the grill pan and go directly to the oven. You will still get a little color. If you use an outdoor grill, use our grilled chicken recipe for tips.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We assumed chicken breasts and 2 tablespoons of dressing per serving.
Can’t wait to try this! Looks delicious. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
This recipe looks absolutely delicious! I love the idea of adding a Greek-inspired marinade to the chicken—it must bring so much flavor. Can’t wait to try this at home. Thanks for sharing.
This marinade was excellent. I used dried dill and had some fat free Greek yogurt on hand. I let it marinate for about 4 hours and seared it in my cast iron. Moved it to the oven for about 25 minutes. I will definitely be using this recipe again.
That’s wonderful, Erica! So happy you gave our recipe a try 🙂
I love your recipes!! I look forward to receiving them in my email and watching you create the recipe on Facebook. Your recipes are delicious and easy to do with most of the ingredients already in my pantry. Keep up the good work!! Thank you for always making me smile.
Love most of these recipes although living in Australia some of the ingredients vary. However, if I can’t find the exact ingredient listed in the recipe, I can usually find a good alternative. Thank you for all the great recipes on your site.