The BEST Healthy Chicken Caesar Salad made with grilled lemon chicken, garlicky homemade croutons, fresh parmesan cheese and tossed with a lightened up Greek yogurt dressing!
Raise your hand if you love a good Caesar salad! 🖐🏼 Now raise your hand if you love all the fat and calories that usually comes with it. Well not this healthy chicken Caesar salad! Made with juicy lemon grilled chicken, crisp romaine lettuce, homemade garlicky croutons and a lighter caesar dressing that uses protein-packed Greek yogurt in place of mayo or eggs. So delicious and much better for you!
Why You’ll Love This
- A healthier take on your favorite classic Caesar salad!
- This lightened-up Greek yogurt dressing reduces the amount of fat and calories in this salad and tastes amazing.
- The homemade croutons are garlicky, crunchy and made with whole grain bread for even more nutrition.
- You’ll love the flavor on the lemon garlic grilled chicken we’ve added to this salad!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- romaine lettuce – I love sticking with classic romaine lettuce for this Caesar salad, but you could use any type of leafy greens.
- grilled chicken – I used my lemon chicken recipe because the flavors taste amazing in this Caesar salad, but leftover rotisserie chicken works great too or you could serve with other protein options such as steak, shrimp or fish.
- caesar dressing – this lighter caesar dressing is made with Greek yogurt instead of mayo or eggs and also makes a great marinade for the chicken if you make a little extra.
- croutons – these easy homemade croutons are crunchy, garlicky and make the perfect topping to this salad! Feel free to use gluten-free bread to make your croutons gluten-free.
- parmesan cheese – freshly-grated parmesan cheese is the perfect way to finish off this salad, just make sure to use a good quality cheese for the best flavor.
Healthy Caesar Dressing
This healthy caesar dressing truly checks all the boxes! It’s creamy, zesty and made with fresh ingredients that tastes so much better than store-bought dressing. By using Greek yogurt in place of mayo or eggs, not only are we adding in more protein, but we’re cutting out all that extra fat and calories. This dressing also makes a great marinade for the chicken if you make a little extra! You can store this in a sealed, airtight container (or mason jar) in the fridge for up to 1 week.
How to Serve
This chicken caesar salad makes a great meal all on its own, but you could also serve it as a side salad with these other dishes:
- Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Cozy Minestrone Soup
- Maple Balsamic Herb Chicken
- Cheesy Meatball Casserole
- Healthy Baked Ziti
Prepping this Salad Ahead of Time
The great thing about this salad is that all the elements can be easily made ahead of time and stored separately until assembling.
- The chicken can be cooked up to 3 or 4 days ahead of time and tastes great warm or cold on the salad. You could also use any leftover chicken or shredded rotisserie chicken.
- The homemade croutons can be stored for up to 2 weeks in a sealed, airtight container at room temperature.
- The caesar dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week in a sealed mason jar or container. When ready to use, give it a good shake to mix everything up.
- The romaine lettuce can be washed and stored in a container in the fridge until you are ready to prepare the salad.
More Salads You’ll Love
- Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad
- Wild Rice Chicken Salad
- Healthy Greek Salad
- My Favorite Detox Salad
- Mediterranean Chopped Salad
Hope you all enjoy this Healthy Chicken Caesar Salad and if you love this as much as we do, please leave me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using the hashtag #eatyourselfskinny! I love seeing all your delicious recreations!
Healthy Caesar Salad
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
For the Salad:
- 2 heads romaine, chopped (about 8 cups)
- Caesar dressing
- Homemade croutons
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
For the Chicken
- In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Place the chicken breasts in a shallow dish or a 1-gallon sealable plastic bag and pour the marinade over the chicken. Place the chicken in the fridge and marinate for at least an hour.
- Heat a grill or grill pan on medium heat and brush the grill with oil to prevent the chicken from sticking. Grill the chicken 5 to 6 minutes on each side, or until cooked through and no longer pink (chicken should have an internal temp of 165 degrees). Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
For the Salad
- To assemble the salad, add romaine lettuce to a large bowl and top with the chicken and croutons. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, tossing to combine, and top with fresh parmesan cheese.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
