A good chicken caesar salad is easily one of my top 5 favorite foods of all time…but if you eat at a restaurants… it’s gonna have a LOT of calories from the oil in the dressing.
This recipe, that we’re teaching kids and moms to make together in our culinary lessons, is much more healthy.
I can eat it anytime I want!
Plus who doesn’t love croutons?
Healthy Chicken Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons
You won’t find “Caesar salad” at any restaurant in Italy because it was created by Italians in America. Creamy, with a hint of lemon, a fresh Caesar dressing is so good you won’t care where it came from, as long as it’s tossed in a salad with romaine lettuce, Parmesan and croutons. Yum!
Healthier Version: By using a low-fat mayo, we get lots of creamy flavor but with all the calories of regular mayo!
Active Time: 15 min – Start to Finish: 15 min – Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 heads romaine lettuce, cut into bite-size pieces
1 lb chicken breast, skinless and boneless, chopped into bite-size pieces
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated + extra for garnish
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup low-fat mayonnaise
Juice of 1-2 lemons
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped into bite-size pieces
1 Baguette or Italian loaf, cut into 1” cubes
Worcestershire sauce
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
Directions
For The Garlic-Parmesan Croutons: Preheat an oven to 375dF. In a bowl add the baguette, 1 Tbs olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 2 chopped garlic cloves, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese and mix well. Place on a baking sheet, and bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown, being sure to carefully flip the croutons halfway through. Watch them so they don’t burn! Remove from them from the oven to a bowl and let cool completely.
For the chicken: Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add 1 Tbs oil, then add chicken that’s seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook, flipping halfway, for about 5-7 minutes until fully cooked and golden brown.
For The Dressing and Salad:
In a bowl add the mayo, juice of 1 lemon, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp olive oil, 1 chopped garlic clove, black pepper, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese and mix well. Add more salt or lemon juice or Parmesan until it tastes great! Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, ideally 30-45 minutes so the flavors come together.
In a large bowl, add the romaine, carrots and cucumber, half the croutons, and ¾ of the dressing and toss. Top with chicken, croutons and more Parmesan and the rest of the dressing and enjoy!
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If you want your kids to learn to make a healthy chicken caesar salad plus more of their favorites foods, try out a FREE 60-minute LIVE healthy dinner cooking class taught by our awesome Chef Teachers on Zoom: go to www.liftenrichment.com to claim your free lesson
Get Cooking,
Chef Eric Horwitz
