Mennonite Girls Can Cook is a collection of recipes which were posted daily for a period of ten years from 2008 to 2018. We have over 3,000 delicious recipes that we invite you to try. The recipes can be accessed in our recipe file by category or you can use the search engine.

Recipe Search

Rustic Chicken Caesar Salad


This is a Chicken Caesar with a rustic Italian appeal.
We had one similar in Montreal at a wonderful sandwich shop and I was so impressed with the presentation that I thought I'd try to duplicate it at home.
You can prepare the chicken, bacon, dressing and croutons ahead of time
and then assemble the salad just before serving.
I served it with stuffed mushrooms on the side for a light supper.

For the Salad
  • 1 head Romaine lettuce
  • 2 chicken breasts, sliced into strips and saute'ed with garlic until cooked through
  • 5 slices bacon cut into 1 inch pieces, fried crisp and drained on paper towel.
  • Lemon Caesar dressing ( recipe follows)
  • Home made croutons (recipe follows)
  • A wedge of Parmesan cheese
For the home made croutons:
  • 1 small loaf French or rustic Italian bread
  • 1/3 cup melted butter
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt or to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
  1. To make the croutons: Cut bread into 1 inch cubes.
  2. Place bread in large bowl.
  3. Combine melted butter with seasonings in a small bowl.
  4. Pour butter over bread cubes and toss until evenly coated.
  5. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and toss again.
  6. Spread in a single layer on a large baking pan.
  7. Bake at 300ยบ for about 30 minutes or until dry and crisp stirring occasionally.
  8. Remove from oven and cool. (If making ahead, store in covered container in refrigerator)
For the salad dressing:
  • 3 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 or 2 large garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  1. To make the dressing: Combine all ingredients except olive oil and sour cream in a quart jar or deep bowl.
  2. Gradually add oil, whisking constantly until dressing is smooth.
  3. Add sour cream to the jar and whisk until smooth.
  4. Set aside while you assemble the salad.
To assemble the salad:
  1. Wash romaine leaves, spin dry in salad spinner or blot dry with towels.
  2. Tear romaine into bite sized pieces into a large bowl.
  3. Just before serving, add 1/2 the dressing to the romaine and toss, adding more dressing if needed. Add only enough dressing to moisten the romaine. Too much dressing produces a soggy salad.
  4. Add chicken slices, bacon pieces and croutons and gently toss again.
  5. Pile salad high on individual serving plates.
  6. Using a potato peeler, shave about 6 2-inch strips of Parmesan cheese on top of each salad and serve immediately.

8 comments:

  1. This recipe is a definite keeper. My family will go crazy over this salad. I am delighted with the "extras", the recipes for croutons and dressing. Thanks so much for sharing this treasure.
    Pat

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just love a good caesar salad and you just can't beat homemade croutons. Love this!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for your recipe. So easy to prepare. I love the fact that you can put it together in a few minutes once everyone is home. We tried it this evening and loved it!! I shared your blogpost on my blog: http://carozcorner.blogspot.com/2011/06/caesar-salad.html.
    Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I, too, like having that easy crouton recipe and dressing recipe. Thanks Bev. This looks delicious and refreshing...

    ReplyDelete
  5. i made this salad today for lunch. For the chicken i put chicken breasts on the bbq and then cut them thin. The croutons were FANTASTIC! The bacon was a great idea. The dressing was not my favourite because i found it a little thin, but maybe next time i will try it with less oil. I added sauted mushrooms to my son's plate. My younger son, "mom you have never made such a fancy salad". Thanks for the recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Summer is all about salads...this looks so good, and so easy to whip together.
    Who can resist a Ceaser Salad.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yummy!!! Thank so much - I will be giving this one a go, especially like the sound of the dressing!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.