Skinny Chicken and Avocado Caesar Salad
My favourite salad of all time. Caesar Salad. But, my least favourite at the same time…because hello fat grams I’ll wish I didn’t have after I had it.
But now, I can. I can enjoy my favourite salad of all time, with a dressing that’s less than half the fat — and then add in some more food, and enjoy this as a meal. A salad that doesn’t leave you hungry waiting for more. Full of protein. Full of healthy fats. Just full of good for you stuff.
This dressing… inspired by the dressing I made for that Barbecued Seafood Salad…I wanted something with a Greek Yogurt base. So I found one…thank you Mr Jamie Oliver, and adapted it to our tastes, to make this one.
My family is not so keen on anchovies…so I made two variations. One with (HOMG so good!), and one without — using olives instead, and equally as good. I prefer the anchovies, personally, but not every one is a fan. Hello non-fans…this ones for you too!
The way this recipe goes: fry some bacon and chicken boobs…I mean breasts *ahem; whisk your dressing ingredients; prepare your bread for super crustiness; boil your eggs; slice your avocados and wash your salad leaves.
Easy right?
Serve with dressing, and slap it out of your taste testers hands because they’ll want to drink it like it’s vodka…or something. And there you have it people. A healthier version of Caesar Salad that we can actually enjoy without raiding the fridge at midnight.
Skinny Chicken and Avocado Caesar Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- ½ loaf ciabatta sliced
- 1 lbs whole Chicken Breast fillets skinless and boneless, halved horizontally to make 4 fillets
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
- 1 pinch salt
- 7 oz shortcut bacon cut into strips
- 2 large eggs boiled soft of hard boiled, sliced
- 2 heads baby cos lettuce washed and dried
- 1 medium Avocado sliced
- ½ cup shaved parmesan cheese
Dressing:
- â…” cup greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 fillets anchovy finely chopped, or sub with 2 tablespoons black pitted olives, chopped finely and 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- ½ large lemon juiced
- 3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 2 pinches salt and pepper for seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to grill/broil settings on medium - high heat. Place the bread slices onto an oven tray; drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven (on middle shelf) until crispy. While bread is grilling, prepare chicken:
- Rub the chicken breast with the garlic powder, parsley flakes and salt. Heat a non stick grilling pan/skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and fry chicken until golden on both sides. Remove the chicken and set aside onto a warm plate. Add the bacon strips to the same pan, and fry until golden and crispy. While the bacon is frying, boil your eggs to your liking (and don't forget to check your bread in the oven)!
To make the Caesar Yogurt Dressing:
- Combine yogurt, oil, garlic, anchovies, lemon juice and parmesan. Whisk until well combined; add salt and pepper to your tastes, and whisk again. Taste test.
Assemble Salad:
- Combine lettuce with the chicken and bacon strips; eggs (halved); avocado slices; shaved parmesan cheese; and bread pieces (halved). Pour over the dressing; mix well to combine, and serve!
Courtney says
Hey, how long will the dressing last in the refrigerator? I meal prep a lot and I really love the dressing!
Adriana says
I would’ve made this recipe over 20 times now. We absolutely love it, it’s perfect, thank you!
Helen Walker says
This is incredible…I made it for yesterday and will make it again
Anna says
Just finished the salad and it was sooo delicious. Thank you so much
Karina says
AWE you are totally welcome doll! I am so glad that you loved it!
Briana Klingaman says
We made this salad last night and it was delicious! The dressing was even better the next day!
Danielle Farry says
Hiya
Is the nutritional facts per serve or for the whole salad.
Ps I love this salad
Thanks Danielle
Andrea says
I’m in love with this dressing. I like mine more flavorful, so I cut the yogurt by a third. I never have anchovies on hand but used anchovie paste instead (1 tsp = 1 anchovie), the anchovie flavor is a must have for this to taste right! To the garlic powder, I add half again as much onion powder for a little extra flavor on the chicken. I also prefer to get the Caesar salad croutons from the store, but I am definitely going to try the home made version soon! Thank you for this, it quickly became a staple in my salad rotation!
Bianca says
FYI I never comment on the recipes I cook. This is a first but I absolutely had too! This is my family’s favorite salad! We have it a few times a month. I do things a little different though. First off I skip the whole baking bread thing and buy $1 croutons. Then I skip out on the bacon because that is to expensive, so I add an extra boiled egg instead. Then I use the cheap Parmesan cheese (imitation maybe) and use the fish sauce as recommended plus I use romain lettuce. This recipe changed my view on salads!
Mary Kate says
This was delicious and filling! I used black olive instead of anchovy and loved the way the dressing turned out!
Ana Lorenzo says
Looks amazing! True it is high in fat, and I may reduce the amount of bacon. However, the avocados, eggs, and greek yogurt are fantastic choices! Can’t wait to try it. Karina, many blessings to you on your life journey.