Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons
This Caesar salad with homemade croutons is one of my favorite summertime dinners. Add grilled chicken, bacon, and/or portobello mushrooms to make it a meal!
Ingredients
Caesar Salad Ingredients
- Romaine lettuce- I like to cut the head of romaine lettuce super thin for this Caesar salad.
- Portobello mushrooms– are amazing when seasoned and grilled! They make for a great topping for this salad.
- Bacon– Trader Joe’s Uncured Dry Rubbed Sliced Bacon is delicious and nitrate free. Sub for turkey bacon if you prefer.
- Annie’s organic Caesar dressing– is light a light Caesar dressing that is delicious and has a healthy ingredients list.
- Lemon– Fresh lemon juice really makes this salad pop!
- Parmesan cheese– What is a Caesar salad without parmesan cheese. I used fresh parmesan cheese from Whole Foods but any kind will do.
- Umami seasoning
- Salt
- Peper
Homemade Croutons Ingredients
- Sourdough bread– I love sourdough! It is one of the healthiest types of bread you can eat. It consists of very few ingredients. Sourdough also has about 7 grams of protein per slice and is rich in vitamins and minerals.
- Olive oil– is full of healthy fats and adds a lot of flavor to the croutons
- Italian seasoning
How to Make this Caeser Salad
How do you make homemade croutons?
Begin by making the croutons—Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil.
Slice the sourdough bread into bite-size pieces. In a mixing bowl, add sliced sourdough, olive oil, and Italian seasoning. Mix everything together and make sure the sourdough is thoroughly coated in the seasoning. Spread the sourdough onto the baking sheet and bake for 3 – 5 minutes. They cook quickly, so be careful!
How do I make Caesar salad?
Begin by preheating the grill and cooking the bacon according to the package. I love to bake my bacon on 350 for ten minutes. The bacon gets super crispy, and it is so much easier to clean up.
If you want to add grilled chicken:
Next, season both sides of the chicken breast with salt and pepper. Grill each side for about 5 minutes or until cooked all the way through.
If you want to add grilled portobello mushrooms:
While the chicken is cooking, slice the portobello mushroom in half. Spray the mushroom with olive oil and season both sides with Umami seasoning. Grill each side for about 5 minutes.
While the chicken and mushrooms are grilling, add sliced romaine lettuce, homemade croutons, and crumpled up bacon to a bowl. Next, add the desired amount of dressing and fresh lemon juice. Toss everything together.
After that, top with grilled chicken and/or grilled mushrooms. Add your desired amount of shaved parmesan cheese.
Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons
Ingredients
Homemade Croutons
- 2 cups diced sourdough bread about 3 slices
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tbsp Italian seasoning
Caesar Salad
- 2 heads romaine lettuce
- 1 chicken breast sliced in half
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 portobello mushroom
- ½ tbsp Umami seasoning
- 3 pieces bacon
- 1 tbsp Annie's Caesar dressing or desired amount
- ½ lemon
Instructions
Homemade Croutons
- Begin by making the croutons—Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil.
- Slice the sourdough bread into bite-size pieces.
- In a mixing bowl, add sliced sourdough, olive oil, and Italian seasoning.
- Mix everything together and make sure the sourdough is thoroughly coated in the seasoning.
- Spread the sourdough onto the baking sheet and bake for 3 - 5 minutes. They cook quickly, so be careful!
Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken and/or Grilled Portobello Mushrooms
- Begin by preheating the grill and cooking the bacon according to the package.
- If you want to add grilled chicken: Season both sides of the chicken breast with salt and pepper. Grill each side for about 5 minutes or until cooked all the way through.
- If you want to add grilled portobello mushrooms: Slice the portobello mushroom in half. Spray the mushroom with olive oil and season both sides with Umami seasoning. Grill each side for about 5 minutes.
- While the chicken and mushrooms are grilling, add sliced romaine lettuce, homemade croutons, and crumpled up bacon to a bowl.
- Add the desired amount of dressing and fresh lemon juice. Toss everything together.
- Top with grilled chicken and/or grilled mushrooms. Add your desired amount of shaved parmesan cheese.