Kale Caesar Salad with Lemon Pepper Chicken
with artichokes / avocados / croutons
We featured this chicken and kale Caesar salad back in 2019. This version is very similar but includes avocado for a bit more substance and texture.
Smarts: This recipe includes homemade dressing and croutons, but store-bought versions of those ingredients will make this meal extra simple.
Ingredients
- Garlic - 1 clove, chopped
- Anchovy filets (opt) - 2, mashed (more to taste)
- Mayonnaise - 2 Tbsp
- Mustard, Dijon - 2 tsp
- Lemon juice - 2 tsp
- Worcestershire sauce - 1 tsp (sub soy sauce)
- Oil, olive - 4 Tbsp
- Chicken breasts, boneless and skinless - 1 lb, halved to thin
- All-purpose flour - 1/3 cup
- Lemon zest - 2 tsp
- Black pepper - 1 tsp
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Butter - 2 Tbsp
- Lemon juice - 1 tsp
- Bread, any type - 6 oz, cubed (we like sourdough or rye bread here)
- Kale, any type - 1 bunch, stems removed and leaves shredded
- Lettuce, romaine - 1 heart, shredded
- Artichokes, marinated in oil (6.5 oz / 184 g) - 1 jar, drained and rinsed
- Avocados - 1, cubed
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Make dressing - (If prepping right before cooking, get oven heating before continuing.) Chop garlic. Mash garlic and anchovy filets together with a fork. Add mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce. Add olive oil while whisking. If you prefer a smooth dressing, blend it with an immersion blender. Season with some salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Bread / Kale / Lettuce / Artichokes - Prep as directed. If artichoke hearts are large, roughly chop them. Store separately. (Can be done up to 2 days ahead)
- Chicken - Slice chicken in half to thin. Tenderize with a fork and season with some salt and pepper. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Make breading - Combine flour, lemon zest, black pepper, and salt.
- Avocados - Cube avocados.
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Make
- Heat oven to 400F / 204C.
- Spread bread cubes out on a sheet pan. Drizzle with some cooking oil and some salt and toss to combine. Transfer to oven and bake, shaking the pan halfway through cooking, until flatbread cubes are crisp and golden, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Heat a large nonstick pan with butter over low-medium heat.
- Dredge chicken in breading, shaking off any excess, and place over melted butter. Gently sear chicken on both sides until golden brown and cooked through, ~3 minutes on each side. (Do this in batches if needed.)
- Set chicken aside and squeeze lemon juice over top. Slice when cool.
- Give dressing a stir. If it is too thick to easily pour, whisk in some water to thin.
- To assemble salads, toss together kale, lettuce, artichokes, avocados, croutons, and some of the dressing. Top salads with chicken and drizzle with some more dressing if you’d like.
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
Most Helpful
Next time get the beans going whilst prepping everything else (used store bought croutons because who has the time???) Loved it though, exactly the amount of veg I was craving
1 Helpful42 reviews
Chickpeas didn't turn out as crispy as I'd like, but overall this was a tasty meal. Did the store-bought croutons - I'm sure home made would have been great, but would have added way too much time for a weeknight meal (we already do meal prep, but would have made that a lot longer too...)
0 Helpfulcouldn't decide so we made both the chickpeas and the chicken and it was delicious! lemon pepper seasoning was awesome. did manage to set off the fire alarm - watch for smoke when cooking with butter at high temperatures :)
0 HelpfulVery good! The instructions mention to add paprika to the seasoning mix but it's not listed in the ingredients. I added a couple of dashes and it gave the chickpeas a nice kick.
0 HelpfulI haven't made the complete salad yet, just the dressing, and it was amazing! I had never made caesar dressing or tasted anchovies on their own before. I discovered I love anchovies (they are so deliciously salty) and I will definitely be making this dressing again. The only reason this one didn't get 5 stars is that I have no idea what the rest of the recipe tastes like.
0 HelpfulOur three kiddos loved the chicken. I had thighs on hand and used a lemon pepper seasoning blend in coating to save time. Granulated garlic instead of a fresh clove in dressing worked out better than expected; hubs said later in the evening "I ate the rest of the salad, I hope you didn't need it for another meal." These are words I would never expect from him prior to CookSmart!
0 HelpfulThis was surprisingly delicious and filling, our expectations were not too high but it was really good!
0 Helpful