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Blackened Chicken Caesar Salad
with avocados / roasted radishes / croutons

Active: 30 Total: 30

We love a classic chicken Caesar salad and wanted to give it a Cook Smarts twist. In our version, which we first featured in 2018, the chicken is flavored with Cajun seasoning. The salad gets a boost of extra veggies and color with the addition of roasted radishes and baby spinach. 

Tags
Proteins
Cuisines

Ingredients

Metric
Servings:
4
Caesar Dressing:
  • Garlic - 1 clove
  • Anchovy filets (opt) - 2 , mashed, more to taste
  • Mayonnaise - 2 Tbsp
  • Mustard, Dijon - 2 tsp
  • Lemon juice - 2 tsp
  • Worcestershire sauce, gluten-free - 1 tsp (sub Tamari)
  • Oil, olive - 3 Tbsp
Blackened Chicken Caesar Salad:
  • Baguette, gluten-free - 6 oz , cubed (sub any gluten-free bread)
  • Chicken breasts, boneless and skinless - 1 lb , halved
  • Cajun seasoning - 1 1/2 Tbsp (sub Jerk seasoning)
  • Radishes - 10 , quartered
  • Lettuce, romaine - 4 oz , chopped
  • Avocados - 1 , cubed
  • Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp
  • Baby spinach - 4 oz (sub finely chopped kale)

Prep

  1. Baguette - (If prepping right before cooking, get oven heating before continuing with prep.) Slice or tear baguette into 2” / 5 cm cubes. (Can be done up to 2 days ahead)

  2. Caesar dressing - Chop garlic. Mash garlic and anchovy filets together with a fork. Add mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and olive oil. If you prefer a smooth dressing, you can blend it with an immersion blender. Season with some salt and pepper. (Can be done 1 day ahead)

  3. Chicken - Slice chicken in half. Tenderize with a fork and rub with Cajun seasoning. (Can be done 1 day ahead)

  4. Radishes / Lettuce / Avocados - Prep as directed.

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Make

  1. Heat oven to 400F / 204C degrees. Place one oven rack in the lower third of the oven and another oven rack about 6” / 15 cm from the broiler.

  2. Set out two sheet pans and brush them with some oil or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

  3. On the first sheet pan, spread out baguette cubes and toss with first part of cooking oil. Season with some salt.

  4. Place on the lower oven rack and toast until bread is golden and crisp, shaking pan halfway through cooking, 8 to 10 minutes.

  5. On the second sheet pan, spread out radishes. Toss with second part of cooking oil and season with some salt. Add chicken to pan (move radishes aside so chicken does not cover them).

  6. When croutons are finished, remove from oven and turn on the oven’s broiler (use a low setting if available).

  7. Place chicken / radishes under broiler and broil chicken until cooked through, turning chicken and stirring radishes halfway through cooking, ~10 minutes total. (Watch chicken closely and if it starts to burn, turn off the broiler and continue cooking at 400F / 204C until chicken is cooked through.)

  8. Slice chicken.

  9. Assemble salads by tossing radishes, avocados, lettuce, spinach, and croutons with half the dressing. Top salads with sliced chicken and add more dressing if you’d like. Enjoy!


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