Winter Caesar Salad with Chicken and Roasted Vegetables
Winter Caesar Salad with Chicken and Roasted Vegetables
We looove a good Caesar Salad. I would say we have one for dinner at least 4 out of the 7 days of the week. It’s just an easy way to get greens in your diet. It’s also something that you can be creative with. I was recently cleaning out my fridge and I put a bunch of chopped veggies on a sheet pan with some bacon and roasted it. We were having our caesar salad that night so I though why not put the roasted veggies on top? Well, it was DELICIOUS. The salty, creamy caesar dressing with the sweet root vegetables and crispy bacon was just a trio made in heaven. We add a little chicken breast for protein and there’s our dinner!
With a recipe like this, you know that you are getting your veggies for the day, which I love! Its just a good, balanced, wholesome, healthy and tasty dinner for any day of the week. There are lots of ingredients in this recipe, but I’m telling you; it’s worth it! Please make the homemade dressing if you make this salad. It really does make it. Ever since I started making my own caesar dressing, I have never gone back to buying it from the store. It’s SO easy too! Here are some of the main ingredients:
For the dressing:
Mayonnaise - Make sure you use REAL mayonnaise for the dressing. It is the base of the dressing and it’s important that you use a good quality mayo for best results.
Lemon - Lemon juice is a key ingredient in caesar dressing. I used the juice from 1 whole, fresh lemon for this recipe.
Mustard - Dijon mustard is another component of caesar dressing. It adds a unique flavour to the dressing. I wouldn't recommend substituting for another type of mustard as the flavours vary.
Garlic - Garlic also plays a big role in the dressing! Definitely be sure to use fresh garlic as it has a really nice zing and flavour to it. If you are in a pinch, you can use marinaded garlic, but I highly recommend using fresh! It makes all the difference!
Anchovy paste - Anchovy paste is a key ingredient that really helps to give caesar dressing it’s unique flavour. You can find it in most grocery stores in the seafood section.
Parmesan cheese - You can’t have caesar dressing without parmesan cheese! I looove using fresh grated parmesan cheese. Store-bought works as well. Just make sure you are using grated and not powdered parmesan cheese. They have totally different textures.
For the salad:
Greens - For my salads, I like to use a mix of spring greens and romaine. That way I get a variety of greens and nutrients. You can use whatever you like here: spring greens, romaine, kale or green leaf lettuce. Leafy greens are typically highly sprayed, so make sure you get organic!
Purple onion - The pairing of purple onion with the root vegetables is really nice and it also adds a little colour. You can use white or yellow onions here too depending on your preference.
Carrot - The roasted carrots are really delicious when they become caramelized in the oven. You can use any kind of carrots whether orange, rainbow or minis.
Yam - I loooove yams and sweet potatoes. The yams are the orange ones and the sweet potatoes are the white ones. They are both sweet, but I like to add yams to this salad for a little more colour. Adding either one would add a delicious element of sweetness on this savoury salad.
Cabbage - I was pleasantly surprised by the roasted cabbage! It has kind of a roasted onion-like texture when it’s roasted but it can also get crispy on the edges. It is a really delicious addition to the salad. I used green cabbage, but either green or purple would work.
Beets - Beets are also sweet, so they help to balance out the saltiness of the dressing. They also add beautiful purple colour. Golden beets would work beautifully as well.
Acorn Squash - I chose acorn squash as it is very high in potassium and other nutrients! You can also use butternut squash, red kuri squash, delicata squash or kabocha squash.
Bacon - The bacon is a very important part of the sheet pan roasted veggies as it adds delicious flavour and helps the veggies to caramelize and become golden and crispy. Yum!
For the chicken:
Chicken breast - You want to use boneless, skin-ON chicken breasts for this recipe. The skin gets really nice and crispy when cooking and it adds delicious fat and flavour to the salad.
Salt & Pepper - There is already a lot going on in this salad, so I wanted to keep it simple with the seasoning on the chicken. Salt and pepper is really all you need! You could add a little garlic powder too.
Winter Caesar Salad with Chicken and Roasted Vegetables
Winter Caesar Salad with Chicken and Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup real mayonnaise
- The juice from 1 lemon
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp anchovy paste
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 purple onion, roughly chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped into 1" chunks
- 1 small yam, chopped into 1" chunks
- 1/2 cup chopped acorn squash, 1" chunks
- 1 small beet, chopped into 1" chunks
- 1 cup roughly chopped green cabbage
- 175g bacon, diced
- 4 tbsp avocado oil, divided
- 2 tsp sea salt, divided
- 1 tsp black pepper, divided
- 2 boneless, skin-ON chicken breasts
- 7-9 cups mixed greens
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- On a nonstick baking sheet, spread out the onion, carrot, yam, squash, beets, cabbage and bacon in an even layer. Drizzle all over with 2 tbsp avocado oil and season with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.
- Roast in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until the vegetables are caramelized and the bacon is crispy.
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, dijon mustard, garlic, anchovy paste, parmesan cheese and black pepper until fully combined. Set aside.
- Sear the chicken: Heat avocado oil in a cast iron pan over high heat. Season the chicken on both sides with 1 tsp sea salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.
- Place the chicken skin-side down in the heated pan. It should be very hot so that the chicken forms a crispy skin. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes and then flip them over for another 2-3 minutes to sear the other side.
- Flip the chicken breasts back to skin-side down and transfer the cast iron pan to the oven next to the vegetables and set another timer for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, remove the chicken to a plate to rest for at least 2 minutes before slicing.
- Add the greens to a large mixing bowl and toss with your desired amount of dressing. Divide the greens into two bowls.
- Top the salads with roasted vegetables and bacon. Slice the chicken breasts and fan them out on top of the salads. Garnish with more black pepper and extra parmesan cheese if desired.
- Enjoy!