I love finding a dish I can order out that is macro friendly. We recently went to Chick-fil-A and I saw the ad for their seasonal Lemon Kale Caesar salad. I had to try it! And I loved it! I left thinking, I'm going to make something just like this. I think I might have even improved i! You let me know if you think so in the reviews/comments below.
I made a homemade Creamy Lemon Caesar Vinaigrette dressing with ingredients I usually have on hand, maybe you have them on hand too (or you could also use Bolthouse Farms Lemon Basil Dressing or their Creamy Caesar Dressing). I also made a savory, lemon rub for the chicken and my husband grilled it to perfection! The dressing and chicken topped on a bed of greens with some shaved parmesan cheese and a few crunchy croutons and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice – and wow! It's a winner! My kids don't really care for salad. Only one of them will eat salad dressing (ranch only), so I can't blame them. But the dressing is where it's at. They did, however, devour the chicken! I hope you and your family enjoy this one too!
Lemon Kale Caesar Salad w/ Grilled Chicken & Creamy Lemon Caesar Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast
- Cooking spray
- Kosher salt to taste
- Ground black pepper to taste
- Garlic powder to taste
- Zest from 1/2 a lemon
- —Dressing—
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or canola oil
- 1/4 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (~ 1/2 a lemon)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
- Salt/pepper to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- —Salad greens & toppings—–
- red/green leaf lettuce and/or spinach
- kale (thoroughly massaged with a squeeze of lemon juice to help make it less bitter)
- 14 g shaved parmesan cheese
- 14 g croutons
- 1 lemon wedge to squeeze over the salad
Instructions
Slice or pound chicken to 1/2 inch thick. Place chicken on a plate – lightly coat the chicken with cooking spray (I like avocado oil cooking spray) then sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder and lemon zest (using only half the zest and saving the rest for the other side). Using a food prep glove or a clean hand, rub seasonings and lemon zest into the chicken. Flip the chicken and repeat the same process on the other side.
Heat grill to medium high heat. Sear chicken for 1 minute per side (with grill covered). Then lower heat to medium and cook for about 4-5 minutes per side until chicken is cooked thoroughly (to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F). When chicken is done, tent with foil and let it rest (this helps seal in the juices so it's not dry).
For the dressing, combine all the dressing ingredients in a pint jar or 2 cup liquid measuring cup (oil, yogurt, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, parmesan cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, ground mustard, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and oregano). Use an immersion blender and blend until smooth (if you don't have one just whisk or blend it together).
Prepare greens. See below in the notes for the amounts I put together for one serving of salad and dressing. Top with chicken, dressing and desired toppings.
Notes
You can follow the amounts I put in my salad (see list of toppings, etc in grams below), or create your own and use my dressing recipe.
MyFitnessPal Reference:
“Biceps After Babies Creamy Lemon Caesar Vinaigrette Dressing” serves 6
Cals 73 C 4.7g F 5.5g P 1.5 g
PRO TIP: Serving size for the dressing is 1/6 of the recipe. You can weigh the jar in grams and subtract the weight of the empty jar from the weight the jar full of all the ingredients and then divide by 6 to see how many grams one serving is.
“Biceps After Babies Lemon Kale Caesar Salad (not including dressing)” serves 4
Cals 280 C 16.9 g F 8.8g P 33.1
Included in these macros: 90 g greens ( 30 of each) kale, spinach and lettuce combo); 10 g parmesan cheese; 14 g parmesan cheese; 1 teaspoon lemon juice (from lemon wedge); 1/4 pound chicken (raw weight) of 1/4 of the cooked weight, it'll be the same macros; 14 g croutons (Texas Toast brand)
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