Lemon Chicken Caesar Salad with Cottage Cheese
You’ll love my healthier Lemon Chicken Caesar Salad with Cottage Cheese with parmesan cheese, almond milk, light olive oil, fresh lemon juice and zest, dijon mustard, and garlic. Then, it’s tossed with fresh romaine, mini cucumbers, parmesan cheese, and gluten-free croutons, and topped with my juicy Pan-Seared Lemon Garlic Marinated Chicken Breasts.
You’ll love my healthier Lemon Chicken Caesar Salad with Cottage Cheese based on a classic caesar dressing. It’s an easy homemade dressing with clean and classic ingredients, including cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, almond milk, light olive oil, fresh lemon juice and zest, dijon mustard, and garlic.
This is the perfect homemade salad dressing recipe if you’re not a fan of anchovies or raw eggs. It’s tossed with fresh romaine, mini cucumbers, parmesan cheese, and gluten-free croutons, then topped with my Pan-Seared Lemon Garlic Marinated Chicken Breasts that are golden brown on the outside and juicy and moist on the inside.
Why You’ll Love This Caesar Salad Dressing with Lemon Chicken Recipe
- You only need a few simple ingredients.
- It is super easy to make for an impressive result.
- The flavor-rich ingredients make it taste amazing!
- All the ingredients are easily digestible for a gentle tummy.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here is everything you need to make the best-tasting Lemon Chicken Cesar Salad With Cottage Cheese.
Romain Lettuce: You can use spinach, kale, green leafy lettuce, or any other leafy green.
Shredded Parmesan Cheese: Grated pecorino romano, asiago parmigiano reggiano cheese, or any grated cheese can be used as an alternative to shredded Parmesan.
Lemon Chicken Breasts: For best results, make my Pan-Seared Lemon Garlic Marinated Chicken with boneless skinless chicken breast. You can also broil chicken or use any leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, or chicken thighs.
Cottage Cheese: You can substitute with Greek yogurt, cream cheese, or mayonnaise as creamy alternatives.
Light Olive Oil: Avocado oil or grapeseed oil can be used as alternatives.
Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice gives the best lemon flavor. But you can also storebought lemon juice.
Dijon Mustard: You can omit or use yellow mustard or mustard powder instead.
Garlic Powder: Fresh garlic cloves can be used instead of garlic powder.
Milk: You can use any milk, including almond milk, regular dairy milk, soy milk, or coconut milk.
Mini Cucumbers: These are optional or can be replaced with regular cucumbers.
Pumpkin Seeds: You can omit or replace them with sunflower seeds, pine nuts or chopped almonds for added crunch.
Crunchy Croutons (Gluten-Free): You can omit or use homemade croutons, gluten-free crackers, bread cubes, garlicky croutons or parmesan crisps.
How to Make My Lemon Chicken Caesar Salad
Step 1: Make the Lemon Garlic Marinated Chicken
Make my Lemon Garlic Marinated Chicken, or use your favorite chicken. You can also omit the chicken.
Step 2: Make the Salad Dressing
In a blender, food processor, or the chopper cup with an immersion blender, combine parmesan cheese, cottage cheese, almond milk, light olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Blend until the dressing is smooth and well combined. Adjust the consistency by adding more milk if needed.
Step 3: Assemble the Salad
In a large salad bowl, add the chopped romaine lettuce. Pour the desired amount of salad dressing over the lettuce and toss with tongs until the lettuce is well coated.
Add the sliced mini cucumbers, croutons, shredded parmesan cheese, chopped lemon chicken breasts, and pumpkin seeds.
Serve immediately, and enjoy a delicious and satisfying meal!
Lemon Caesar Salad with Chicken Recipe Notes
Dressing Consistency: Add more milk for a thinner dressing
Additional Seasoning: Taste the dressing and adjust the salt and seasonings as needed.
Dressing Storage: This recipe makes about 1-1/2 cups of lemon caesar dressing. One serving is 1-2 tablespoons, so you will have plenty of dressing to store in the fridge. You can cut the recipe in half if you prefer less leftover.
Serving Suggestions:
Dress up your salad with some gluten-free croutons. You can also add fresh lemon zest or an additional tablespoon of lemon juice to increase the lemon flavor.
Do you love salads? Check out more of my easy and nutritious salad recipes:
Lemon Chicken Caesar Salad with Cottage Cheese
Ingredients
- 4 cups romain lettuce (chopped)
- 2 mini cucumbers (optional)
- 1 cup croutons (gluten-free)
- 1/4 cup shaved parmesan cheese (or shredded)
- 2 cups lemon chicken breasts (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (optional)
Parmesan Garlic Ceasar Salad Dressing:
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup cottage cheese (blended)
- 1/4 cup light olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce (gluten-free)
- 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/3 cup milk (almond milk)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- dash pepper
Instructions
- Make my Lemon Garlic Marinated Chicken, or use your favorite chicken. You can also omit the chicken.
- In a blender, food processor, or the chopper cup with an immersion blender, combine parmesan cheese, cottage cheese, almond milk, light olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.Blend until the dressing is smooth and well combined. Adjust the consistency by adding more milk if needed.
- In a large salad bowl, add the chopped romaine lettuce. Pour the desired amount of salad dressing over the lettuce and toss with tongs until the lettuce is well coated.Add the sliced mini cucumbers, croutons, shredded parmesan cheese, chopped lemon chicken breasts, and pumpkin seeds.Serve immediately, and enjoy a delicious and satisfying meal!
Video
My first time making Caesar dressing…I’m hooked! Tastes so much better than store bought!! Thx for the recipe!
I’m so glad you tried making your salad dressing, Diane! I couldn’t believe how easy it was the first time I made it, too. You’re welcome for the recipe 🙂
I made it and it is DELICIOUS!! I used half of the olive oil, a couple of extra tablespoons(ish) of cottage cheese and a couple of extra tablespoons of milk to thin it out (since I didn’t use as much oil) and it is yummy! Thank you so very much for making one of my favorite meals much more healthy!
Thank you, Pamela! I love your modifications 🙂 Thank you for sharing!!
I made this dressing last night. I didn’t tell my husband it had cottage cheese in it. He loved it! The flavor is rich and creamy. This will become our new staple caesar dressing!!
Hi Patricia! Ha ha…I’m so glad your husband liked the dressing…cottage cheese and all 🙂 Thank you for sharing this with me!
This was so delicious!! Easy to make … we even have leftovers/dressing to use as a dip for veggies. The kiddos didn’t know a difference is the switch!! Thank you again for helping me make healthier choices!!
That is so awesome, Karrie! I’m thrilled your kids liked it too 🙂 Thank you for sharing this with me!