This air fryer Chicken Caesar Salad is a delicious and healthy meal that's perfect for quick meals. The chicken is cooked to perfection in the air fryer, and the salad is tossed in a creamy Caesar dressing.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
This recipe is versatile and easy to prepare, especially on a busy week night. You can cook the chicken in the air fryer, oven, or on your grill.
You can make the Caesar dressing from scratch or use store bought. Some really great things you'll love about this recipe are:
- Versatile. Boneless, skinless chicken breast will work best, but leftover rotisserie chicken is great too!
- Easy. Just toss the green, slice up the chicken, and toss with dressing!
- Goes with anything or everything. Perfect with pizza, hot dogs, soups, and casseroles!
Jump to:
- Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Air Fryer Chicken Caesar Salad Ingredients
- How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Caesar Salad
- Serving Suggestions
- Related Recipes
- Substitution and Variations
- Equipment
- Storage and Reheating
- Tips for Success
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Food Safety
- Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love
- 📖 Recipe
- Connect with Smells Like Delish!
Air Fryer Chicken Caesar Salad Ingredients
Use any blend of salad greens you prefer. This recipe uses a blend of spinach and romaine, simply because romaine is pretty traditional for making Caesar salad.
I like the addition of spinach for the color and taste, but baby kale, spring mix, or even sliced radicchio would be fantastic.
- Spinach - Fresh, washed and spun dry.
- Romaine - Fresh, washed and spun dry.
- Chicken breast - Split so it's not so thick.
- Garlic salt - Or, any seasoning you prefer.
- Herbs de Provence seasoning - Optional, great with chicken.
- Black pepper - Fresh ground.
- Parmesan cheese - Shaved.
- Croutons - Seasoned croutons.
- Caesar Dressing - Homemade or store bought.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Caesar Salad
I like to split the chicken breast so that it cooks more evenly. If it's really thick, than the center can end up not quite cooked enough. So, consider splitting the breast lengthwise into two portions, especially if the breast meat is large.
Air Fry The Chicken Breasts
- Brush the air fryer basket with a little bit of oil or use a pump oil sprayer. Don't use PAM or any aerosol non stick cooking spray though, as the propellants can damage your air fryer heating element.
- Place one or two pieces of the split chicken breast in the air fryer basket and season with garlic salt and black pepper.
- Air fry at 375 F for 6 to 8 minutes, depending on how thick the pieces of chicken are.
Blend the Salad Green
- While the chicken breasts are cooking, blend the spinach and romaine together and fill the bowls with salad blend.
- Sprinkle shaved fresh Parmesan cheese on top of the salad greens, then drizzle some Caesar salad dressing over the cheese and greens.
Slice or Dice The Chicken
- Once the chicken breasts have cooked so that juices run clear, transfer to a cutting board and slice into strips or dice into cubes.
Pro Tip: If you don't have an air fryer, you can cook the chicken in the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 F and bake the chicken for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through. This is great when you have a small air fryer.
Top Salad with Hot Air Fried Chicken
- Top your spinach and romaine Caesar salad with the hot chicken and garnish with seasoned croutons. Serve this hot chicken Caesar salad immediately while the chicken is hot.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this air fryer chicken Caesar salad as a main course or as a side dish with our Sourdough Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Panera's Tomato Soup. You can also serve it as a light lunch or dinner with our Instant Pot Navy Bean Soup or Air Fryer French Bread Pizza.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Related Recipes
Substitution and Variations
Here are a few easy variations using this hot chicken Caesar salad as a base:
- You can substitute grilled shrimp or tofu for the chicken for a delicious variation.
- Other salad dressings are delicious also, consider Chipotle Ranch, or buttermilk ranch dressing with our Dry Ranch Seasoning.
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Below are some of my favorite pieces of equipment that I use when making this chicken Caesar salad recipe.
- Nuwave Brio Air Fryer - Rotisserie - Grill - This 15 quart countertop Smart Oven has three slide in trays, that all can be used at the same time. You can air fry rotisserie chickens, an SO mush more!
- Nuwave Air Fryer 15 quart - This large family size basket air fryer has room to air fry enough for a large family!
- Gourmia Digital Air Fryer 6 quart - This basket style air fryer will handle four frozen waffles in the air fryer.
- Ninja Foodie Pro Air Fryer - Folds up out of the way on your counter.
- Nuwave Air Fryer 3 quart - This compact basket air fryer is perfect for singles or a small family of 2 or 3. You can air fry two frozen waffles in 4 minutes.
- Oil Sprayer - This is a perfect sprayer for spritzing a light coating of oil on vegetables, meats, and other prepared frozen foods before air frying. The tiny amount of oil ensures you get as amazing results as deep frying and roasting, with a fraction of the calories and splatter!
Storage and Reheating
This air fried chicken Caesar salad recipe is best eaten soon after preparing, as it does not refrigerate well, and freezing it is not possible.
Tips for Success
- To make the chicken extra crispy, coat it in a mixture of breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese before air frying.
- Cook the chicken until it is cooked through. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness (165 F).
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can make this recipe without an air fryer. Preheat the oven to 375 F and bake the chicken for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through.
Yes, you can add other ingredients to the salad, such as tomatoes or bacon.
The chicken is cooked through when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 F.
Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove.
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Chicken Caesar Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 small chicken breasts or split two large chicken breasts
- 4 cup romaine lettuce washed and spun dry
- 4 cup spinach washed and spun dry
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper fresh ground
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese shaved
- 8 tablespoon Caesar salad dressing store bought or homemade
- 2 cup croutons seasoned
Instructions
- Brush the air fryer basket with a little bit of oil or use a pump oil sprayer. PRO TIP: Don't use PAM or any aerosol non stick cooking spray though, as the propellants can damage your air fryer heating element.
- Place one or two pieces of the split chicken breast in the air fryer basket and season with garlic salt and black pepper.4 small chicken breasts, 1 teaspoon garlic salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Air fry at 375 F for 6 to 8 minutes, depending on how thick the pieces of chicken are.
- While the chicken breasts are cooking, blend the spinach and romaine together and fill the bowls with salad blend.4 cup romaine lettuce, 4 cup spinach
- Sprinkle shaved fresh Parmesan cheese on top of the salad greens, then drizzle some Caesar salad dressing over the cheese and greens.1 cup Parmesan cheese, 8 tablespoon Caesar salad dressing
- Once the chicken breasts have cooked so that juices run clear, transfer to a cutting board and slice into strips or dice into cubes.Pro Tip: If you don't have an air fryer, you can cook the chicken in the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 F and bake the chicken for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through. This is great when you have a small air fryer.
- Top your spinach and romaine Caesar salad with the hot chicken and garnish with seasoned croutons. Serve this hot chicken Caesar salad immediately while the chicken is hot.2 cup croutons
Video
Notes
- To make the chicken extra crispy, coat it in a mixture of breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese before air frying.
- Cook the chicken until it is cooked through. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness (165 F).
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