As far as salads goes, a crispy chicken caesar salad is definitely up there for me.

And I know, Caesar salads aren’t the most nutritious of salads. The only vegetable they typically contain is lettuce, after all.

But I’m sure you know what I’m going to say: that it doesn’t matter.

They’re still delicious. Lettuce is a great vegetable. And a salad doesn’t need to have 14,593 vegetables in order to be nutritious.

Now that that’s out the way, let’s discuss this salad in specific.

Growing up, my mom would often make Cornflake chicken for family dinners. It was always so good!

I love the idea of using Cornflakes as the “crunch” and coating on the chicken.

For me, it’s nostalgic – and it’s always so special when food can evoke memories like that! But also, it’s so flavorful. It adds so much texture and is a great way to make chicken crispy.

What stands out about this crispy chicken though is that it’s also coated and marinated in the Caesar dressing that you’ll make. This adds so much flavor!

Maybe I’m just on a hot honey kick right now, but I love topping the chicken with a little hot honey. It’s so good.

The salad is simple: romaine lettuce, fresh parmesan, and the Caesar dressing that you made to marinate the chicken. I like to add tomatoes for a little extra pop of flavor and color, but if you’re a Caesar salad purist, you do you 🙂

While I love the chicken on a Caesar salad, there are so many delicious and fun ways you can eat it too. Serve it with fries (that’s how my 1.5 year old loved it!). Add it to a sandwich. Or you can pair it with rice and some roasted seasonal veggies. Use the Caesar dressing to top everything off.

Prep ingredients

You’ll need Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, lemons, capers, garlic, parmesan cheese, chicken tenders, cornflakes cereal, romaine lettuce, and cherry tomatoes.

To garnish, you can add hot honey and thyme.

Add dressing ingredients to a blender

In a large blender or food processor, combine all of the Caesar dressing ingredients.

Blend until smooth

Blend all of the dressing ingredients until smooth.

Crush the cornflakes

Add the cornflakes to a large Ziploc bag. Using your hands, crush the cornflakes until very fine pieces remain. Pour the crushed cornflakes into a shallow bowl.

Coat the chicken tenders

Add the chicken tenders to large bowl. Add 1/2 cup of the Caesar dressing and toss to combine, until all of the chicken tenders are well coated.

Using a fork, dip the chicken tenders into the crushed cornflakes, making sure to fully cover the chicken tenders in cornflakes. Once coated in the cornflakes, place each chicken tender on the lined baking sheet.

Spray with oil & bake

Spray the chicken tenders generously with oil spray and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Flip the chicken tenders, spray again with oil spray, and cook for another 5 minutes. Let cool.

Prepare the salad

While the chicken cools, prepare the salad. Roughly chop the lettuce and slice the cherry tomatoes in half. Add the lettuce and tomatoes to a large bowl and toss with the remaining Caesar salad (note: you may want to add the dressing slowly to ensure you don’t add too much). Top generously with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Let the chicken cool

Let the chicken cool, and then slice into thin slices.

Top with hot honey & thyme

Top the chicken tenders with a drizzle of hot honey and sprinkle of fresh thyme.

Serve

Add the crispy chicken to the salad, top with more fresh Parmesan cheese and serve.

Notes:

Salad: You will probably have more chicken than you need for the salad, making this recipe great for meal prep. I recommend preparing the chicken and the dressing. Before eating or serving, prep as much of the salad (lettuce, tomatoes, and parmesan) that you’d like to go with the chicken.
Cornflakes: The best way to crush these is by adding them to a large Ziploc and using your hands. You’ll want them to be crushed small enough that they can get cohesive as a coating, but not too fine so that they resemble flour. It’s okay if some of the pieces get super fine, as long as they’re mixed in with those slightly bigger pieces.
Capers: Traditional Caesar dressing recipes use anchovies, but I’m just not a fan. I swapped them for capers. If you prefer the anchovies, you can swap out the capers for 1-2 of those.
Garlic: Big garlic fan? Feel free to add more! I kept mine mild, but you could definitely add another clove to 2 to the dressing.
Cooking tips: The longer the chicken can marinate in the Caesar dressing, the better! I find that even letting the chicken sit in the dressing while you coat each tender with the Cornflakes is enough time, but if you have the time and feel up for it, feel free to let them marinate in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Make ahead: Make the chicken ahead of time and store it in the fridge. Keep extra dressing in the fridge too. When you’re ready to serve or eat, assemble the salad and add the chicken on top.
Storage: Store the crispy chicken in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Store the prepared Caesar dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Course: Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch, Salad