I know I just posted a recipe with pesto yesterday, but I had some left and pesto chicken Caesar salad is a delicious way to use it up. This recipe is originally from Half Baked Harvest, although I make a few changes to it. It is another 35-45 minute dinner and I love that!
The chicken is super simple. You just cut up some boneless chicken breasts into bite sized pieces, combine it with the pesto, some red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and let it sit for a few minutes. Then stir fry in a little oil in a hot skillet until fully cooked. You could even use rotisserie chicken tossed in pesto to save more time.
For the croutons, I used leftover ciabatta rolls from my freezer. Any other bread you want to use could be made into croutons too or you can use store bought. Coutons are so easy to make at home though. You can just cube the bread and toss with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and garlic and bake at 350 until browned and crispy.
I used my own recipe for Caesar dressing on this instead of the original recipe. It is an eggless one that I love because it is easy to make with stuff you have in your fridge already. You can find the recipe for it here. Cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella drizzled with balsamic are the other yummy parts of this salad. I love this one and I could eat this salad once a week. 🙂 Hope you like it too.
Pesto Chicken Caesar Salad with Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella
Ingredients
For the croutons:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups cubed ciabatta or other bread
- salt and pepper
- 1 clove garlic minced
For the chicken:
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breast
- 1/2 cup pesto
- oil for cooking
For the salad:
- 6 cups chopped romaine
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 pkg fresh mozzarella balls
- Caesar dressing
Instructions
For the croutons:
- Combine the bread cubes with the oil, salt, pepper and garlic and toss on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 until browned and crunchy.
For the chicken:
- Combined the bite size chicken bread pieces with the pesto, red pepper flakes and a little salt in a bowl and toss. Allow to sit for a few minutes. Heat a little oil in a frying pan over medium and when hot, add the chicken. Cook, stirring occasionally until browned and cooked through.
To serve:
- Toss the romaine with dressing and top with chicken, tomatoes, mozzarella, and croutons. Drizzle with more dressing and serve.