Many Caesar salads are drenched in salad dressing and can be high in sodium and calories. This recipe is a lighter take on the classic chicken Caesar salad. Instead of croutons, roasted chickpeas make for a great replacement, packing in some protein, fiber, and iron. When making chickpea croutons, you can use a variety of spices from cumin to paprika to season them and enjoy the leftovers as a snack! This creamy Caesar dressing is made with Greek yogurt and the salad is topped with oven roasted chicken breast and crunchy chickpea croutons.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts (four 4-ounce portions)
1 15.5 ounce can of chickpeas, drained
salt
pepper
olive oil
6 oz plain 2% Greek yogurt
1 clove of garlic
Juice from half a lemon
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ teaspoon of water
2 cups romaine lettuce
2 cups of kale, destemmed

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Rinse chickpeas under water and drain well.
Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Spread chicken out on the baking sheet and roast in oven for 20 minutes.
Place chickpeas on a separate lightly oiled baking sheet, season with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and roast in the same oven for 25-30 min until crunchy and slightly browned.
While the chicken and chickpeas are roasting, make the dressing by combining the Greek yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and water in a blender and blend to combine well.
After the chicken and chickpeas are done, set aside and cool for 5 minutes and slice the chicken breasts.
Assemble the salad by tossing the kale and romaine lettuce in a bowl and portioned out onto four plates. Top with chicken and chickpeas and drizzle with creamy yogurt dressing.

By Joanna Li, R.D. - Expert Dietician