Gordon Ramsay’s chicken Caesar salad is a griddled butterflied chicken breast over romaine or baby gem lettuce with homemade Parmesan croutons and an anchovy egg yolk dressing. It takes about 25 minutes and serves 4.
This recipe appears as Big Caesar Salad in Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Home Cooking, where he writes: “Caesar salad is a perennial favourite in our house but with so many mouths to feed, I always have to supersize it.” He pairs griddled chicken with a dressing he builds from scratch rather than reaching for a jar.
The technique that separates his version: he coats the croutons in dressing while they’re still in the bowl, before they hit the lettuce. Most recipes toss dry croutons on top at the end, so the flavour just sits on the surface. Dressing them first means every bite of bread carries anchovy, Parmesan and lemon into the salad.
Gordon Ramsay Chicken Caesar Salad Recipe
Course: SaladsCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
10
minutes15
425
kcal25
Griddled butterflied chicken over dressed croutons and romaine, from Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Home Cooking. The dressing is a proper emulsion built from egg yolks, not a mayo shortcut, with anchovies mashed into garlic paste stirred through.
Ingredients
5 to 7 oz (150 to 200g) day-old white rustic bread or sourdough
Olive oil
1.75 oz (50g) Parmesan cheese
2 romaine lettuce or 4 baby gem lettuce, washed, dried, halved and sliced
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, butterflied
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the dressing:
2 free-range egg yolks
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp red wine or sherry vinegar
Olive oil
1 x 1.75 oz (50g) tin best-quality anchovies in olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely crushed
2.5 oz (75g) Parmesan cheese, grated
Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
Directions
- Make the croutons: Chop the bread into 2cm (3/4 inch) chunks. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, then toss to combine.
- Fry the croutons: Place a large frying pan over medium heat, add a dash of oil and fry the bread until golden and crisp. Grate three quarters of the Parmesan over the croutons, toss together over the heat, then transfer to a plate. The cheese melts into the hot bread so every piece carries flavour.
- Make the dressing: Put the egg yolks, mustard and vinegar into a bowl and whisk together. Slowly pour in olive oil, whisking as you go, until the mixture emulsifies. Finely chop the anchovies and mix with the garlic to form a rough paste. Add to the dressing and mix well. Stir in the Parmesan, lemon juice to taste and a little splash of water.
- Build the salad: Put the lettuce into a serving bowl, add a squeeze of lemon juice and half the dressing. Sprinkle over half the croutons and mix. Top with the rest of the croutons and finish with the remaining Parmesan.
- Griddle the chicken: Place a griddle pan over medium-high heat. Season the chicken breasts on both sides, drizzle with a little oil and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until nicely striped and cooked through. Transfer to a plate, spoon over some of the remaining dressing and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Resting lets the juices redistribute so the chicken stays moist when sliced.
- Serve: Slice the chicken into diagonal strips and serve warm, either mixed through or alongside the salad with a little extra dressing spooned over.
FAQs
Why does Ramsay butterfly the chicken breasts?
Butterflying opens the breast like a book and flattens it to an even thickness. This means the whole piece cooks in 3 to 4 minutes per side instead of 8 to 10, so the outside doesn’t dry out while the centre catches up. He includes a technique box in the book: slice almost all the way through horizontally, open it out, cover with cling film and flatten with a rolling pin.
Why make the dressing from egg yolks instead of using mayo?
Mayo is already an emulsion, so starting with it gives you a thick, heavy dressing that coats leaves like paste. Whisking raw egg yolks with mustard and vinegar yourself creates a lighter emulsion where you control the consistency. You can keep it loose enough to actually soak into the croutons and lettuce rather than sitting on top.
Why does he dress the croutons before adding them to the salad?
Most Caesar recipes scatter dry croutons over the top at the end. Ramsay tosses half the croutons with the dressing and lettuce first, so the bread absorbs anchovy, lemon and Parmesan flavour from the inside out. The second half goes on top for crunch, giving you two textures from the same crouton.
How is this different from his Fit Food chicken Caesar?
The Ultimate Fit Food version is built around cutting calories. Massaged raw kale replaces romaine, yoghurt replaces egg yolks in the dressing, and crunchy roasted chickpeas replace bread croutons. It runs 241 kcal per serving compared to this richer classic version. He also adds red chicory for a bitter edge that the Home Cooking version doesn’t have.
Why rest the chicken for 5 minutes after griddling?
Cutting into meat straight off the griddle pushes the juices out onto the board, leaving the slices dry. Five minutes of resting lets the fibres relax and reabsorb those juices. Ramsay also spoons dressing over the chicken during this rest, which seasons the surface while it’s still warm enough to absorb flavour.
I’m Ava Taylor. I’m A Self-taught Home Cook Who Loves Gordon Ramsay Recipes. I Try Every Dish In My Small Apartment Kitchen And Tweak It Until It Works. I Write Clear Steps With Simple Words So Anyone Can Follow. I Share Honest Wins, Mistakes, And Quick Tips To Help You Cook With Confidence.