This easy low-carb Chicken Bacon Caesar Salad was one of my favorite filling lunches when I was eating low-carb. It's loaded with chicken, crispy bacon, mozzarella, Parmesan, and romaine, with a little chia seed sprinkled in for good measure.
I originally created this during the period when I was following a very high-fat version of low-carb eating, so yes, my original recipe even included some of the bacon drippings. 😂 These days, I'd consider that completely optional.
One of my favorite things about this lunch was prepping the chicken ahead of time. I'd cook and dice a chicken breast while making dinner, freeze it in small portions, and then I could make this salad quickly whenever I wanted one.
Recipe details
Serves: 1
Prep Time: About 10 minutes, with precooked chicken
Net Carbs: Approximately 4.4g
Contains: Dairy; Caesar dressing may contain egg, fish, and other allergens depending on brand*
Check the labels on your bacon, cheese, and Caesar dressing if you're avoiding specific ingredients or allergens.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup cooked chicken breast, diced
- 2 strips bacon
- 4 to 6 leaves romaine lettuce
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 tsp grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp Caesar dressing
- 1/2 tsp chia seeds
MAKE-AHEAD CHICKEN
I used to cook my chicken ahead of time while I was already making dinner. Once cooled, I'd dice it and refrigerate or freeze it in small portions, so I'd have cooked chicken ready for quick lunches throughout the week.
MAKE THE SALAD
- Cut the bacon into small pieces with kitchen scissors. I find this much easier than trying to cut it after it's cooked.
- Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp.
- Add the precooked diced chicken and heat until the chicken is hot throughout.
- Wash and dry the romaine. A salad spinner makes this especially easy.
- Tear the lettuce into a bowl and top with mozzarella, Parmesan, and chia seeds.
- Add the warm chicken and bacon.
- Drizzle with Caesar dressing and toss everything together.
2. Grate 1/2 of the full-fat mozzarella cheese over the lettuce.
TIP: If you're using a deep salad bowl, you can assemble the ingredients in two layers so the chicken, bacon, cheese, and dressing are distributed throughout the salad.
Original calculated nutrition per serving:
Approximately 489 calories | 38.2g fat | 5.9g carbohydrates | 1.5g fiber | 32.3g protein | 4.4g net carbs
Nutrition is an estimate and will vary depending on the bacon, cheese, dressing, and other ingredients used.
Photo credit: Catherine McDiarmid-Watt
All rights reserved
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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Low-Carb Green Salads For Lunch and Dinner- Low-Carb Green Salads for Lunch & Dinner contains over 140 recipes with superb dressings and vinaigrettes. These dishes target people who specialize in eating healthy food.
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I came across this recipe on Pinterest, and kalynskitchen.com - I am in love!
So, as usual, I had to play with the recipe - of course, I made some changes. I tried it first in regular muffin pans with muffin papers - don't do it!
The muffins stick to the muffin papers and are impossible to remove. So next I tried them in large silicone muffin pans, and they popped out beautifully!
Servings: makes six large muffins
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Net Carbs: 3.4g carbs per muffin
Potential Allergens: dairy, egg
Free of Wheat, Gluten, Soy, Sugar, Nuts, Tomato
Ingredients:2 cups of Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 TBSP Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/3 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
4 slices Bacon, reduced salt
6 TBSP Peppers, yellow, red, green, chopped
6 large eggs
1 tsp baking powder, gluten-free
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
Preparation:
Cut up bacon into small pieces and fry till well-cooked.
Distribute evenly in muffin cups.
Chop peppers and put 1 TBSP in each muffin cup.
Distribute the cheddar cheese in the muffin cups.
Mix eggs, cream, baking powder, and spices together. Pour into muffin cups, about 3/4 full. Stir lightly.
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes, until muffins have risen and are lightly browned and set.
Nutritional Data:
Per muffin - 432g calories, 37.3g fat, 3.4 net carbs, 0.2 fiber, 21.1g protein
Estimated Glycemic Load - 1
Inflammation Factor - 0
Photo credit: Catherine McDiarmid-Watt
All rights reserved
Shopping List:
• Eggs
• Heavy Whipping Cream
• Red, yellow, green peppers
• Cheddar Cheese
• Comal County Bacon
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Baking Powder, Gluten-Free, Sodium-Free
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Ground Black Pepper
TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
1,001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes from Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back-- This tasty collection draws on the best 1,001 recipes from Dana Carpender’s bestselling books, including 500 Low-Carb Recipes, 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes, 500 More Low-Carb Recipes, 200 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes, The Low-Carb Barbeque Book, and Low-Carb Smoothies.
You’ll find delicious and varied options, including recipes for "high-carb" foods you thought you had to give up forever, such as Cinnamon Raisin Bread and Mocha Chocolate Cheesecake.
Staying on the low-carb course will be easy with choices from barbecue to slow-cooker to internationally inspired dishes.
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