Air Fryer Chicken Caesar Salad

Air Fryer Chicken Caesar Salad is made with romaine, bacon, parmesan, croutons and crispy, golden air fried chicken bites with a homemade caesar dressing!

Course Dinner

Cuisine Italian-American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Servings servings

Calories 592kcal

Author Leanne Combden

Ingredients

For the dressing:

⅓ cup full fat mayo (or egg-free/plant-based mayo)
⅓ cup full fat sour cream
¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
2-3 garlic cloves minced or chopped
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
¼ - ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

For the chicken:

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 ½ pounds) cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
¾ cup panko crumbs
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
spray oil

For the remainder of the salad:

1 large head of romaine lettuce (or 2-3 small), washed, dried and torn into pieces
½ cup chopped cooked bacon about 5-6 slices
½ cup croutons
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Add all of the dressing ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine. (Start with ¼ teaspoon of salt and add more to taste). Cover and store in the fridge until ready to use.
Place the cubed chicken in a large bowl, drizzle on the oil and toss together until the chicken is well coated.
In a shallow bowl, whisk together the panko crumbs, parmesan, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and salt.
Coat each piece of chicken in the panko mixture, rolling it around to get all sides.
Spray the air fryer basket with oil (to prevent the chicken breading from sticking). Place the chicken pieces in the basket in a single layer and lightly spritz the tops with oil.
Air fry at 400F for 8-10 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165F.
In a large serving bowl, add the lettuce, bacon, croutons, parmesan and chicken.
Pour on some of the caesar dressing, toss to combine and add more if desired.

Notes

Dry your lettuce well. To avoid a soggy salad, make sure your romaine lettuce is thoroughly washed and dried. I usually prep mine a few hours in advance. I dry it in a salad spinner and then store it in a container in between layers of paper towels to absorb any additional moisture.
Air frying the chicken. For the crispiest chicken bites, make sure you air fry them in a single layer and spritz the tops with oil before air frying. There's no need to flip the chicken bites, so it's pretty hands off.
Serve the chicken warm. To enjoy the benefits of the crispy chicken, I recommend adding it to the salad warm. Make sure it's not too hot as it will wilt the lettuce. You can add it to the salad cold, just note that the breading will not be crispy.
Don't drench the salad in dressing. Just pour on a little bit of dressing at a time and toss to combine. You will have some leftover, and that's okay. (It's better to have too much than not enough). If you pour it all on, the salad is just going to be soggy.

Nutrition