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Grilled Caesar Salad (with homemade grilled croutons) Recipe

If you’re going to grill your main meal, grill your sides, like our Grilled Caesar Salad with homemade grilled croutons.

For more ideas of what to cook tonight, check out all our recipes.

Grilled Salad on a tray with the words "Grilled Caesar Salad with homemade grilled croutons" digitally written above it.

This time of year, we barbecue every weekend. And if you’ve been at our house or just peeked at our Instagram lately, you’ve seen that. When it’s nice out, we just love spending as much time as possible outdoors. Plus, grilling means not turning your oven on and heating your home (which is also important this time of year).

I always say when you’re grilling, you should grill your side dishes too. If you’re trying to make your meat on the grill but your potatoes in the oven, you have to run back and forth between the grill and the oven.

And while that’s good for your fitness tracker, it’s not good for your food. You run the risk of forgetting to check on one and burning something.

You can basically grill everything — even salad. Yes. Salad. We actually love grilled Caesar salad. It’s a fun twist on a traditional Caesar salad. We make homemade grilled croutons with it too because if you’re gonna go out, you might as well go all out.

Lettuce isn’t the only vegetable you can grill. For more ideas, check out all of our Vegetarian Grilling Recipes.

Grilled Caesar Salad (with homemade grilled croutons) Recipe

Affiliate links are included in this sponsored post and Drugstore Divas may make a small commission if you use them.

The measurements below are a little approximated because we use the FinaMill spice grinder (more about it, plus a way to save on it, below) to grind fresh spices in this recipe. It doesn’t have a real way to measure the spices, so you’re gonna have to measure with your heart (or approximate).

Fresh ground spices add more flavor than packed spices do, so if you aren’t grinding your own spices like we do, you’ll want to add a little more seasoning to compensate for that.

Grilled Caesar Salad (with homemade grilled croutons) Ingredients:

How To Make Grilled Caesar Salad (with homemade grilled croutons):

Heat a gas grill to medium heat.

Diced bread in a pan.

Cut the wheat bread into small cubes. Put them in a grill-safe pan.

Olive oil being drizzled on diced bread.

Drizzle them with one tablespoon of olive oil.

Spiced being grinded on diced bread in a pan on a grill.

Using the FinaMill spice grinder, grind the fresh toasted garlic, salt, and pepper onto the bread. Toss them with a bamboo spoon.

Homemade grilled croutons.

Cook them on the grill, tossing occasionally, until they’re crisp. This should take about 10 minutes. Set them aside.

Romaine lettuce cut in half.

Cut the romaine lettuce in half, leaving the core in tact.

Olive oil being brushed on romaine lettuce with a pastry brush.

Brush the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil across the cut side of the lettuce halves with a pastry brush.

Romaine lettuce being seasoned.

Using the FinaMill spice grinder, grind the remaining salt and pepper evenly across the four Romaine lettuce halves.

Four pieces of romaine lettuce on a grill.

Put the Romaine lettuce, cut side down, on the grill. Close it and grill for three minutes.

Remove the lettuce from the grill.

Romaine lettuce with croutons.

Top with the homemade grilled croutons.

Romaine lettuce with croutons and cheese.

Top with the freshly shaved Parmesan cheese.

Romaine lettuce with croutons, cheese, and Caesar dressing..

Then, drizzle the Caesar dressing on top.

A FinaMill spice grinder and two pods next to a grill.

FinaMill Spice Grinder Review & Shopping Discount:

We love our FinaMill spice grinder. We’ve had it since the fall and actually used it in our Bacon And Cheese Egg Bites recipe. It’s so easy to use to add spices to your recipes. We have ours on the counter at all times and use it on a regular basis.

For recipes, like ones on the grill, where your hands are occupied between opening and closing the grill, moving food between direct and indirect heat, and trying to time different foods so everything is ready on time, the FinaMill comes in handy. You just grab it, pop a spice-filled pod on and off with the tiniest bit of pressure, and put a new one on with that same minimal amount of effort.

Then, push the button at the top of the FinaMill to freshly grind your spices.

At the bottom of the FinaMill, there’s a dial to change the grind from fine to coarse, so keep that in mind, especially when you’re grinding the peppercorns for this recipe. In this case, fine is better. No one wants to chew huge chunks of pepper with their salad.

And trust us, the FinaMill spice grinder is worth every penny.

Grilled Caesar Salad with homemade grilled croutons.

Grilled Caesar Salad: Frequently Asked Questions

How do you wash romaine before grilling?

You definitely want to wash your lettuce first. The easiest way to do this is to soak it in a bowl of water for about ten minutes, then take it out and gently shake the lettuce over the skin.

Pat it dry, but allow it to dry completely before dressing and grilling.

Can you make grilled Caesar salad ahead of time?

If you have a small grill and you want to make this recipe, you can definitely grill your salad before you grill your meats. Make the croutons and grilled lettuce, then set them aside. They’re fine if they cool completely.

Don’t dress the grilled lettuce until you’re ready to serve it because the dressing could make the delicious charred parts soggy.

How can you store leftover grilled Caesar salad?

Store any leftover grilled Caesar salad in an airtight container in the fridge for between one and five days (depending on how fresh your lettuce was when you grilled it).

Storing the lettuce undressed, then dressing the leftovers right before serving is optimal.

Yakitori (Japanese grilled chicken skewers) is a popular Japanese street food. Get the recipe on Drugstore Divas. #MizkanRiceVinegar #MizkanMirinSauce

What To Serve With Grilled Caesar Salad:

Grilled Caesar Salad goes great with anything you’re making on the grill, but our favorite recipes to serve it with are:

Yield: 4 Servings

Grilled Caesar Salad with homemade grilled croutons

If you’re going to grill your main meal, grill your sides, like our Grilled Caesar Salad with homemade grilled croutons.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 13 minutes
Total Time 18 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 slices wheat bread
  • 1 teaspoon, plus 2 teaspoons, olive oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground toasted garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon, plus 3/4 teaspoon, freshly ground salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon, plus 3/4 teaspoon, freshly ground pepper
  • 2 romaine lettuce hearts
  • 4 tablespoons fresh shaved Parmesan cheese
  • 4 tablespoons Caesar dressing

Instructions

  1. Heat a gas grill to medium heat.
  2. Cut the wheat bread into small cubes. Put them in a grill-safe pan.
  3. Drizzle them with one tablespoon of olive oil.
  4. Grind the fresh toasted garlic, salt, and pepper onto the bread. Toss them with a bamboo spoon.
  5. Cook them on the grill, tossing occasionally, until they’re crisp. This should take about 10 minutes. Set them aside.
  6. Cut the romaine lettuce in half, leaving the core in tact.
  7. Brush the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil across the cut side of the lettuce halves with a pastry brush.
  8. Grind the remaining salt and pepper evenly across the four Romaine lettuce halves.
  9. Put the Romaine lettuce, cut side down, on the grill. Close it and grill for three minutes. Remove the lettuce from the grill.
  10. Top with the homemade grilled croutons.
  11. Top with the freshly shaved Parmesan cheese.
  12. Then, drizzle the Caesar dressing on top.

Notes

Fresh ground spices add more flavor than packed spices do, so if you aren’t grinding your own spices like we do, you’ll want to add a little more seasoning to compensate for that.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 186Total Fat 13gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 10gCholesterol 11mgSodium 770mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 3gSugar 3gProtein 5g

Have you tried this Grilled Caesar Salad recipe yet? Let us know what you thought in the comments.

Miz Helen

Wednesday 13th of July 2022

Thanks so much.

dolores

Sunday 3rd of July 2022

LOVE YOUR BLOG !!!!! SIGN ME UP>>>>DOLORES

Helen Fern

Thursday 30th of June 2022

I love grilled romaine - it never occurred to me to make a caesar salad with it!! Yum!

Tanya @ Mom's Small Victories

Thursday 30th of June 2022

This looks delicious, pinned it!

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