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This grilled romaine ceasar salad is dressed to impress your guests this summer! Grilled romaine hearts with an easy caesar salad dressing makes the perfect side or main dish!
Ok, some of you might be thinking, GRILLED romaine Caesar salad? Grilled!?
Some of you are nodding your heads going YES – I had grilled romaine hearts at a restaurant once and it was amazing!
The rest of you? The rest of you think I’ve lost it. 😅Hopefully you’ll stick with me though!
I WAS that person who had grilled lettuce at a restaurant once, and it was seriously so good. I had a grilled wedge salad at one of my favourite restaurants in the city, Notable. If you’re in the area and you haven’t tried this place yet, you must!
The salad I had there seemed so simple but it was SO tasty. Crispy lettuce that had that grilled flavour that we all love, drizzled with a tangy dressing and topped off with bits of bacon and shaved parmesan. The perfect lunch!
I’m here to re-create that experience for you.
How do you grill romaine lettuce?
First off, let me tell you that once you try grilling your romaine lettuce you’ll be wondering why you haven’t been doing it already! You simply slice two large romaine hearts, lengthwise, and place them on a preheated grill for 2-3 minutes per side. THAT’S IT.
I don’t add any olive oil or seasoning to the lettuce, but you’re welcome to.
What does grilled lettuce taste like?
Grilling your lettuce gives it a bit of a smoky, browned flavour but it doesn’t lose the CRUNCH that romaine lettuce is known for! You don’t want to grill the romaine too long or it will start to take on a burnt flavour. Also, grilled lettuce should be eaten immediately or it starts to go wilted.
Now – let’s talk about that Caesar dressing.
I adore Caesar dressing, but I never, never have anchovies on hand. A classic Caesar dressing does contain anchovies (or anchovy paste) as well as egg. The dressing I created for this salad is one for the rest of us who want to whip this up in a flash but don’t have anchovy paste on hand, and don’t particularly love the idea of using raw egg.
All that being said, this dressing is DELICIOUS but the true Caesar die-hards will know it’s not exactly like the classic. For this salad, however, it’s perfect!
I created this salad as part of a #summerfunweekcollab hosted on Instagram by one of my pals! Today’s theme was summer grilling!! Be sure to hop over to IG to check out some of the other fun, like beach day! On Friday I have a really special treat planned for s’mores day. 🙂
For now, grab those romaine hearts that I KNOW are sitting in your fridge, fire up the grill and make yourself this smoky, crunchy, GRILLED romaine Caesar salad tonight!
If you love salads as much as I do, you’ll really want to dig into these other salad recipes:
- keto cabbage salad
- simple kale salad
- roasted butternut squash and cranberry salad
- taco salad
- roasted corn and chickpea salad
Grilled Romaine Caesar Salad
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Description
This grilled romaine Caesar salad is dressed to impress your guests this summer! Grilled romaine hearts with an easy Caesar salad dressing makes the perfect side or main dish!Â
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 large romaine hearts
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- 2 slices cooked bacon, diced
- 1/4 cup freshly shaved parmesan
Caesar Dressing
- 3/4 cup full-fat plain Greek yogurt*
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup freshly shaved parmesan
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Grill the lettuce. Preheat the grill to medium heat. Slice the romaine hearts in half, lengthwise. Place the lettuce directly on the grill and cook for 2-3 minutes, turning and cooking for another 2-3 minutes. Remove the romaine to a plate.
- Prepare the dressing. In a food processor or blender, combine the Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, parmesan, salt and pepper and blend on high until smooth and creamy.
- To serve, plate a grilled half of lettuce, drizzle with dressing and top with shaved parmesan and dried bacon bits. Serve immediately!
The grilled salad needs to be eaten immediately, as it will begin to wilt from the heat after about 30 minutes. I’ve eaten leftovers of this salad, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Notes
*I prefer to use full-fat Greek yogurt for an extra creamy dressing, but you are welcome to try a light yogurt.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
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