Grilled Caesar Salad is the best summer salad EVER! Grilling romaine lettuce infuses a smoky flavor; topped with Greek yogurt Caesar, it’s pure gold.
This post was created in partnership with ALDI. All opinions are our own.
Are you ready for the best summer salad to hit your plate? Because man is this Grilled Caesar Salad tasty! It sounds a little strange, but grilling romaine lettuce infuses it with an incredible smoky flavor that is irresistible. Think about how good Caesar salad is, for a moment. OK, now imagine it GRILLED: it takes it to a whole new level! We created this recipe using all ingredients from ALDI: our go-to for affordable, super high quality and organic ingredients for the summer. This salad would be perfect for the 4th of July holiday, or any cookout in between. Keep reading for the recipe!
COUPON & SHOPPING LIST! ALDI now delivers groceries to your door using Instacart: and we have a custom ingredient list for this recipe. You can order all the ingredients for this recipe by clicking here! Then use the code ALDIACC for $10 off your first three ALDI orders on Instacart of $35 or more.
Related: 10 Summer Salads You Need Now
Video: watch us make grilled Caesar salad!
Because we’re just so obsessed with this grilled Caesar salad…we made you a video! Here I am showing you all our tips and tricks in our home kitchen. I’ve got safe ways to remove the pit from avocados, how to make the creamiest homemade Caesar dressing, and more!
How to make grilled Caesar salad
How to make a grilled Caesar salad? We’re glad you asked. The first time Alex and I tried grilling romaine lettuce, we were absolutely blown away by the smoky flavor of the romaine! It’s truly something worth trying out: especially if you have the grill fired up for another reason.
Here are the main steps for how to grill romaine lettuce:
- Preheat a grill to medium high.
- Slice the romaine in half. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar (optional), and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Grill for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until lightly charred.
That’s it! In this recipe we’ve also added grilled avocado to make it even more fun. Because who doesn’t love a little more avocado! Just like grilling romaine, grilled avocado has an irresistible smoky flavor.
Here’s how to grill avocados for this Grilled Caesar Salad:
- Preheat a grill to medium high.
- Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit (see the video for safe pit removal!). Rub the cut side with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Grill face down for about 4 to 6 minutes until grill marks form.
And, homemade Caesar dressing
And what brings this Grilled Caesar Salad all together is…the homemade Caesar dressing! It’s so easy to make at home, and even better: it tastes so fresh and savory, you’ll never want to buy it again! Our Caesar dressing is made with Greek yogurt, which adds tang and creaminess but helps to cut the calories of the traditional mayo. Here are the main Caesar dressing ingredients:
- Greek yogurt: To give it a healthy spin, this Caesar dressing has Greek yogurt to replace some of the mayo! It lightens it up and brings in some of those healthy probiotics from yogurt.
- Mayo: To keep that savory creaminess, we’ve used some mayonnaise, but less than the typical Caesar dressing recipe.
- Lemon juice: Fresh lemon juice brings in that signature tang.
- Parmesan cheese: Parmesan brings in a savory saltiness.
- Garlic & Dijon mustard: These round out the super savory flavor in this Caesar dressing recipe. No anchovies necessary!
Related: 15 Summer Side Dishes You Need
A note on this olive oil
The extra-virgin olive oil we used in this grilled Caesar salad recipe is called Specially Selected Premium Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It’s available at ALDI and we highly recommend it: it received the Best New Product Award 2019! Alex and I love that ALDI seeks to make high quality ingredients affordable to all. (Results were determined by the 2019 BrandSpark Best New Product Awards survey.*)
*Winners were determined based on repurchase intent, product superiority rating and consumer appeal.
How to serve grilled Caesar salad
This grilled Caesar salad is absolutely perfect for cookouts all season long! Here are a few things we’d recommend serving with it:
- Watermelon Salad with Feta & Cucumber Summer in a bowl.
- Best Frose Recipe (Frozen Rosé) Because why not drink your rose…frozen?
- Grilled Corn on the Cob The perfect simple side.
- Greek Grilled Portobello Burger A great meatless option.
- Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad Summer in bowl.
- Grilled Shrimp Skewers The grill loves shrimp.
- Easy Bean Salad What’s more summery than bean salad?
- Cucumber Salad with Vinegar Oh that’s right: cucumber salad.
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp And for dessert, a crisp.
- Classic Strawberry Shortcake Or strawberry shortcake.
This grilled Caesar salad recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten-free.
PrintGrilled Caesar Salad
- Prep Time: 13 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Grilled Caesar Salad is the best summer salad EVER! Grilling romaine lettuce infuses a smoky flavor; topped with Greek yogurt Caesar, it’s pure gold.
Ingredients
NEW! Order all the ingredients below in one click!
For the Caesar dressing (makes 1 cup; this recipe uses about half)
- 1/4 cup Priano Parmesan Italian Cheese, finely grated, plus additional for serving
- 1 medium garlic clove
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
- 1/4 cup Burman’s Mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup Friendly Farms Greek Yogurt
- 1 tablespoon Specially Selected Premium Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Burman’s Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Grilled Caesar Salad
- 4 romaine hearts
- 2 organic avocados
- 1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar (optional)
- Kosher salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat a grill to medium high.
- Make the dressing: Grate the Parmesan cheese as finely as possible (it’s helpful to use a microplane or the finest holes in a grater). Grate the garlic, or finely mince it. Juice the lemon. Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Store refrigerated (keeps at least 1 week).
- Prep the romaine and avocado: Wash and dry the romaine. Cut each romaine heart in half lengthwise. Drizzle each side liberally with olive oil. To the top, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, and add several pinches kosher salt and plenty of fresh ground black pepper.
- Slice the avocados in half and remove the pits (see the video for safe pit removal). Season the cut sides of the avocado halves lightly with kosher salt and lightly drizzle with olive oil.
- Grill the romaine and avocado: Place the romaine hearts on the grill, and grill for about 3 minutes on each side, until slightly charred. Grill the avocado halves cut sides down for 4 to 6 minutes total, until grill marks form.
- To serve, place romaine halves on individual plates or a serving platter. Garnish with Caesar dressing, chopped cherry tomatoes, dollops of avocado, and Parmesan shavings. Serve with steak knives to make it easy to cut!
- Category: Salad
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Grilled Caesar Salad, Grilled Romaine, Grilled Avocados, How to Grill Romaine, How to Grill Avocados, Caesar Dressing, Salad Dressing, Summer Salad Recipe
3 Comments
Joy
June 28, 2019 at 10:06 amHi Sonya and Alex, love your recipes and how to’s! Also love your cookbook. Can you tell us where you get the Burman products? Thanks.
Sonja
June 28, 2019 at 8:10 pmHi Joy, thank you so much! These products are all available at ALDI !
Katie V
July 4, 2019 at 9:41 pmI made this for our 4th of July cookout, and it was a hit. I served it with radishes rather than tomatoes because that’s what I had, and they were a nice, crisp companion to the grilled lettuce and avacado. The dressing was also really delicious. I tweaked it just a bit – instead of adding the salt I used about a 1/2 teaspoon on anchovy paste. I know, no longer vegetarian, but anchovies are my favorite part of a traditional Caesar salad, so I just had to sneak them in somewhere. It was SO GOOD. Thanks ACC for your always reliable, delectable, different recipes!