Name: Grilled Chicken Romaine Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 cup mayonnaise; 2/3 cup buttermilk; 1/4 cup coarsely grated yellow onion; 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar; 1/2 teaspoon celery seed; 1/2 teaspoon celery salt; 1 garlic clove (, pressed); 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; 4 boneless (, skinless chicken breast halves, about 6 ounces each); 2 hearts of romaine (, cut lengthwise and trimmed (4 halves total)); Extra-virgin olive oil; 1 pint cherry tomatoes (, cut in half); 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley; Salt & pepper (, to taste)

Chopped grilled chicken and slightly charred hearts of romaine served halved with a creamy homemade ranch dressing.

In Mississippi, you can grill year round. Have we done that? No. But, we did bust it out earlier than other folks in the country and have been grilling for weeks now. Way before Memorial Day weekend. 😉

Last year, I was gifted Weber’s New Real Grilling cook book and dove into it finally this year. It’s a lovely book, with attractive photos and great recipes. We’ve made a few things out of it and enjoyed each one, especially this recipe.

Have you tried grilled romaine salad before? It’s a perfect way to infuse more flavor to your lettuce leaves, upstaging your traditional greens. The smoky charred leaves complement the grilled chicken, the tomatoes sweeten it up and the ranch dressing finishes with a creamy addition.

The photo doesn’t do this justice as I hurried to take it while also helping Ben situate the kids at our new picnic table. You should totally buy the book, so you can see how beautiful the presentation of this salad can be! 😉

Grilled Chicken Romaine Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing

Chopped grilled chicken served with slightly charred romaine halves and a homemade ranch dressing.

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

For the Ranch Dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup coarsely grated yellow onion
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 garlic clove , pressed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For the Salad:

4 boneless , skinless chicken breast halves, about 6 ounces each
2 hearts of romaine , cut lengthwise and trimmed (4 halves total)
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes , cut in half
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
Salt & pepper , to taste

Instructions

For the Ranch Dressing:

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients until thoroughly combined. Place the chicken breasts in a large zipper bag and pour 1 cup of the dressing into the bag. Seal and shake the bag to coat the chicken with the dressing. Refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours. Cover and refrigerate the remaining dressing.

For the Salad:

Preheat the grill to medium heat (between 350 degrees F to 450 degrees F). Oil the grates of the grill to prevent sticking.
Remove the chicken from the zipper bag and shake off (and discard) the excess dressing. Place the chicken breasts on the grill, directly over the medium heat. Cover and cook until the meat is cooked through, about 8 to 12 minutes (depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts). Turn once or twice during cooking. Remove from the grill and let set on a platter for 5 minutes. Chop into bite sized pieces.
Brush the romaine leaves on all sides with olive oil. Place on grill, cut side down, over direct medium heat. Cover and grill for about 2 minutes, until slightly wilted, flipping once.
Serve each romaine half immediately, with chicken, tomatoes, dressing and garnished with parsley. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Recipe Source: Weber's New Real Grilling