Ina Garten Chicken Caesar Club Sandwich

This Ina Garten Chicken Caesar Club Sandwich packs well for picnics in the park or at the beach. And that dressing makes a great dip for your veggies!

I love sandwiches. I’ve been making sandwiches most of my life. My brother was my first satisfied customer. He made me nachos, something I still LOVE today, and I made him sandwiches.

Of course, that was in between our fights and when we generally didn’t have anything to do with each other. You know, the usual brother-sister stuff.

I was putting lettuce, bell peppers, salad dressing, everything Subway now does before Subway came to our neck of the woods. Yes, another billion-dollar idea lost. But, I still love making and eating sandwiches.

My latest sandwich obsession? Ina Garten’s Chicken Caesar Club Sandwich.

Why this recipe is so delicious

Caesar salad dressing is such a popular salad topping made even more fabulous when you make it yourself. The salty base of the dressing is anchovy paste, which I have a natural aversion to so I made a substitution.

Instead of anchovy paste, I substituted it with capers for the salty flavor. Add that, the lemon juice, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, garlic and parsley and you have a freakishly delicious and tangy dressing for your sandwich.

The great thing about sandwiches is that you can make it to your liking. You can easily swap out ingredients and substitute with what you have at hand. When you do make substitutions, try to keep the flavor profile the same (like swapping out salty anchovy paste for salty capers).

I made some other substitutions from Ina’s sandwich recipe, mostly because I was too lazy to go back to the store and get the right ingredients! Instead of pancetta, I used bacon. And since we were out of sun-dried tomatoes, I used artichoke hearts.  I didn’t use just arugula, I had a bag of Trader Joe’s Spring Salad Mix that did the trick.

So how did Ina Garten Chicken Caesar Club Sandwich stack up? Wow there was tremendous flavor and zing in every bite. All of my favorite goodies were wrapped up in a delicious crusty bread.

And Ina’s Caesar dressing? So incredibly delicious. I kept a bowl of the dressing on the side so I could keep dunking the sandwich in it, like an au jus bowl for your roast beef French dip. I’ll definitely be making it again!

Ingredients you need

• Chicken breasts: You can use already cooked chicken breast or roast your own boneless or bone in split chicken breast
• Bacon: Ina’s recipe asked for pancetta, but I had bacon – plus it’s more economical!
• Garlic: Since this is going in the salad dressing, you can substitute with ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder.
• Fresh parsley: Since this is going in the salad dressing, you could substitute with 1 teaspoon dried parsley.
• Capers: Caesar dressing is made with anchovy paste. But because I don’t usually have this ingredient, I used capers instead.
• Dijon mustard: You can use whole grain or regular mustard, too.
• Lemon juice: You use fresh lemons or bottled lemon juice.
• Mayonnaise: This is the base of your caesar dressing. I did not whip up eggs to make homemade mayonnaise but use my favorite jar of store bought instead.
• Ciabatta bread: You can also use a baguette or any other bread that you love.
• Salad greens: Go with spicy arugula or use a spring mix, like I did. You can also keep it simple and use classic romaine lettuce.
• Artichoke hearts: Ina’s recipe asked for sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, which I did not have. So I used what I did have, artichoke hearts packed in oil.
• Parmesan cheese: You can use shaved, shredded or grated parmesan.
• Salt and pepper

Step-by-step directions

1. Place garlic, parsley, anchovy paste (or capers), dijon mustard, lemon juice and mayonnaise in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade or in a blender and purée until smooth. Refrigerate the dressing if not using it immediately.

2. Slice and toast your ciabatta bread then spread a generous layer of Caesar dressing to each cut side.

3. Start layering the rest of the ingredients, starting from the bottom: salad greens, artichoke hearts, parmesan cheese, bacon and chicken.

Recipe tips and FAQs

Got leftover caesar dressing? Serve it with some crudités for a refreshing dip with a veggie platter.

Love Ina’s recipes like I do? Here are some of my favorite Barefoot Contessa recipes:

• Ina Garten Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
• Ina Garten Oatmeal Cookies with Raisin and Pecans
• Ina Garten Baked Shrimp Scampi
• Ina Garten Grilled Shrimp Kabob
• Ina Garten Shrimp Bisque
• Ina Garten Coconut Jam Thumbprint Cookies
• Ina Garten Creme Brulee

PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.

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