Chicken Caesar Wrap &#8211; Cooking Classy

This Chicken Caesar Wrap is a hearty, flavor loaded wrap layered with tender pieces of chicken, crisp lettuce leaves, bright tomatoes, rich avocados and a homemade creamy caesar dressing. It’s such a satisfying summery lunch!

Lately I’ve been loving wraps more than ever! They are such a welcome change to the same old sandwiches or salads we’ve had far too often.

Here you take a basic caesar salad, add in upgrades of avocados, chicken and tomatoes, along with a cool caesar dressing (and nix the croutons because the carbs on carbs seems overkill). Then wrap it all up in a jumbo tortilla and you’ve got a colorful, loaded wrap everyone will be envious of at your lunch hour (plus they are perfect for dinner too).

Yes, you could go the cheater route and use a store-bought caesar dressing to save time, but really this homemade caesar dressing makes the recipe what it is. Plus is easy to prep and most definitely worth the extra bit of effort and ingredients (many of which are kitchen staples).

And if you are wanting to live on the edge and splurge you could even take these chicken caesar wraps one step further and add cooked crumbled bacon. No one will complain!

Chicken Caesar Wrap Ingredients and Substitutes

For the wraps, you’ll need:

Cooked chicken: You can use rotisserie chicken, grilled chicken, or something like leftover lemon chicken from dinner the night prior.
Romaine lettuce: Fresh chopped lettuce is best but if in a rush the pre-chopped and rinsed option in a bag will work okay.
Parmesan cheese: Romano cheese would be a good substitute.
Burrito-sized tortillas: Whole wheat or white options work well. You could even use another variety such as low carb or spinach. Just be sure to use the large tortillas here, not taco size or you won’t be able to fit much filling.
Grape tomatoes and avocado: These are add-ins that are upgrades and not traditional, with that said they are optional but do add great flavor.

And for the homemade Caesar dressing, you’ll need:

Plain Greek yogurt: You can use any variety from whole to fat free, just be sure it’s plain.
Mayonnaise: Regular or light varieties work here.
Olive oil: This adds some extra richness to the dressing.
Anchovies: I like the flavor of fresh mashed anchovy fillets, but if you don’t want to mess with it the anchovy paste from a tube will do fine.
Lemon juice: Fresh squeezed is recommended.
Worcestershire sauce: This just add a hint of depth to the dressing.
Dijon mustard: If you don’t have dijon mustard on hand you can replace with yellow mustard or omit.
Garlic: Fresh minced is best but bottled will work as well.

How to Make Chicken Caesar Wraps

For the dressing: Whisk all dressing ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the wraps: To a large mixing bowl add cooked chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and parmesan cheese. Drizzle dressing over and use tongs to toss and evenly coat.

Add avocado and gently toss to evenly distribute.

Layer salad mixture over tortillas in row in the center then wrap (you can also tuck ends in before wrapping so filling doesn’t fall out the end).

Cut wraps in half to serve.

Can I Use Anchovy Paste Instead of Anchovy Fillets?

You could use the anchovy paste in a tube to save time if you want. Personally I think the whole anchovies in a can are quite a bit better but if you don’t want to deal with mashing this is a nice shortcut.

If you haven’t cooked with them before, don’t worry the salad doesn’t taste fishy. It just brings a nice depth of flavor to the dressing and is a key ingredient in a true caesar dressing. Sure they may smell bad but they add so much flavor so don’t omit them.

Can I Use Leftover Baked Chicken?

You can use many kinds of leftover chicken you have on hand for these wraps. You wouldn’t however want to use something with a strong seasoning or sauce because it would overpower the other flavors, but a basic seasoned leftover chicken works well.

Even something like chicken tenders or baked chicken nuggets would be fine.

How Can I Make a Low Fat Caesar Dressing?

Use light mayonnaise, fat free Greek yogurt and replace olive oil with water. It will lack richness but this is a good way to reduce a bit of the fat content.

If you are wanting to reduce calorie count I would just recommend reduce portion size. Serve wrap halves rather than the whole portions.

Tips for the Best Chicken Caesar Wraps

Tortillas: The best tortillas to use are homemade tortillas (just use larger portions of dough and roll larger), or store-bought raw that are cooked in a skillet at home.
Chicken: If you just cooked the chicken let it cool for 10 to 20 minutes while you prep other ingredients so the hot chicken doesn’t wilt the lettuce.
Lettuce: For crunchier lettuce you can opt to use romaine hearts versus using a regular head of lettuce with the outer softer leaves.
Add extras: For the ultimate wrap don’t skip the tomato and avocado, they are the perfect additions.
Assembly timing: If you’re packing these wraps for lunch, it’s fine to make them the morning of. I wouldn’t prep them any earlier than that, otherwise the filling will start to get soggy and the lettuce will wilt.

More Delicious Wrap Recipes to Try

16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)