Baked Chicken Caesar Chalupa Nachos are irresistible and perfect for scooping up an ice-cold Caesar Salad!
One of Ben’s and my favorite restaurants in town is Granite City Brewery. From cinnamon rolls as big as our heads, to ultra-refreshing seasonal blueberry brew, we always know we’ll have a great meal and drink whenever we stop by.
One of the items we’ve grown particularly attached to is their Chicken Caesar Chalupa appetizer.
Baked flour tortillas are brushed with Caesar dressing, topped with shredded chicken and mozzarella cheese, then baked. They’re served with an ice-cold Caesar salad and chopped tomatoes for scooping, and are the epitome of refreshing and satisfying. Imagine our horror when we stopped in a few months ago and found out the Chicken Caesar Chalupas had been taken off the menu!? Noooo!
Right then and there Ben and I vowed to recreate the crispy app at home. 3+ months later (…) we finally got around to it, Baked Chicken Caesar Chalupa Nachos, people. These. babies. ROCK! One of our favorite restaurant recreations ever!
Start by sauteing a couple chicken breasts seasoned with lemon pepper in non-stick spray until cooked all the way through.
Once they’re cool enough to handle, shred the chicken with your fingers or a fork, and set aside.
Next, take a few burrito-sized flour tortillas and cut each one into 8 wedges.
These are extra-large, because that’s how Ben likes his breakfast burritos, but the normal sized ones will totally do.
Tip: Look for tortillas that are slightly “fluffy” looking, as opposed to the ones that are very flat. The layers in the fluffy tortillas mean they’re sturdier and will hold up better to being baked with yummy toppings.
Once all the tortillas have been cut into wedges, lay them on foil-lined and non-stick sprayed baking sheets.
Spray the tops with more non-stick spray, then bake at 400 degrees until they’re lightly toasted and just starting to turn golden brown. Tip: You can do this ahead of time! Just let the wedges cool completely before putting them in an air-tight container for a couple days.
Alright, here comes the fun part – piling on the toppings!
First top each wedge with about 1 teaspoon Caesar dressing.
I heart Brianna’s Asiago Caesar, but feel free to use whatever’s your fave.
Next add on a little bit of the cooked & shredded lemon pepper chicken.
Finish with shredded mozzarella cheese.
Put the wedges back into the 400 degree oven for 4-5 minutes, or until the tortillas are golden brown, and the cheese is melted. YUM!!!!
Lay the wedges around crunchy romaine lettuce that’s been cut into bite-sized pieces and tossed with a little more Casesar dressing, then sprinkle chopped, fresh tomatoes around the outside!
Friday Favorites
Single Serving Homemade Taco SeasoningBaked Chicken Caesar Chalupa Nachos
Description
Baked Chicken Caesar Chalupa Nachos are irresistible and perfect for scooping up an ice-cold Caesar Salad!
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- non-stick spray
- Lemon pepper seasoning
- 3-4 burrito-sized flour tortillas
- Caesar dressing
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped into bite-sized pieces
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray both sides of the chicken breasts with non-stick spray, season with lemon pepper, and saute in a skillet until no longer pink in the middle, about 4-5 minutes a side. Let cool slightly, then shred with a fork or your fingers. Set aside.
- Cut flour tortillas into 8 wedges each. Line baking sheets with foil, then spray with non-stick spray. Lay down tortillas and spray tops with non-stick spray. Bake for 3-4 minutes, or until wedges are slightly toasted and just starting to turn golden brown.
- Spread about 1 teaspoon of Caesar dressing on each of the toasted tortilla wedges. Top with shredded chicken and mozzarella cheese. Bake for 4-5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
- Toss romaine lettuce with enough Caesar dressing to coat. Place in the middle of a plate, and surround with baked Caesar chicken wedges. Sprinkle with chopped tomato and serve.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Chicken Caesar Chalupas would be awesome as a starter for a dinner party, or a fun entree for 2 or 3. I hope you’ll give them a try!
Another winner from Iowa Girl! ;)
Yes, she keeps pumping them out! Looks super yummy!
Fun! We love Granite City too! Will have to try these!
I love standing over the kitchen counter and having a dinner like that!! I did that a few weeks ago. And this my friend is a winner of a dinner!
Thank you thank you thank you!! This was my favorite item at granite city. I can’t believe they got rid of it! I can’t wait to try the at home version!
Perfect, I am making these for dinner tomorrow since I have all the ingredients (Caesar dressing is leftover from your chicken Caesar sandwich recipe!).
Sounds really good! I bet my bf would love this :)
delicious! my hubby would love these. and i just realized i never really knew what a chalupa was until now… thanks, lady :)
this looks amazing – so glad i found your blog through your green monster smoothie on pinterest. :)
I did my best recreating a Seared Tuna Cherry Spinach Salad I get with my mom when we go to a restaurant in Traverse City. They use these amazing cherries as garnish and in the dressing. I’m still working on the dressing, they will not give it out1
Oh my goodness! These sound perfect! My fiance would love these!! I can’t wait to make them! Thanks for another great one! :)
I’m with you. Brianna’s is the best. No caesar can compare!
This looks fantastic! Will be trying this soon!
About the only thing I have ever tried to recreate is the chopped steak that Outback used to have. That and the way good steak places do baked potatoes.
Oh yum! We can’t get past the Idaho Nachos at Granite City… they are always our go-to appetizer! :)
Granite City is the best! Love their waffle fry nachos and my husband always get their crispy shrimp tacos. I’m thinking he and I need to schedule a date night there soon!
I love to re-create restaurant meals! The last one we made was a Burrito Bowl for Chipotle – even though I had not been there yet…but I finally went today and think I did a pretty good job :)
Recreating your favorite dishes from restaurants are the best. Your own version is so much better, healthier, and best of all, cheaper.
These look really great. Can’t wait to give these a try. And I’m definitely going to have to pick up a bottle of Brianna’s Asiago Caesar on my way home from work tomorrow.
This was my all-time favorite thing to order at Granite City. So disappointed to hear they don’t have it anymore. But I will definitely have to use this recipe to get my fix. Thx!
I gorgt about the chicken Caesar chalupa at GC! I’m actually pretty disappointed with the changes to their menu and brunch — they no longer have an eggs Benedict station… Only omelet stations and everywhere does that. If they don’t bring back their seasonal blueberry ale, I’m writing in ;)
Yum!! Can’t wait to try these this week.
Those look super fun and of course, delicious! I love doing recreations at home. I’ve perfected the PF Changs lettuce wraps :)
Can’t wait to try these – I think I’ll make enough for our main meal – you have the most delicious ideas!
These look amazing! It’s always a bummer if one of your favorite things gets taken off the menu, but it looks like you made do! This happened to my boyfriend’s favorite sandwich at our favorite restaurant, so I might have to try recreating that sometime!
These look so unique and fun. Evernoted! Thanks for this post.
Your creativity in the kitchen is so inspiring! This definately looks like something I need to try!!!
I try to recreate Mexican dishes all the time. I feel like Mexican is a no fail choice.
Yes! Making this! Yum!
I love your restaurant re-creations :)
OMG I’m drooling! These WILL be on the menu this weekend. Thanks!
looks incredible! PS – i voted!
You can still request the Chicken Ceaser Chalupa at Granite City (even though not on the menu).
FYI: They took it off the menu all together and can’t order it anymore :(
Love your site! I am an Iowa girl too, born and raised, but live in North Carolina now – where you can’t get a Breaded Pork Tenderloin sandwich! (Even though they have to be a rare treat!) I keep thinking I should open a sandwich shop….. Anyway, I recreated Johnny Carino’s Jalepeno Garlic Tilapia – and it turned out great! Makes me think I ought to be making that again soon! Tilapia sautéed in lemon butter, jalepeno, cream sauce. Served with garlic, spinach, tomatoes and angel hair pasta. Yum!
These look SO good! I have been to Granite City once but trying new restaurants in the area since I’m still new to DSM. I might have to go back to get these – or make them on my own.
I like to recreate Noodle & Company’s Whole Grain Tuscan Linguine because I think it is the BEST! It’s pretty close. :)
These sound wonderful and fairly easy to make. I love your site. It has something for everyone!
This is by far my FAV thing to get at GC. Well, it’s a tie between this and their french onion soup. TO DIE FOR! SO glad you posted this recipe!
I would love to order theses as an appetizer.
[…] since I’m going on spring break this weekend. I’m also branched out to a new website, Iowa Girl Eats (original recipe is attached to the […]
[…] Baked Chicken Ceasar Chalupas via Iowa Girl Eats […]
My boyfriend made this for our dinner last night after I showed him your post. It was fantastic – we will be having this again! :)
Ate at Granite City on Saturday in CR and it was ON THE MENU! Maybe they brought it back!!! It was AMAZING!
Thank you for the inspiration! I pinned these because my husband loves caesar salad. Ended up also using this idea to make a Buffalo style version that was equally as good. Used blue cheese dressing and a bit of Frank’s red hot sauce. Also, used whole wheat pitas to make it more of a dinner than appetizer. Will be repeated both your way and the new way. YUM!
Delicious!! Thank you so much for sharing. This flavor was a hit, but I am also brainstorming other flavor varieties with the same concept.
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So Thank You for this recipe. My husband and I love going to Granite City for the buffalo chicken chalupa and they decided to take it off the menu. We were very upset about it until now with this recipe. We’re trying it tonight!!
Thank you for another great recipe! We tried this one for the first time tonight and my husband & I both loved it! Happy New Year, we look forward to trying all the new recipes you post this year since we usually love pretty much everything you post:) We’re both originally from Iowa by the way and I love telling people about your blog, you’re definitely my fav food blogger!
THANK YOU!!! GC’s Chicken Caesar Chalupa was my FAVORITE and I also listened in HORROR the last time we visited and they told me it was no longer on the menu. Can’t wait to try this!
To all the fanatics of Granite City, I am pleased to tell you that the Chicken Caesar Chalupa’s are back! I just had them on Monday!
Hey there! I used to work at GC. small tip: leave the tortilla whole and do everything above. Then you can cut it up with a pizza cutter and then put it around the salad. Less hand work.