Inspired by the viral chip bag sandwich, this walking Caesar salad turns a bag of kettle chips into both the croutons and the bowl.
I’ve always considered croutons an essential part of a Caesar salad, but lately I’ve been forced to reconsider what, exactly, qualifies as a crouton. A while ago, I tried replacing them with french fries and discovered that hot, salty potatoes are remarkably good when dragged through Caesar dressing. Then came the Caesar salad croissants, outrageously delicious concoctions that involve stuffing Caesar salad into everyone’s favorite pastry. So when I saw the latest viral salad trend involving bags of potato chips, Caesar seemed like a natural fit.
Chip bag sandwiches—like the sandwich version of walking tacos—have been making the rounds on social media lately. The original viral version is essentially an Italian sub without the bread, but the idea immediately reminded me of the walking tapas I recently tried. It made me wonder what would happen if I gave Caesar salad the same treatment.
As it happens, potato chips make very good croutons.
What is a walking Caesar salad?
A walking Caesar salad is a riff on the viral chip bag sandwich, made with chopped romaine, Caesar dressing, Parmesan and kettle-cooked potato chips then served right inside the chip bag.
The bag of chips supplies both an ingredient and the serving vessel. In this case, though, the chips also have a very specific job. Kettle chips replace the croutons, providing the salad with salty crunch that keeps all that crisp lettuce and creamy dressing interesting.
You could certainly add chopped grilled chicken to make each bag a more substantial meal, and bacon or chopped anchovies wouldn’t hurt anything, either. But I deliberately kept mine simple. Caesar salad doesn’t need much tinkering to begin with, and the appeal of lunch served in a potato chip bag is that it shouldn’t require much work.
I can also see these being particularly clever for a casual party. Instead of setting out a big bowl of Caesar that gradually wilts as everyone helps themselves, you can portion the salad into individual bags just before serving them. Guests can grab one and wander off, with no salad plates to collect and clean afterward.
How to Make a Walking Caesar Salad
I started by chopping romaine lettuce and tossing it with shaved Parmesan and store-bought Caesar dressing. Homemade Caesar dressing would be delicious here too, but I was making lunch for my kids and myself, and this particular experiment seemed like a perfectly reasonable occasion to let the bottle do the work.
I opened three individual bags of kettle-cooked potato chips, then added them to the dressed lettuce and gently tossed everything together. You want to incorporate them without pulverizing them; part of what makes this work is getting plenty of substantial potato-chip crunch in every bite.
Using tongs, I divided the salad back among the bags, handed one to each of my two kids and kept the third for myself. They were ridiculously fun to eat, but the potato chips weren’t merely a gimmick. Kettle chips are sturdy enough to stand up to Caesar dressing without immediately going soggy, and they bring even more salt and richness than traditional croutons. Against cold, crisp romaine and sharp Parmesan, they tasted like they belonged there all along.
I still love a classic Caesar salad (and its croutons), but between french fries, croissants and now kettle chips, I’ve apparently entered a phase of seeing just how many carbohydrates I can introduce to salad before someone intervenes. So far, I see no reason to stop.
