This Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad Recipe is simple to make, ready in less than 30 minutes and is great served for lunch, summer dinners or at pot lucks and parties. A fun twist on the classic Caesar salad.
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Why We Love This Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
- A quick lunch or dinner recipe to enjoy in less than 30 minutes.
- This recipe feeds a crowd, but can also be scaled back.
- This is a great main dish or a perfect side dish.
- Makes a great make ahead dish. Prep it all days in advance and then mix together and serve.
- The perfect summer meal to serve at pot lucks, parties or BBQs.
- It's everything you love about a good Caesar salad but with pasta!
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad Recipe Ingredients
- Farfalle Pasta
- Cooked Chicken
- Romaine Hearts
- Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- Caesar Salad Dressing
- Croutons
Substitution Suggestions
- Farfalle Pasta: You can use any short cut or medium cut pasta. Penne pasta, rotini pasta, or fusilli are all great options. You can also use whole wheat pasta, brown rice pasta or the good ole regular pasta. Whichever you prefer best.
- Cooked Chicken: Shredded chicken, grilled chicken, roasted chicken, rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken can all be used. Using leftover chicken is a great way to repurpose it into a new recipe.
- Romaine Lettuce: Caesar salads are traditionally made with romaine. However, if you need to you can use a different type of lettuce. Just make sure its a crisp lettuce like iceberg, green leaf or little gem.
- Caesar Salad Dressing: To make this recipe super fast and easy, I used a bottled Caesar dressing. Use your favorite bottled brand or you can find a homemade Caesar dressing recipe.
- Croutons: Store bought or homemade croutons can be used. I opted for store bought, again to make the recipe quick and easy. Use your favorite.
- Extras: you can also add chopped red onion, halved grape tomatoes or cooked and crumbled bacon.
This fun take on the classic chicken Caesar salad is going to become one of your new favorite salads. You can't go wrong with crisp romaine lettuce, juicy chicken, tender pasta, crunchy croutons and the best creamy Caesar dressing.
How to Make Easy Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
- Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente pasta. Drain pasta and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- To a large bowl, combine the cooled pasta, chopped cooked chicken, and the chopped and cleaned romaine lettuce. Give it a good toss.
- Then add the shredded parmesan, Caesar dressing and croutons. Toss all to combine well.
- Serve immediately.
Why you Need to Rinse Pasta for Cold Salads
Normally, I would never suggest rinsing pasta because it's a cardinal sin. The starch from the pasta helps the sauce adhere. However, that rule applies for warm pasta dishes. Rinsing pasta for cold dishes will help stop the cooking process and will also help reduce the temperature of the pasta. That allows the pasta to be combined with the rest of the ingredients sooner rather than later.
Make it Ahead
This recipe for Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad works great as a make ahead or meal prep dish. Simply prep all the ingredients: cooked chicken, cooked pasta, and chopped and cleaned romaine. Store the chicken and pasta together, and the romaine separate. You can make this 3-4 days in advance. When you are ready to enjoy the salad, combine all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl, toss it all together and enjoy right away.
To meal prep the salad, place the creamy dressing on the bottom of your container. Then top with the chicken and pasta. Finish with chopped romaine and shredded parmesan. Store the croutons separate to prevent them from getting soggy.
Storing Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
If you have any leftover salad, store it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will last up to 4 days in the fridge. Note that the lettuce and croutons will become soggy. If you know you won't be eating all of the salad, you can scale it back by half. Or you can serve the dressing and croutons on the side.
If you love chicken salad recipes, give these BLT Chicken Lettuce Cups or Chicken Avocado Wraps a try! They are so easy and so yummy!
Tips for Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
- Don't forget to salt the pasta water. It is the only opportunity you have to season the pasta.
- Don't overcook the pasta. You want it al dente and not mushy. Overcooked pasta will fall apart in the salad.
- Rinse the pasta right away with cold water after you drain it. This allows the pasta to cool down faster, and removes some of the starch so the pasta won't stick together as it cools.
- Normally I would say grate your own cheese, but with this recipe I usually use the shredded Parmesan in the tubs. You can most definitely shred your own, it gives the best flavor when you do. This recipe is meant to be quick and easy so I use store bought.
- Make this salad even easier and buy a couple of the already prepared Caesar salad bags. It includes the dressing, cheese and croutons. I buy them occasionally at Sam's Club. Then you just need to add your cooked chicken and bow tie pasta and you're good to go!
More Pasta Salad Recipes:
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounces Farfalle pasta
- 4 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
- 3 romaine hearts, cleaned and chopped
- ¾ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 ½ cups Caesar dressing
- 2 cups croutons
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente pasta.
- Drain pasta and rinse with cold water. Set aside to cool.
- To a large bowl, combine the cooled pasta, chopped cooked chicken, chopped and cleaned romaine lettuce. Give it a good toss.
- Then add the shredded parmesan, Caesar dressing and croutons. Toss all to combine well.
- Serve immediately.
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