Two classic comfort foods collide in this fantastic 30 minute Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad recipe. Crispy Romaine, seasoned chicken, bright sweet tomatoes, salty Parmesan, crunchy croutons, and spiral pasta all get tossed together in a creamy homemade Caesar dressing. This is great as a complete dinner, easy side salad, or a sure winner for any summer potluck!
The only thing better than one of your favorite salads, is when it’s combined with another one of your favorite salads – let me introduce you to this Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad, where Caesar salad and pasta salad get jiggy with it.
I love it when two all-stars collide and I’m sort of obsessed with this one. Almost, if not equally, as much as my Chicken Broccoli Pasta Salad and Cashew Chicken Pasta Salad. Which is saying a lot!
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad Ingredients
Let’s talk about all these fantastic ingredients co-mingling!
- Pasta – I used rotini pasta because its curves and grooves are begging for dressing to cling to it, and it’s small size matches up with all the other chopped ingredients, so you get a bite of everything, each time!
- Chicken – I seasoned and baked skinless, boneless chicken breasts for this salad, but you could use rotisserie chicken breast to cut down on time. Grilled chicken would be delicious, too!
- Lettuce – Romaine lettuce is the traditional green used in Caesar salad, so I did not stray. It’s crisp and hearty, and sturdy enough not to wilt right away once hit with the dressing.
- Tomatoes – beautiful, bright, sweet cherry tomatoes add flavor and color.
- Parmesan – there’s grated Parmesan in the dressing and shavings to finish off the assembled dish, which is lovely. Spend the extra money on real Parmigiano-Reggiano…it’s worth it!
- Dressing – I whipped up an easy homemade dressing comprised of mayo, sour cream, mustard, lemon juice, Worcestershire, garlic, black pepper, Parmesan cheese, and anchovy paste (which is a key ingredient in Caesar salad.)
- Croutons – while these are optional, I highly recommend them. They add a great crunch and flavor.
Recipe Notes
- The chicken makes this more of a complete meal, but you could simply omit it without sacrificing the salad.
- And let’s not ignore the elephant in the room – that anchovy paste. Anchovies are a traditional ingredient in Caesar salad, which lend a wonderful salty flavor to the dressing. But if even the idea grosses you out, have no fear, you can leave it out. However, you’ll need to use 1 teaspoon kosher salt in its place (not table salt.)
How To Make Ahead and Store this Caesar Pasta Salad
- This salad is best served the same day its made, but it will keep in the refrigerator up to 2 days and can be made 1 day ahead of time.
- The dressing can be made separately, and kept in the fridge the day before assembling the salad, to save a little more time.
- If making this ahead of time, I recommend leaving out the romaine lettuce and croutons, then toss them in right before serving. And reserve a little dressing or make extra to add in, since it gets soaked up by the pasta sitting overnight.
This Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is a sure winner for summer potlucks, or any time during the year for a simple family dinner and lazy weekends!
Other Pasta Salads we love madly!
Watch the video for Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For The Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons anchovy paste
- 1 clove garlic , grated
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/3 cup finely grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano
For the Pasta Salad
- 12 ounces (3 cups) uncooked rotini pasta
- 2 hearts Romaine , cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup grape tomatoes , halved (crosswise, not lengthwise)
- 2 cups seasoned and cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts , diced into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 cup seasoned croutons
- Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese , for serving
Instructions
- Set a large pot of salted water to boil; cook the pasta al dente, according to package directions. Drain the pasta and rinse under cold water. Shake to get rid of any excess liquid.
- In the meantime, make the dressing. In a large serving bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing until well combined.
- Add pasta to the bowl with the dressing.
- Add the pieces of Romaine, tomatoes, chicken, and croutons to the pasta and toss to combine and make sure everything is coated.
- Garnish with fresh shaved Parmesan and serve right away!
Video
Notes
- This salad is best served the same day its made, but it will keep in the refrigerator up to 2 days and can be made 1 day ahead of time.
- The dressing can be made separately, and kept in the fridge the day before assembling the salad, to save a little more time.
- If making this ahead of time, I recommend leaving out the romaine lettuce and croutons, then toss them in right before serving. And reserve a little dressing or make extra to add in, since it gets soaked up by the pasta sitting overnight.
Nutrition
Other Notes
This was great! I made it without the tomatoes in it though because I knew we weren’t going to eat it all at once.
So good.
Didn’t have enough rotini, so I used a combination (abt 1/2 and 1/2) of rotini and pene pasta.
It didn’t make a difference to the taste or texture because nothing else was changed.
Although this is a good luncheon dish, we had it for dinner. What a great pasta salad, leaving room for chicken substitutions such as ham or shrimp.