Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
It’s everything you love about the classic salad, but also in a cold summer pasta! Our Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is made of tender, juicy chicken, crisp lettuce, crunchy croutons, and plenty of cheese and pasta, all coated in our Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing to create our new favorite pasta salad!
We absolutely love all things Caesar Salad around here, so of course, it was only a matter of time until we made it in pasta form! Our Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad was so fun to recipe test and even more fun to eat! My almost 7-year-old loves it so much that she has requested it to be served at her birthday party! It has everything you want about a Caesar Salad and cold pasta salad all in one big, delicious bowl!
Ingredients Needed
- Chicken – We prefer chicken breast for this recipe, but you can use thighs too if you’d like.
- Romaine Lettuce – This is the classic lettuce variety for a Caesar.
- Pasta – Farfalle is one of my kids’ favorite pasta shapes, which is why we use it for this Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad. However, you can use any of your pasta salad favorites, too!
- Caesar Dressing – Key, obviously! And if you haven’t made your own yet, there’s no better time!
- Parmesan Cheese – You’ll want both shredded and shaved for this one!
- Croutons – Another key aspect of this classic salad that adds a great texture to this pasta salad. Use your favorites, or make your own!
- Lemon Pepper Seasoning – We use this to add a little extra zhuzh to the chicken!
- Salt and Pepper – Of course, with just a little extra pepper to finish with.
Easy to Make
Prep
This Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is so easy to make, with just a few prep steps, like seasoning, cooking, and cubing the chicken. Don’t skip out on that Lemon Pepper Seasoning on the chicken – it adds so much great flavor!
Now for the croutons. We like to give them a little crush to break them into smaller sizes for a better distribution throughout the salad. Or, if you’re making your own Croutons From Scratch, you can make them all a lot smaller just for this pasta salad!
Assemble
Once you have all of the ingredients together, it’s time to assemble!
Make Ahead!
This is a great pasta salad to prep in advance. While you don’t want to mix it all too far in advance because the lettuce will lose some of its crunch, you can prepare all of the ingredients in advance and then just toss it all together an hour or so before you’re ready to serve.
Finish with some large shavings of Parmesan cheese and a little extra grinds from the pepper grinder, and you’re done! Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad.
Everything you love about two classics, Caesar Salad and Pasta Salad, combined into one big delicious bowl that can be a side, a salad, or a light meal on its own!
You Also Might Like
- Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps
- Classic Caesar Salad From Scratch
- Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
- Italian Grinder Pasta Salad
- Avocado Pasta Salad
- Easy Caesar Dressing From Scratch
- BLT Coleslaw
Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
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Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
Equipment
- cutting board
- meat tenderizer or rolling pin optional
- instant read thermometer optional
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts
- 1 1/4 cup Caesar Dressing
- 1 lb farfalle pasta or another favorite!
- 1 1/2 cups croutons about 2.5 oz
- 4 cups Romaine lettuce chopped
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese divided, shredded and shaved
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
Instructions
- Prep Pasta: Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat to bring to a boil.
- Prep Chicken: Slice chicken breasts in half. Add salt, pepper, and lemon pepper seasoning to a small bowl and mix. Season both sides of the chicken with the salt, pepper, and lemon pepper seasoning.
- Cook Pasta: Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente. For farfalle, 10 minutes. Drain into a colander and rinse with cold water.
- Cook Chicken: Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Add chicken to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes per side or until internal temperature reaches 165℉. Remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes, and then cut into cubes.
- Prep Croutons: Add the croutons to a cutting board and cover lightly with plastic wrap, or add croutons to a plastic bag. Use a meat tenderizer or rolling pin to gently break up the croutons into smaller sized pieces.
- Assemble: In a large mixing bowl, add pasta, chicken, 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese, and lettuce. Mix well. Add Caesar dressing and mix again. Add the croutons and give a final mix.
- Final Touch: Finish the salad with Parmesan cheese shavings and a couple of grinds from a pepper grinder.
- Serve: Serve and Enjoy!
