At almost any restaurant in America, you can find a crisp Caesar salad on the menu. It’s such an influential dish that it has inspired tons of recipes for Caesar salad fanatics, including this fresh, umami-driven chicken Caesar pasta salad.
We take all the classic components of a Caesar salad and toss it with pieces of shredded chicken and spiral-shaped pasta. Together, they create a dish that’s filling yet light and refreshing. Make a batch and portion it out into lunches for the next few days, or toss everything together right before your next picnic. For the ultimate indulgent midday meal, pour yourself a glass from that bottle of Chardonnay in the fridge.
Ingredients for Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
- Pasta: Use a short pasta for this Caesar pasta salad. Anything smaller will fall to the bottom, and the shape of long, thin pasta doesn’t mingle well with the chopped ingredients.
- Romaine: Salad greens can carry a lot of dirt and grit. Wash your romaine properly to remove any bugs or debris for a clean, refreshing bite.
- Chicken: Pre-cooked rotisserie chicken simplifies this pasta salad. You can cook your own chicken if you’re really keen, but there are a ton of great grocery store rotisserie chickens to choose from.
- Caesar dressing: Pick up your favorite Caesar salad dressing from the store. The ones with simple, easy-to-pronounce ingredients usually taste best.
Directions
Step 1: Cook the pasta
Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, then rinse the noodles under cool water and drain again. Place the pasta in a large bowl.
Editor’s Tip: If you don’t have the other ingredients already prepped and ready to go, the pasta may stick together as it sits. Prevent this by drizzling in a tiny bit of olive oil and giving it a toss.
Step 2: Toss the pasta salad
Add in the chopped romaine, chicken, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, Caesar dressing, slivered almonds and, if you’d like, the croutons. Toss everything together and serve immediately.
Recipe Variations
- Make your own Caesar dressing: We love how quick and simple a store-bought dressing is, but there’s no denying that a homemade dressing tastes approximately 1,000 times better. Luckily, we have this incredible recipe for a homemade Caesar dressing that’s both delicious and super easy to whip up.
- Use your favorite greens: Not a fan of romaine? Tuscan kale, curly kale, a spring mix or arugula can be used instead. If you’re using kale, make sure to cut it up and then massage it with a splash of olive oil and lemon juice to remove any bitterness.
- Make it gluten-free:Â Omit the croutons, switch the pasta out for gluten-free pasta and double check that your salad dressing is certified gluten-free.
- Try another protein: Once you’ve made this recipe a few times, you might want to switch things up by using another protein. Omit the chicken and try our buttery grilled shrimp, or use canned chickpeas instead. We love these crispy chickpeas, too!
How to Store Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
To store chicken Caesar pasta salad, place the leftovers in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for up to four days. The lettuce will become more wilted in the dressing the longer it sits.
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes, you can make the components of this salad ahead of time, but don’t mix everything together until you’re ready to serve. Otherwise, the dressing will make the ingredients soggy.
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad Tips
Where was Caesar salad invented?
Caesar salad was invented in Tijuana, Mexico and is attributed to the restauranteur Caesar Cardini. As the story goes, on a busy weekend at his restaurant, Cardini ran out of the ingredients to make one of the menu’s salads, so he scraped together what he had on-hand and created the Caesar salad. Everyone loved it, and by the 1940s, Caesar salad became a menu staple in restaurants across America.
Does Caesar salad have anchovies?
Yes, Caesar salad dressing traditionally contains anchovies. They add an umami flavor that really rounds out the salad. There are fish-less Caesar dressing brands out there for the anchovy-averse, and you could make your own Caesar salad dressing without anchovies, like the one from our classic Caesar salad recipe.
