This Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is loaded with croutons, parmesan cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pasta, and chicken; all smothered in a creamy Caesar dressing. Serve this cold pasta salad as a side for your next BBQ, or as an easy weeknight dinner!
Crisp Romaine lettuce, store-bought rotisserie chicken (time-saver of the century!), crunchy croutons, Parmesan cheese shavings and rotini noodles, all tossed in a creamy homemade Caesar salad dressing.
The anchovy paste is totally optional, although it does give this Caesar its characteristic flavor oomph. But the real secret to the best DIY Caesar salad is the addition of grated Parmesan cheese whisked right into the dressing.
I love dicing up a store-bought rotisserie chicken to make this a complete meal, but you could easily leave out the poultry to make this the ultimate side salad for potlucks, casual weeknight spreads or weekend bashes.
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad Recipe
INGREDIENTS
▢2 stalks romaine lettuce
▢1 cup cooked chicken shredded or cubed
▢1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
▢1 cup uncooked rotini or favorite pasta (see blog post)
▢1 cup croutons
▢1 cup Caesar dressing
▢black pepper optional
INSTRUCTIONS
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, run cold water over it and drain again. Set aside.
Cut up romaine lettuce in to bite-size pieces, discarding the core.
In a large bowl, add lettuce, cold pasta, cooked chicken, parmesan cheese, croutons, dressing, and finally, black pepper if desired.
Toss to coat salad with Caesar dressing.
Serve immediately so the lettuce does not get soggy.