If you love chicken caesar salad, you’ll love the creamy pasta salad version! This chicken caesar pasta salad has so much flavor, you’ll be addicted after your first bite. It has the perfect balance of creaminess, cheesiness, and tang.
What’s in Caesar Pasta Salad?
This tasty chicken caesar pasta salad is filled with yummy ingredients like juicy chicken, grape tomatoes, crunchy croutons, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and al dente rotini pasta.
- Pasta: We used rotini pasta for this recipe, but feel free to use bowtie pasta or any of your favorite kinds of pasta.
- Oil and Butter: Oil and butter add a richness to the salad and help give it that nice, creamy texture.
- Chicken: You can’t have chicken caesar pasta salad without chicken! We used boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe.
- Salt and Pepper: A little salt and pepper really bring out all the great flavors of this dish.
- Caesar Dressing: Use your favorite brand of caesar salad dressing, or make your own!
- Lemon Juice: Lemon juice adds a splash of acidity that balances out the creamy flavors.
- Vinegar: Another great way to add some tang to your caesar pasta salad!
- Cheese: We used finely grated parmesan cheese as it pairs super well with the caesar dressing.
- Tomatoes: We like how this salad tastes with grape tomatoes, but cherry tomatoes work just as well!
- Lettuce: Although optional, romaine lettuce adds another texture element that makes this delicious pasta salad even better.
- Croutons: You got to have that crunch factor! It really takes the salad to the next level.
Variations on Chicken Caesar Pasta
This pasta salad recipe is so easy to change up! You can use store-bought or homemade Caesar dressing. You can also change up the noodles. Try bowties, shells, penne, or fusilli.
Leave out the chicken if you’re not in the mood, or swap it for salmon, steak, or shrimp. Or jazz up this salad by adding crumbled cooked bacon or changing up the lettuce for iceberg or spring mix!
While this chicken pasta salad recipe is high in protein and vitamins, it is also very high in fat, cholesterol, and sodium. Enjoy this pasta salad in moderation!
I love to use chicken breasts here because I think they’re a classic pairing with caesar salad. You can cook them as directed in the recipe, or try grilling them! You could also use cooked shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken to save time.
This is a very traditional take on chicken Caesar salad, but you can easily add in some other ingredients to mix things up if you like. Other salad ingredients like cucumber and red bell pepper would work well, and avocado is a great addition. If you like, add some bacon pieces too.
How to Store Caesar Salad with Pasta
If you choose to make this recipe into salads, it will not keep well once assembled. The lettuce will begin to wilt after just a few hours, so I recommend storing the pasta salad, lettuce, and croutons separately and assembling as you plan to eat it.
The pasta salad will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I highly recommend enjoying leftovers cold.
What to Serve with Chicken Pasta Caesar Salad
There are many great dishes that’ll pair wonderfully with this chicken pasta caesar salad. We love a good summer BBQ meal, so we highly recommend making Chili Dogs, Grilled BBQ Chicken, or Air Fryer Hamburgers as a main dish with this salad.
You also can’t go wrong with Creamed Corn, BBQ Baked Beans, and a BLT Sandwich!
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dry rotini pasta (½ box)
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (¼ stick)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¾ cup Caesar salad dressing
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice from 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup quartered grape tomatoes
- 1 head romaine lettuce rinsed, dried, and chopped (optional)
- 1 cup croutons optional, for serving
- Freshly shaved Parmesan cheese optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente. Drain the pasta, rinse, and toss in a large bowl with olive oil; set aside.8 ounces dry rotini pasta, ½ tablespoon olive oil
- While the pasta cooks, cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes.2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Melt the butter in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for 8-10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the chicken to the bowl with the pasta and allow it to cool. Alternatively, you can use leftover cooked chicken here.2 tablespoons unsalted butter, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- In a small bowl, mix together salad dressing, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and cheese. Toss with the pasta, chicken, and tomatoes. Cover and chill at this point, if desired.¾ cup Caesar salad dressing, 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, 1 cup quartered grape tomatoes
- If serving as a salad, divide the lettuce between 4 bowls, then top with the cooled pasta salad. Serve garnished with croutons and shaved Parmesan, if desired.1 cup croutons, 1 head romaine lettuce, Freshly shaved Parmesan cheese
Notes
- You can use any kind of short-shape pasta you like.
- Feel free to swap the chicken breasts for thighs or pre-cooked shredded chicken.
- You can add other chopped veggies to this pasta salad, or try adding crumbled cooked bacon!
- Chicken is fully cooked at an internal temperature of 165°F.
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