Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
A delicious and easy chicken Caesar pasta salad recipe that uses simple ingredients, with "shortcut" options to get main course on the table even faster! Definitely one of our favorite salad recipes to date!
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 512kcal
Ingredients
- 2 stalks romaine lettuce
- 1 cup cooked chicken shredded or cubed
- ½ 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.1 cup uncooked rotini
- Cut up romaine lettuce in to bite-size pieces, discarding the core.2 stalks romaine lettuce
- In a large bowl, add lettuce, cold pasta, cooked chicken, parmesan cheese, croutons, dressing, and finally, black pepper if desired.1 cup cooked chicken, ½ cup shredded Parmesan, 1 cup croutons, 1 cup Caesar dressing, black pepper
- Toss to coat salad with Caesar dressing.
- Serve immediately so the lettuce does not get soggy.
Video
Notes
What kind of chicken should I use for Caesar salad?
Rotisserie chickens are a quick way to add shredded chicken. Or, you can use pre-cooked diced chicken, canned chicken, or leftover chicken.
What kind of lettuce do you use for Caesar salad?
The most popular type of lettuce to use is chopped romaine. However, to speed things up you can use a Caesar salad kit from the grocery store!
What is the best Caesar dressing?
If you're using a Caesar salad kit, the dressing usually comes with it and this usually has a great flavor. However, brands such as Ken's Steakhouse Caesar and Newman's Own Caesar are great brands as well.
If you want shredded chicken, hot chicken shreds more easily than cold chicken.
You can use a Caesar salad kit from the grocery store to keep things really easy. You'll want a kit that's about 11 oz. (give/take) to get as close to 2 stalks of romaine. (Keep in mind if you use a salad kit, this should come with dressing and parmesan cheese, however you'll be adding pasta and chicken so ideally you'll want more dressing, parmesan and croutons than what comes with the kit.)
Recipe can be forgiving - feel free to add more of your favorite ingredients if desired.
You can prepare in advance, however wait to add dressing until right before serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 512kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 20g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 990mg | Potassium: 153mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 176IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 189mg | Iron: 2mg
