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My Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is So Good!
This Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is really good! I’ll often use leftover chicken to make it, but shredded rotisserie chicken works, too. The homemade croutons are a great way to use up bread that’s going stale, but again, you can go with store-bought to save time. The only from-scratch part I wouldn’t skip is the dressing, but even that is super simple. I skip the traditional raw eggs and instead use mayo, and swap the anchovies for capers to make it more kid-friendly. Toss the dressing ingredients into a food processor or blender, and that’s it!
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad Ingredients
- Chicken: I use cooked chicken breast cut into cubes, but you can go with shredded chicken breast or even chicken thighs, if you prefer.
- Lettuce: I love Romaine lettuce, but any other crisp lettuce, like iceberg, will work in this salad.
- Pasta: You can use any shaped pasta you like. Fusilli or rotini are my top choices, but bow tie or penne will work nicely too. You can use whole wheat or gluten-free pasta, too.
- Bread: I like to make my own croutons from sourdough bread, but you can also use store-bought croutons.
- Olive oil: Any neutral-tasting oil works for baking the croutons.
- Dressing: Instead of eggs, I use mayonnaise as a shortcut for my lightened-up Caesar dressing, combining it with Parmesan, garlic, mustard, fresh lemon juice. I also add capers in place of anchovies.
Popular Additions
- Add more fresh veggies: Red bell pepper, celery, diced cucumber or sliced red onions will give the salad even more crunchy texture, while cherry tomatoes will add a nice pop of sweetness. Avocado would be great, too!
- Go big on flavor: Toss in olives, sun-dried tomatoes or pepperoncini peppers.
- Protein boost: Add some chopped hard-boiled egg or tiny mozzarella balls if you want even more protein, or swap the croutons for crunchy roasted chickpeas.
How to Make Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
My Best Caesar Pasta Salad Tips
- Cook the pasta al dente. If it is overcooked, it will be too soft and will break apart when mixed with the other ingredients. Check out my guide on how to cook pasta to get the just-right al dente texture.
- Let the pasta cool before mixing it with the other ingredients. Because the dressing contains mayonnaise, the pasta needs to be at room temperature or it can separate and become oily. The heat from the pasta can also wilt the romaine lettuce.
- Make it quicker. To save on time, you can use store-bought croutons and use a rotisserie chicken to make this recipe in minutes. It just needs assembly. Don’t skip the homemade Caesar dressing though – it’s a gamechanger!
Serving Ideas
More Pasta Salad Recipes:
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Spinach Pasta Salad
- Mediterranean Pasta Salad
- Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
- Chicken Pasta Salad
- Pasta Salad with Tahini Dressing
- Italian Pasta Salad
- Taco Pasta Salad
If you try this Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad Recipe
Video
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- ⅓ cup avocado mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup shaved Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon capers drained
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the salad
- 8 ounces fusilli pasta
- 3 slices sourdough cubed
- Kosher salt to taste
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 head romaine chopped, about 4 cups
- 1 ½-2 cups cooked chicken breast chopped
Instructions
- Make the dressing. In a small blender or food processor, blend the mayonnaise, parmesan, garlic, capers, mustard, lemon zest, lemon juice and black pepper.
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.
- Make the croutons. Preheat oven to 400°F. On a baking sheet, toss cut sourdough bread with oil and kosher salt. Bake until golden brown, 15 minutes.
- Assemble salad. In a large bowl, mix pasta, croutons, romaine lettuce, chicken, and dressing. Season to taste and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Another hit from Feel Good Foodie! Such an easy but satisfying recipe! I don’t eat chicken so I used shrimp and that was really good too. I also swapped the mayo with Greek Yogurt and that was a good swap as well.
Love the swaps you made! Thank you so much, Lara—I’m glad you liked it!!
Made this for dinner! This salad is just fantastic, taste so fresh and good! I didn’t have avocado mayo, so I used regular, love ❤️ this dressing!
I think it would be really good with grilled salmon too!
Thank you so much, Katie!
I can’t stop making this dressing! I’ve been using air fryer crunchy chickpeas instead of croutons and it so SO GOOD!
It’s pretty addicting! Love the sound of chickpeas in this too!
Fresh and delicious!!!
Thank you!
I would definitely add celery, mini sweet colored peppers and cucumbers to this delicious salad.
Yummy yummy yummy 😋
I love the sound of that!
Is this accurate, per serving is 626kcal, so over 2,500 calories in the whole batch?
Yes, that’s correct.
I never would have thought of adding lettuce to pasta, but it was delicious. Did not use croutons in order tocut down on carbs, & it was still delicious . Thanks for a great idea.
I’m so glad you gave it a try! Yay!! You’re so welcome!