Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad combines super-tender grilled chicken, bow tie pasta, fresh lettuce, crispy croutons, and Parmesan cheese – all tossed with a fantastic Caesar dressing.

Make this Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad for any occasion

Every single time we make our easy Chicken Caesar Salad for dinner guests, we get asked to share the recipe after they’ve taken a few bites. This pasta salad version is just as delicious and just as easy!

This salad is a perfect option to serve at a casual dinner party any time of the year, or bring to neighborhood potluck. It’s also a great menu option to feed a hungry game day party crowd. Everyone loves it!

Our Secret Shortcuts

This fantastic pasta salad recipe takes advantage of a few shortcuts when it comes to both marinating the chicken and dressing the salad.

Our secret…we combine two kinds of store-bought Caesar dressing – Ken’s Steakhouse Lite Caesar Dressing and creamy Cardini’s Caesar Dressing. There’s just something about mixing these two dressings together that makes a truly perfect marinade for chicken, as well as a perfect dressing for a Caesar salad.

• The combination of flavors and textures in this salad goes so well together – tender, juicy chicken, crisp lettuce, cooked pasta, grated cheese, and crispy croutons.
• Using store-bought salad dressings saves lots of time, but they also pack a ton of flavor into every bite of this salad.
• As written, this salad recipe feeds a crowd. But you can easily scale the quantities back for a smaller gathering.

• Chicken – Buy boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. You’ll butterfly the chicken to an even thickness for marinating and grilling.
• Caesar Dressing – We buy two brands for this recipe and mix them together for the chicken marinade, as well as to dress the salad. Use a 50/50 combination of Ken’s Lite Caesar Dressing mixed with Cardini’s Original Caesar Dressing for the best flavor.
• Pasta – We liked farfalle (bow tie shape) pasta for our salad, but feel free to substitute with other sturdy shapes such as penne, rigatoni, or cellentani.
• Croutons – Make our homemade croutons with crusty bread, or buy store-bought croutons as an easier option.
• Romaine Lettuce – We used romaine hearts for our salad because it’s the crispiest part of the head of lettuce. But feel free to buy a whole head of romaine, or substitute with any other crisp lettuce. Iceberg or Little Leaf brand greens are other great options.
• Parmesan Cheese – Every Caesar salad needs a good Parmesan cheese for the best flavor. If you can, splurge on a small wedge of aged Parmesan and grate it yourself for this recipe – you’ll mix it into the salad as well as sprinkle more on top. Avoid the shelf-stable jarred Parmesan cheese at all costs, but a pre-bagged Parmesan cheese found refrigerated in the specialty cheese section at the supermarket would be an acceptable second choice.

1. Butterfly the chicken breasts and place in a gallon zipper seal bag.
2. Mix the two Caesar dressings together in a bowl and pour some in the bag with the chicken, making sure to coat all the chicken in the marinade. Seal and refrigerate for at least six hours, but no more than 12 hours. (Save the rest of the dressing for later.)
3. Heat your grill to high, then grill the chicken until cooked through. Let rest on a platter, then slice into bite-sized pieces.
4. Boil a pot of salted water, then cook pasta to shy of al dente. Drain, then pour the still-hot pasta into a large bowl.
5. Add a half cup of the already-mixed dressing to the warm pasta and toss. Pour the dressed pasta out onto a sheet tray and refrigerate to cool. (The pasta will absorb the flavor of the dressing as it cools.)
6. Make homemade croutons following this recipe. (Or use store-bought croutons for convenience.)
7. Chop cleaned romaine into bite sized pieces and place into a large serving bowl. Add remaining mixed dressings and toss.
8. Add cooled pasta, cooked chicken, croutons, and grated Parmesan cheese. Toss to combine, adding more dressing if you prefer.
9. Serve in bowls with more Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

• Can I make Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad ahead of time?  You should wait to dress the lettuce and assemble everything until ready to serve. However, you can measure out and prepare each component ahead of time including grilling the chicken and making the homemade croutons.
• How do I store leftovers?  Store refrigerated for up to three days. Note that it is inevitable that the croutons will get soggy as they sit in the dressing over time, and the lettuce will wilt over a day or so too. To avoid this, make a smaller salad if you are feeding only a few guests, or mix only what you know you’ll eat at one meal, then save the components separately to combine later for another meal.

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