Hearty and fresh chicken Caesar pasta salad made with crisp romaine, tender chicken, and homemade croutons. Perfect for dinner or potlucks.
When trying to come up with easy dinner ideas, it’s easy to overlook main dish salads. But they truly are one of the simplest ways to get dinner on the table…especially during warmer months. This chicken Caesar pasta salad is one of my favorites because it’s both light and hearty. The pasta adds substance, while the chicken and crisp romaine keep it fresh. Toss it all with Caesar dressing and crunchy homemade croutons, and you have a flavorful salad that works for family dinners, potlucks, or casual get-togethers. My family requests this every time they come to visit!
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Why This Recipe Works
The homemade croutons add the perfect crunch and a boost of flavor, and they can be made ahead of time for convenience. Just toss them in right before serving. The addition of cooked chicken turns this salad into a complete, satisfying meal. I like to use rotisserie chicken, but leftover roasted or baked chicken works just as well.
Ingredient Notes + Variations
- Pasta: instead of penne pasta, use fusilli, rotini, or other short pasta shape. You can also use gluten-free or whole wheat pasta.
- Lettuce: other leafy greens can be used in place of the chopped romaine, such as spinach, arugula, kale, or mixed greens. You can also add shredded carrots, red cabbage, or cucumber for extra crunch and nutrition.
- Chicken: any other protein can be substituted for the chicken. Suggestions are canned tuna, grilled shrimp, or grilled salmon. For a vegetarian version, you can skip the meat and add firm tofu cubes or chickpeas.
- Parmesan cheese: substitute any other hard cheese such as Pecorino Romano, Asiago, or Grana Padano.
- Caesar dressing: use bottled or homemade dressing…whatever you prefer.
How To Make Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
- In a large pot, boil the pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water.
- Wash and chop two heads of crisp fresh romaine lettuce, and place in a large bowl.
- Dice the chicken into bite-size pieces. Add to the bowl of lettuce.
- Incorporate the slightly cooled pasta along with the dressing into the bowl.
- Thoroughly mix all the ingredients together.
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the mixture and toss once more.
- Allow the salad to chill in the fridge for about 15-30 minutes.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired.
- Complete the dish by serving it alongside homemade crispy croutons.
Helpful Tips
- Any kind of chicken can be used. I baked chicken breast tenders for this post, but I almost always use rotisserie chicken. This is a great meal idea to use up any sort of leftover chicken.
- Since I spent extra time to make homemade croutons, I took a short cut on the dressing, and used this bottled creamy Caesar dressing.
- Use whatever Parmesan cheese you have on hand. The all-time best taste comes from freshly shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano. However, I had a tub of shredded Parmesan in our refrigerator, so that’s what I used.
- The homemade croutons are like the icing on a cake. They take the taste level up several notches, but of course, any type of store-bought croutons can be used.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What Goes Well With This Salad?
- Bread is always perfect. Garlic bread, garlic breadsticks, or homemade savory cheese bread.
- Soup is a warm and comforting accompaniment. Suggestions are Corn Chowder or Chicken Florentine soup.
- Fruit salad or fruit skewers. A refreshing fruit dish can cleanse the palate and balance the richness of the pasta salad.
- Looking for more simple salad ideas? Browse all my easy salad recipes.
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups penne pasta (measure before cooking)
- 2 hearts romaine lettuce
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups chicken breast pieces
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup Caesar dressing
- homemade croutons
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water.
- Wash and chop two heads of romaine lettuce, and place in a large bowl.
- Chop the chicken into bite-size pieces. Add to the bowl with lettuce.
- Add the slightly cooled pasta and dressing.
- Toss to combine well.
- Top with parmesan cheese and toss again.
- Chill in refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Serve with homemade croutons.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you make this recipe, and love it, please come back to leave a comment and a 5-star review. I would really appreciate it, and it would help me so much. Thank you!
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Summer salad ideas…very much appreciated! Can’t wait to try. Thank you!
Definitely going to make this… I have a rotisserie chicken from costco I need to use.
Thank you!
I can’t wait to try this, love anything caesar. Think I will be making this for camping this weekend.
Everything about this recipe says YUM!! – think I’ll try it for a dinner party soon – Thank you for sharing
I love anything ‘chicken salad’ and this looks so refreshing and easy to make. Thank you for sharing it with us and will let you know the family’s review ;-)
This recipe sounds perfect for a cool meal on a hot summer evening. Thank you for sharing!
Recipe proves that there is more to Caesar than just veggies!
Can’t wait to try this recipe. We are big Caesar Salad lovers. Great way to make it into a light summer meal!
Quick and easy, my style of cooking these days. Love the idea of making it ahead and toss it together before serving..
Another must try recipe! And I love making my own croutons when I can, there’s just something about them that tastes so much better!!