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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I love this easy recipe. One dish but covers everything! Protein, Dairy, Greens, light on carbs. My husband enjoyed.
Thanks, Ann, for another great recipe for salad! I am going to make this salad on the weekend.
Make it even better..marinate chicken in creamy Caesar dressing then grill indoor or out.!
My husband and I both loved this salad.
Delish, one of my favorite salads, gonna try this one also! ❤️❤️
Love, love, love Caesar Salad! This recipe is spot on. I use my not-so-perfect sourdough loaves for the bread and the rest of the ingredients in the recipe. Turns out great.