Healthy Recipes

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

With vegetables, chicken, and homemade dressing, this Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is the perfect cross between your favorite salad and a pasta salad. My kids love it so much and request it all the time.

top view of chicken pasta salad in a bowl

One of my favorite things to do in the kitchen is to somehow combine two of my favorite dishes in one. In this case, a light and zesty chicken caesar salad with pasta!! 😍 Just perfect! I feel like this is so easy anyone could make it. Seriously! Watch my video and see what I mean. You will cook the chicken in a pan, set it on the side and toss the lettuce, chicken, freshly grated parmesan, and tomatoes in a bowl. Thats it! then use either your favourite dressing or make your own at home. I recommend serving it with either a homemade ranch dressing , a Caesar Dressing, or even this Creamy Cilantro lime dressing.

Why You’ll Love it

  • It’s easy! This chicken Caesar pasta salad comes together with a handful of ingredients in just under half an hour. It is honestly so easy!
  • It’s versatile. Use this recipe as a base and add your favorite veggies if you’d like!
  • A wholesome and balanced meal. With veggies, lean protein, and homemade dressing, this pasta salad can be enjoyed guilt-free!
side view of chicken pasta salad

Ingredients You Will Need

  • Pasta: short pasta works best so choose your favorite.
  • Olive Oil: you can also cook the chicken in avocado oil
  • Kosher salt & pepper
  • Chicken breast: I prefer using chicken breast, but you can use chicken thighs
  • Romaine lettuce – chopped, or any other greens.
  • Cherry tomatoes – or substitute grape tomatoes
  • Freshly grated or shaved Parmesan cheese
  • Homemade Caesar or Ranch dressing
ingredients to make the chicken pasta salad

How to Make Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

  • First, cook the pasta according to the package direction. Once the pasta is done, drain well in a colander and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.
cooked pasta in colander
  • Season the chicken breast with some salt and pepper.
  • Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and heat until shimmering.
  • Then, place the chicken breast into the hot pan and sear each side until nicely golden brown, about 4 to 6 minutes per side.
cooked chicken in skillet for chicken pasta salad
  • Chop the lettuce into bite-size pieces and cut the tomatoes in half.
  • Next, slice the cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces.
  • Place the cooked pasta, sliced chicken, lettuce, and tomatoes in a large salad bowl.
  • Drizzle dressing on top and toss well to combine.
  • Garnish with grated parmesan cheese.
  • Finally, serve the salad cold or at room temperature.
top view chicken pasta

Recipes Notes & Tips

  • Use cold leftover chicken or you may use rotisserie chicken which works great in this pasta salad recipe.
  • Be sure not to overcook the pasta. Al dente pasta is ideal. Also, make sure you drain and rinse the pasta to stop the pasta from cooking further.
  • Use a high-quality and freshly grated parmesan cheese. It will be able to taste the difference!
  • Use any Pasta of choice. Whole wheat, gluten-free, or lentil pasta will work just fine.
  • To make this pasta salad vegetarian, skip the chicken.
  • Enjoy this chicken pasta salad at room temperature or chill in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
close up chicken pasta salad

Frequently Asked Questions

What to put in pasta salad?

The great thing about making this easy pasta salad is that you get to control the ingredients! I stayed with traditional chicken caesar salad ingredients but feel free to get creative! Add on more of your favorites veggies. Corn and Olives will be great additions to consider.

What’s in homemade Caesar Dressing?

Caesar salad dressing is a creamy, zesty dressing. Authentic, homemade versions are made with anchovies or anchovy paste, garlic, and either raw eggs and olive oil or mayonnaise. Our Chicken Caesar Salad has a lighter homemade Caesar Dressing recipe you can check out.

Can i use Store bought dressing?

While I recommend using homemade Caesar or Ranch, you can use your preferred bottled dressing as well. The reason I recommend homemade is that you often get a lighter, more flavorful dressing. Also, you’re able to control the ingredients 100% versus the artificial ingredients you may find in a bottle of Caesar or ranch.

Can I freeze Pasta Salad?

You can freeze pasta salad but you must freeze the solid ingredients and the dressing separately. In this case, you could freeze the pasta with the chicken and tomatoes in one container and the dressing in another. That said, freezing creamy dressing can often change their consistency. Also, I would suggest freezing just the chicken and pasta (cooked al dente) and preparing the rest of the ingredients fresh.

close up top view of pasta in a bowl

Storage Recommendations

If you have leftovers, store them in a sealed container and place them in the fridge for up to 4 days. This pasta salad won’t freeze well. You can freeze pasta and chicken but the tomatoes and the lettuce used in this recipe will not freeze well and end up soggy once thawed.

More Salad Recipes:

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  • Cook pasta according to the package direction.

  • Once the pasta is done, drain well in a colander and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.

  • Season the chicken breast with some salt and pepper. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and heat until shimmering.

  • Place the chicken breast into the hot pan and sear each side until nicely golden-brown about 4 to 6 minutes per side.

  • While the chicken is cooking, chop the lettuce into bite-size pieces and cut the tomatoes in half.

  • Once the chicken is done, place it on a cutting board and then slice it into bite-size pieces.

  • Next, place the cooked pasta, sliced chicken, lettuce, and tomatoes in a large salad bowl.

  • Drizzle dressing on top and toss well to combine. Garnish with grated parmesan cheese.

  • Serve the salad cold or at room temperature.

  • Use cold leftover chicken or you may use rotisserie chicken which works great in this pasta salad recipe.
  • Be sure not to overcook the pasta. Al dente pasta is ideal. Also, make sure you drain and rinse the pasta to stop the pasta from cooking further.
  • Use high-quality and freshly grated parmesan cheese. It will be able to taste the difference!
  • Use any Pasta of choice. Whole wheat, gluten-free, or lentil pasta will work just fine.
  • To make this pasta salad vegetarian, skip the chicken.
  • Enjoy this chicken pasta salad at room temperature or chill in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.

Calories: 583kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 25gFat: 40gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 896mgPotassium: 485mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 878IUVitamin C: 19mgCalcium: 108mgIron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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