Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is the BBQ side you’ll make every summer! Take your favorite salad poolside with this twist on bowtie pasta salad, which features creamy Caesar dressing and crispy bacon.
This zesty chicken pasta salad tastes just like a Chicken Caesar Salad with tender bowtie pasta noodles sprinkled in. It has all the same ingredients as chicken Caesar salad: chicken, croutons, bacon, Parmesan cheese, Caesar dressing, and even bits of Romaine lettuce.
It’s a fun twist on a salad recipe you love. It’s so filling that you could call it a girl dinner or an easy meal. Either way, this tasty chicken Caesar pasta salad is both healthy and yummy. So, you should make it today!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fresh, flavorful ingredients. All of the salad ingredients are easy to find in the grocery store.
- Can be a main dish or quick lunch. Leave out the chicken, and it becomes a side dish; with the chicken, it’s a filling entree.
- Ready in 20 minutes. It’s ready quicker if you pre-boil the pasta and keep it in the refrigerator.
- Leftovers are delicious. There’s nothing quite as refreshing as a bowl of cold pasta salad.
- Fantastic way to use leftover chicken. Just chop or shred it up and add it to the green salad.
Ingredients
This will become one of your favorite salads. Here’s what I used to make it.
The full printable recipe card with measurements and instructions is found at the bottom of the post.
- Bowtie Pasta – This serves as the base for the pasta salad.
- Chicken Breasts – Shred or chop up the chicken for a healthy protein source.
- Romaine Lettuce – The crisp Romaine lettuce adds both nutrition and amazing textures.
- Garlic Croutons – The crunchy croutons are the same ones in a Caesar salad.
- Bacon – Use thick-cut bacon for the best flavor.
- Parmesan Cheese – The salty parmesan cheese is the perfect addition to the savory salad.
- Caesar Salad Dressing – For the best results, use creamy Caesar dressing or make your own.
- Lemon – Some fresh lemon juice brightens the pasta salad.
- Salt and Pepper – Use this to enhance all the other flavors in the pasta salad.
How to Make Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
This chicken Caesar pasta salad recipe is incredibly easy and quick to make. In just three steps, you will have a delicious side dish and only a few dishes to do afterward.
- Step One: First, cook the pasta according to the package directions.
- Step Two: Combine the Romaine lettuce, garlic croutons, chicken, pasta, bacon, Parmesan cheese, Caesar dressing, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Garnish with lemon wedges, if desired.
- Step Three: Chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Stir before serving.
What to Serve with It
This pasta salad goes well with anything. You can serve it as a side dish or as the main course. Either way, it will be a great meal when you combine it with these recipes.
- Maple Dijon Grilled Chicken
- Grilled Zucchini Roll-Ups
- Crockpot Pickle Chicken
- Air Fryer Potato Chips
- Sweet Potato Home Fries
Variations and Substitutions
- Make it gluten-free by adding gluten-free pasta noodles.
- Make it spicier. Add some sliced jalapeno peppers.
- Use a different kind of crisp lettuce. Try it with some spinach and arugula.
- Add some sliced cherry tomatoes. The juicy tomatoes will add flavor and a pop of color.
- Flavor the chicken with Worcestershire sauce.
Storage Instructions
Store any leftover chicken Caesar pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. This is a fantastic addition to your meal prep. The juicy chicken and fresh romaine lettuce are perfect for lunch the next day. Store the salad without the dressing so that all the ingredients stay fresh.
Can I Make Ahead?
Yes, you can make it ahead of time. But, if you do, I suggest storing the salad without the Romaine lettuce. Add the lettuce right before you serve it. If you store the lettuce with the pasta salad, it will soak up the dressing and soften.
Can You Freeze Pasta Salad?
I wouldn’t recommend freezing the pasta salad, but it does stay well in the fridge. You can make the pasta the day before and assemble it when needed.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Rinse the cooked pasta in cold water before adding the rest of the ingredients.
- Use rotisserie chicken to save yourself time.
- Garnish with some sliced green onion.
- If you make chicken at home, use an internal thermometer. The internal temperature should be at least 165F.
Can I Use A Different Kind Of Chicken?
Yes, you can use a different kind of chicken. Cook and cut up chicken thighs. Or shred some cooked rotisserie chicken. Canned chicken will also taste delicious with the salad. And if you want to save yourself time, reheat some frozen cooked chicken breast strips.
Add-Ins
Be creative and make this salad how you want it to taste. Here are some of my favorite ways to transform the recipe.
- Fresh tomatoes
- Homemade croutons
- Olives
- Red onion
- Shimp
- Bell peppers
- Avocado
What Other Types of Pasta Can I Use?
Be creative and use your favorite kind of tender pasta. Try it with these small pasta shapes:
- Rotini pasta
- Macaroni
- Penne
- Mini shell pasta
Pasta Salad Recipes
- Italian Pasta Salad
- Jalapeno Ranch Pasta Salad
- Italian Pasta Salad
- Macaroni Dill Salad
- Pesto Chicken Pasta Salad
- Creamy Curried Chicken Pasta Salad
- Grilled Butter Chicken Pasta Salad
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Ramen Noodle Salad
- Bruschetta Chicken Pasta Salad
- Pizza Pasta Salad
- Tortellini Salad
You might also enjoy my Tuna Salad, Greek Chicken Salad and Chicken Caesar Pizza.
Follow me on Instagram @simplystacieblog, Facebook at Simply Stacie, TikTok @simplystacierecipes or Pinterest at @simplystacie and let me know how you liked this recipe and my other recipes.
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
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Video
Ingredients
- 1 package Bowtie pasta 16oz/410g package, uncooked
- 2 chicken breasts cooked and cut into cubes
- 2 cups Romaine lettuce cut into small pieces
- 1 cup garlic croutons
- ½ cup bacon cooked and crumbled
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 cup Caesar salad dressing
- lemon for garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, stir together Romaine lettuce, garlic croutons, chicken, pasta, bacon, Parmesan cheese, Caesar dressing, salt and pepper. Garnish with lemon wedges, if desired.
- Chill in fridge until ready to serve. Stir before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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What would you recommend serving with this to “round out the meal? “
I like garlic bread, grilled/roasted veggies like roasted potatoes or grilled corn on the cob.
Can you make the Caesar chicken salad the night before,?
Yes, you can. Cover and store it in the fridge.
This looks awesome (to me) but I might have to leave the romaine out as my husband doesn’t care for the combo with pasta. It is just he and I tho. I might add halved grape tomatoes and chopped red onion as we eat those in our caesar. We are making a bbq’d pork steak today and this will be the perfect side!! Thank you so much for sharing!
Do you have a Ceasar Salad dressing recipe? Yours looks so creamy.
I can’t wait to try your pasta salad!
I don’t have one on my site unfortunately. My favourite is Renee’s! https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/renes-caesar-dressing/6000191270517 Any Caesar dressing though will be fine.
This looks so good, but it’s just me. How well does it keep after it’s made? Can I mix everything together but the romaine? Or should I keep it all separate and just mix little bits together when I’m ready to eat?
Hi Lorette,
Leftovers taste awesome because it’s had a chance to sit and really infuse those flavors into the pasta. I like to mix it all (romaine too) at once. If you are worried about the romaine becoming a little softened, I would keep that separate. It doesn’t bother me though so I just add it all in at the same time!
I used cheese tortellini in place of bowtie pasta, very good!
I tried this recipe for a funeral/potluck and everyone absolutely raved about it- even people who just volunteered to help had to try some. I added some finely grated carrot to add some extra color and little bit of extra flavor and it turned out great!
Hi, unable to find the ingredients for the homemade Caesar dressing in the recipe. I would like to make that also. Thank you
How many stalks of romaine do I need to purchase if I’m tripling the recipe to feed 25 people?
Two heads of Romaine should be more than enough. You might even get away with just 1 if it’s a big stalk.
2 cups – not 2 heads
I love this salad! I added lemon pepper seasoning in place of the salt, pepper, and lemon and it really added to it. Highly recommend!
I love your idea to add lemon pepper- it’s one of my favorite flavor combos.
Oh man this looks tasty! Tis would be perfect for a summer BBQ side dish. Thank you for this recipe!
Right now we are having a heat wave in Ontario. I think it is like 46 with the humidex, so I have been looking for some easy and cool menu ideas. And then I saw this. I am making this tonight . And a bonus is that I have all the ingredients so I don’t even have to go shopping. Bonus. lol. All your recipes are tasty and fairly easy, thank you for sharing.
This will be a nice salad to make for our long weekend. Its supposed to be very hot so this will be refreshing.
Omg this looks amazing . Will definitely have to try this . Would be great with a barbecue.
That sounds amazing!! I love caesar salad and pasta salad so why not combine them? Pinned
I am waiting for the day we can have romaine lettuce again because I would definitely make this!
Thank you for sharing your tasty recipe on Oh My Heartsie Girls WW last week!
This week it is being featured, hope you will stop by and share again!!
It has also been Pinned to Pinterest!!
Now wishing you a great week ahead!!
Karren~
Hi! While it is right next to impossible to get my husband to accept a salad as the entree for dinner, I’ll bet if I present this with the chicken in 2 massive hunks alongside the salad…I just might have a happy little camper on my hands! 🙂 This sounds absolutely delicious, and the fact that it’s so easy makes it that much more attractive to me. Who wants to spend all their time in a hot kitchen in summer??????? Not THIS girl, that’s for sure! Have a great week!
This sounds amazing!! YUMMY!! PINNED!
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Chicken Cesar is def one of my favorite salads. This pasta salad looks like the perfect summer dish! I’m pinning this to make it ASAP!
I love Caesar Salad and Chicken Caesar Salad is even better. I have to admit that I have never had Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad, but I like Pasta Salad so it makes sense that I would love this salad. Your pictures are always so beautiful. Thank you for sharing at Tasty Tuesdays.