Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is one of my favorite dishes to make when the weather turns warmer,  thanks to it’s simplicity and ease in preparation. My favorite pasta salad is my Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad because it incorporates all of my favorite salad flavors into one dish. This Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is a crowd-pleaser, a fun picnic dish to share, and an easy weeknight meal.

I have been making this salad for years and recently made some new additions to it to incorporate more flavors. I roasted my chicken, but coated it in Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil Garlic seasoning (along with the olive oil, salt, and pepper that I traditionally do) that I found at our grocery store to add spice to it, added more of this fun seasoning to the dressing mixture itself, and thinned the dressing with red wine vinegar so it coated the noodles better.

The fresh additions of romaine and tomatoes add brightness and freshness to this dish. You can, of course layer on the Caesar salad flavorings by adding parmesan cheese and croutons, but it is delicious with or without these additions.

I have yet to meet a person that didn’t love this pasta salad as much as I did. If you intend to eat this one all week long, I recommend storing the romaine separately and adding it when dishing it up so you don’t have soggy lettuce in your dish.

I hope you can give this dish a try!

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
Recipe Type: Main
Author: Amy Allen Clark
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 12 mins
Total time: 27 mins
Serves: 6
To make this dish quicker, use a rotisserie chicken instead of roasting your own!
Ingredients
  • 1 pound dry penne pasta
  • 4 boneless chicken breasts, roasted & seasoned with Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil Garlic seasoning (see link above for preparation technique)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1-2 teaspoons Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil Garlic seasoning
  • 1 (8 ounce) bottle Caesar salad dressing
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 head romaine lettuce – rinsed, dried and
  • shredded
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
  1. Prepare chicken as directed above. Allow the meat to rest ten minutes and then dice or shred for your pasta salad.
  2. Prepare your lettuce and tomatoes and toss them into a large bowl with the cooled chicken.
  3. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
  4. In a bowl, mix together salad dressing, vinegar, and seasonings. Toss together pasta, chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and dressing mixture.
  5. Garnish with croutons and Parmesan cheese, if desired.

 

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Published April 22, 2013 by:

Amy Allen Clark is the founder of MomAdvice.com. You can read all about her here.

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