Whip up a 20-minute meal in-a-bowl with a refreshing recipe for Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad starring DIY dressing.
Chicken Caesar salad, meet pasta salad. Pasta salad, meet chicken Caesar salad.
Now that everyone’s acquainted, allow me to introduce you to the greatest matrimony since peanut butter and jelly: Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad.
Look at all that goodness in a bowl!
Crisp Romaine lettuce, store-bought rotisserie chicken (time-saver of the century!), crunchy croutons, Parmesan cheese shavings and rotini noodles, all tossed in a creamy homemade Caesar salad dressing.
The anchovy paste is totally optional, although it does give this Caesar its characteristic flavor oomph. But the real secret to the best DIY Caesar salad is the addition of grated Parmesan cheese whisked right into the dressing.
I love dicing up a store-bought rotisserie chicken to make this a complete meal, but you could easily leave out the poultry to make this the ultimate side salad for potlucks, casual weeknight spreads or weekend bashes.
Roasted salmon, grilled shrimp or my personal fave, skirt steak, would also be welcome additions.
To save a few more minutes (from this 20-minute dish!), whip up the dressing and salad separately then stash them in the fridge. When ready to serve, toss ’em together and grab the forks.
I’m no stranger to stellar pasta salads, but this one just gave my Greek Pasta Salad a run for its money on my list of all-time faves!
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Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
For the pasta salad:
- 8 oz. uncooked pasta, such as rotini or penne
- 2 hearts of Romaine
- Shredded rotisserie chicken or chopped chicken breasts
- Croutons (optional)
- Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
Make the dressing:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the Dijon mustard, lemon juice, Worcestershire, mayonnaise, minced garlic and anchovy paste until well combined. Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese and ¼ teaspoon pepper then set the dressing aside while you make the salad.
Make the pasta salad:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and transfer it to a large serving bowl.
- Cut the Romaine hearts into 1-inch pieces then add them and your protein of choice to the bowl with the pasta.
- Add the prepared dressing and toss to combine. Add the croutons (optional) and garnish with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately or refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
I brought this to a retirement party and it was a BIG HIT! The homemade dressing was seriously fabulous! I added dried cranberries because a local deli in town does it and it just works. Thank you!!
YUM! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed the recipe, Ilea!
Delicious recipe! I was trying to mimic a pasta salad I found at my local store, so I left out the romaine and the chicken, but used 12oz of pasta (small shells) and 7 strips of chopped cooked bacon to make up for the extra dressing. I also substituted fish sauce for the anchovy paste, since I didn’t have any.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Josh!
This was fantastic-everything about it, dressing was outstanding. Took some to my mom, she loved it. Thank you so much for this recipe. :)
You are so welcome, Darlene! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
This was AMAZING. I didn’t do homemade dressing because I had an unopened container of store-bought dressing on hand, and I also had shredded parmesan on hand so I used that instead of shaved. I marinated my chicken in Italian dressing, and then cut it into cubes when it was done. Everything was delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Morgan!
I really enjoyed this.
Very tasty. Thnx.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Shauna!
Excellent recipe that I have made several times already. I just posted it to my FB account. I roast boneless, skinless chicken breasts in place of the rotisserie chicken but that is our preference. I skip the croutons and the anchovy paste…mostly the latter because I don’t ever have that on hand but will definitely add it to my shopping list as I think that would take the salad to the next level. Thank you for sharing this very fast and delicious recipe!
You are so welcome, Rita! I’m thrilled you’ve been enjoying the recipe!
Hi Kelly,
I received your cookbook as a birthday gift from my daughter, I follow you on IG which I enjoy
I’m a little confused on the delicious chicken Caesar salad, on my cookbook it says to use avocado in preparing dressing, but on your website it does not mention avocados, before I had received my cookbook I had prepared salad from recipe on your website and loved it, the other I was using my cookbook and my dressing was not working out, please help?
Eileen
Hi there! The recipe in the cookbook is a different variation of this recipe. They are similar but not quite the same!