Description
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is flavor packed and it's a full meal in a bowl! Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken meets Pasta Salad for an epic match up. It's one of my favorite Spring and Summer recipes and is loaded with protein, carbs and veggies.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 chicken breasts, about 1 lb
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- juice from 1/2 a lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 and 1/2 cup dry rotini pasta (regular, not tri-color)
- 1 large head of romaine hearts
- 1/2 a small yellow onion, sliced thin
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded from the block
- 3/4 cup Caesar dressing (I used Marzetti's)
- 1 cup croutons, homemade or store bought
Instructions
- Slice each chicken breast in half, through the width, to create two thinner chicken cutlets. You should have 4 cutlets total. Add them into a bowl and pour in salt, pepper, spices, olive oil and squeeze in fresh lemon juice. Toss to coat each chicken breast with marinade. Allow them to sit in the bowl at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
- In a skillet over medium heat, sauté the chicken breast for about 4 minutes on each side until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. As the chicken is cooking, bring a pot of water to a boil on the stovetop for the pasta.
- Tent the chicken with foil for 3-5 minutes, then remove and dice up into bite sized pieces. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Boil the pasta until al dente (according to package instructions), pour into the colander and rinse with cold water. Shake well several times to remove as much water as possible.
- To assemble the salad: Add the lettuce, pasta, onion, 1/2 the parmesan, and Caesar dressing to the bowl. Toss to combine.
- Top the salad with diced chicken, croutons and remaining parmesan. Serve with additional dressing on the side (for those who like a lot) and enjoy!
Notes
- Biggest Tip: Keep the lettuce and pasta extremely dry for the best taste. I kept mine really dry and this even tasted good the next day.
- Shred the cheese from a block for the best taste.
- Don't overcook the pasta. It tastes best al dente, firm when bitten into. Also, I don't recommend using more than 1.5 cups of pasta. It's the ideal ratio of lettuce to pasta.
- Allow to chicken to cool on the counter for at least 10 minutes before adding into the salad. We don't want it wilting the lettuce or melting the cheese.
- If prepping ahead, prep the entire salad except for the lettuce and croutons, and add those before serving.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Marinating Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: skillet stovetop
- Cuisine: American