Chicken Caesar Salad with Pasta features your favorite Caesar salad plus seasoned chicken, tender pasta, and lots of veggies. It’s a tasty and filling salad that your family won’t mind eating as the main dish!
I love summer time because that means it’s salad season!
I frequently serve salads for dinner during the summer months because most produce is in season and it usually means I don’t need to have the oven or stove on for very long.
This chicken Caesar salad with pasta is one of my favorites because it’s so flavorful and so easy!
I think I first found the basic recipe on Pinterest years ago, but I’ve spruced it up by adding extra veggies and a healthier Caesar vinaigrette.
There may be lots of variations out there for chicken Caesar pasta salad, but this is the best one ever!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Cook 8 ounces of farfalle (bowtie) pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
While the pasta is cooking, cut 2-3 chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and sprinkle with garlic and herb seasoning.
Heat a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink, 10-12 minutes.
While the chicken and pasta cook, wash and thinly chop 1 head of romaine lettuce. Peel and slice 1 cucumber. Halve 1 cup of cherry tomatoes.
Add romaine lettuce and Caesar vinaigrette to a large bowl and toss to combine.
Add pasta, chicken, cucumber, and tomatoes to the bowl and gently toss. Top the salad with 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and 1 cup of croutons.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
This salad is totally customizable based on what your family likes, and even what you have on hand.
- You can remove the cucumbers and tomatoes if you want or add in diced avocado.
- Substitute rotini or penne for the bowtie pasta.
- You could do shredded Parmesan cheese instead of mozzarella.
- Try a creamy Caesar dressing instead of a vinaigrette.
- If you have rotisserie chicken or leftover grilled chicken breasts on hand, cut that up and use it instead of the pan-fried chicken.
If you add the dressing to all of the lettuce, this salad will keep well for 1-2 days at most. If you’d like to have leftovers for a bit longer, save some of the lettuce and toppings in a separate container and toss it with the dressing right before eating.
My favorite dressing to use on this salad is Ken’s Steak House Lite Caesar.
This salad makes for a delicious wrap filling in a tortilla or pita pocket. You may want to remove the pasta if you’re going to eat it in a wrap so you don’t get a double dose of carbs.
I recently made the chicken for this salad in the air fryer and it turned out so delicious, I knew I had to share the method!
- Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees.
- Pat the chicken breasts with a paper towel and slice in half (butterfly).
- Sprinkle each side of the chicken with some garlic and herb seasoning.
- Place 2 pieces of chicken in the air fryer basket.
- Cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Slice and serve on the salad.
More Like This
Looking for more delicious, fresh salads? You’ll love these!
Serve This With
I love to serve this salad with some potato chips and a side of fruit, but you can also serve it with:
- Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken (just don’t add the chicken to salad)
- Cheesy French Bread
- Cheesy Drop Biscuits
- Rhodes Rolls Breadsticks
- Pink Fluff
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The Best Chicken Caesar Salad With Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces farfalle, bowtie pasta
- 2-3 chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons garlic and herb seasoning
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 large cucumber
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- ¾ cup Caesar vinaigrette, I like Ken’s Steak House
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup croutons
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and sprinkle with garlic and herb seasoning.
- Heat a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink, 10-12 minutes.
- While the chicken and pasta cook, wash and thinly chop romaine lettuce, peel and slice the cucumber, and halve the cherry tomatoes.
- Add romaine lettuce and Caesar vinaigrette to a large bowl and toss to combine.
- Add pasta, chicken, cucumber, and tomatoes to the bowl and gently toss. Top the salad with shredded mozzarella cheese and croutons.