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This chicken Caesar pasta salad recipe is loaded with pan fried chicken, crispy bacon, homemade croutons, pasta, and the most delicious homemade Caesar dressing.
Try my Chicken Caesar Crostini or Cajun Chicken Caesar Salad next.
Why you’ll love it
Caesar salad. It’s my absolute favorite. It always has been and always will be. So when I decided to combine it with pasta salad, what happened? The perfect summer salad was born! As the weather warms up, I find myself serving this up all the time at BBQs.
Picture yourself sitting on a patio with a bowl of this pasta salad on a summer evening. In every forkful you get a crunch from the garlic croutons, the tender bite from the chicken and pasta, and each piece of lettuce is coated with irresistible garlicky dressing. Delicious.
What you’ll need
- Pasta – I used penne, but any similar sized pasta shape will do
- Bacon – to add more savory flavor
- Chicken – we’re using chicken breasts here
- Garlic powder – along with salt & pepper, seasoning the chicken directly infuses so much flavor
- Lettuce – romaine is the classic variety for Caesar salad
- Croutons – my Homemade Garlic Croutons are a game changer
- Caesar dressing – you can use the stuff from a bottle, but I highly recommend trying my 10-Minute Easy Caesar Dressing from scratch
- Parmesan cheese – use freshly grated! It just tastes so much better.
- Lemon juice – optional, but a squeeze of fresh lemon on top adds a hint of brightness
Make ahead tip
Make the dressing and croutons ahead of time, boil the pasta, fry the chicken and bacon, wash the lettuce, grate the cheese, and then store everything separately. When you’re ready to serve it, assemble the salad and toss for easy entertaining!
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- The clean-up from the frying is much easier with a splatter guard.
- These kitchen shears make it simple to cut the bacon into bite-sized pieces.
- I always keep a block of parmesan in my fridge and grate it myself with a zester.
How to make chicken Caesar pasta salad
This is an overview, and full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Prepare your homemade dressing and croutons if using.
- Boil the pasta. Meanwhile, fry the bacon. Set aside on a plate, and then pan-fry the chicken until golden.
- Drain the pasta, and then add to a large salad bowl with the romaine lettuce. Add in the chicken, croutons, bacon, and dressing. Toss, and garnish with freshly grated parmesan!
Substitutions and variations
- If you want to take a few shortcuts, you can use rotisserie or Shredded Chicken, store-bought Caesar dressing and croutons, and buy the bacon bits. But it might not taste as special 😉
- Feel free to use grilled chicken instead of the pan-fried chicken. It would take that summer flavor over the top!
- This does make a large amount of salad, so you could halve the recipe or even eyeball the ingredients. It doesn’t need to be precise.
What to serve with this pasta salad
- I’m a big fan of serving this hearty salad along with a big BBQ or potluck spread that includes these Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken Thighs, my Grilled Corn on the Cob, and this Easy Potato Salad with Bacon!
- If you’re serving it as a meal on its own, it’ll pair great with a simple slice of crusty bread or Extra Cheesy Garlic Bread.
Leftovers and storage
- Once you toss it all together, leftovers probably won’t fare so well after a couple of hours, and the lettuce will wilt.
- However, you’re welcome to store extra dressing in the fridge in a covered container for 3-4 days! The croutons will keep as well. Simply assemble a new salad with fresh lettuce and cheese.
More pasta salad recipes to enjoy
Questions? Tried this recipe? It’s so fresh and so summery. I’d be happy to hear from you in the comments below! Or tag me on Instagram if you made it.
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound uncooked pasta
- 6 strips bacon cut into small pieces
- 2 large chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 4 cups romaine lettuce chopped or torn
- 2 cups croutons
- 3/4 cup Caesar dressing or to taste
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese finely grated or shaved
- Lemon juice (optional, to taste)
Instructions
- If you are making my Caesar dressing and/or croutons, I suggest prepping those first prior to starting this recipe. For this recipe, I prep as I go along (like while the pasta, bacon, and chicken are cooking) to save time.
- Boil a salted pot for the pasta. Cook it al dente according to package directions. Once it's done, drain it and rinse it with cold water. Let it sit in a colander/sieve so it drains thoroughly while you're doing other steps in the recipe.
- Meanwhile, cut the bacon into bite-size pieces (I use kitchen shears to make this easy), and cook it over medium-high heat until crispy (about 10 minutes). Once it's finished, take the pan off the heat and remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate, and leave the fat in the pan.
- Cut your chicken in half lengthwise and season both sides with the garlic powder and salt & pepper. Return the skillet to the heat (medium high), and when the fat is hot, fry the chicken for about 5 minutes/side or until it's golden and cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate and let it cool a bit prior to slicing it into strips.
- Once your pasta, bacon, and chicken are all ready, it's time to assemble the salad in a large bowl. Toss it with the dressing (feel free to add more if needed). I like to squeeze a little bit of lemon juice on top of the salad prior to serving. I suggest eating this salad as soon as you've added the dressing.
Notes
- You can easily halve this recipe (or halve it and keep the chicken the same) if you don’t need a big batch.
- This recipe is very forgiving, so you don’t need to stick to the ingredient quantities I suggest. I encourage you to add more/less of something to suit your tastes. And feel free to swap the chicken with rotisserie chicken!
- Prep time will be longer if you make the Caesar dressing and/or croutons from scratch. I count some of the prep time in the cook time since you can multi-task pretty easily in this recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I loved this caesar salad recipe, but my husband LOVED this salad! I have made my own caesar dressing, leaving out the anchovy paste. I made this ahead of time by combining everything but the romaine lettuce and bacon bites. It tastes so much better when I let the dressing, pasta, chicken and parmesan cheese mixed together overnight, then adding the chopped romaine and bacon bits and croutons just before serving. The pasta absorbs the caesar dressing and comes out delicious! I made my own croutons using a marbled rye bread. Just took 15 minutes from chopping bread, and mixing in lemon olive oil, seasonings and some parmesan cheese to baking in oven 400° @ 10 minutes. Keep in air tight container. SO GOOD!
Glad it inspired you, Debbie!