Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
Caesar Salad, chicken and pasta. What could go wrong? This is so easy to throw together early in the day so you won’t have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen later. I usually serve it on a bed of Romaine (pre-washed and cut, pleease) so, there you have it a light, simple, all-in-one meal! Great for summer get-togethers too.
Ingredient Tips:
Chicken
If you’re lucky enough to have left over grilled chicken, use it! This is the best! If not, poached chicken is fine, this is what I use most of the time, simply because it’s quick and easy and I always have chicken breasts in my freezer.
Caesar Dressing
I use bottled dressing to keep things simple, I think that Ken’s Steak House dressing is the absolute best Caesar, hands down! But that’s just my opinion, use your favorite. The better the dressing…the better the salad.
Parmesan Cheese
Please use fresh grated whenever possible in all recipes! It makes such a difference!
Pasta
Gluten free? Just substitute regular pasta with gluten-free pasta. Some gf pastas can get dry and hard when chilled; this is hands-down the best one that I’ve found…Ronzoni Gluten Free and it’s easy to find at most grocery stores.
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
Serves 4-6, Total Time: 20 minutes
12 oz. Corkscrew Pasta, cooked and drained
1 1/2 cups Caesar Salad Dressing or to desired creaminess
2 cups Chicken, cooked and diced
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/3 cup Green Onions, cut into thin rings
1 cup tomato, diced or grape tomatoes cut into halves
Romaine Lettuce, washed and torn
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Cook pasta, rinse in cool water, drain and set aside.
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl except for the tomato. Chill for a few hours. (If you’re using gluten free pasta you may want to add more salad dressing if it looks dry.) Add tomato right before serving.
Place a handful of Romaine on each serving plate, top with a generous helping of pasta salad, finish with fresh cracked pepper and a sprinkle of Parmesan.
Enjoy!
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