Name: Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 cup dry pasta (cooked according to package directions); 6 slices thick cut bacon; cooked crisp and crumbled; 1 tbsp bacon grease*; 1 cup cooked rotisserie chicken (roughly chopped); 1/4 cup red onion (thinly sliced); 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese; 2 cups chopped romaine (or green leaf, lettuce); salt & pepper (to taste); 1/2 cup Caesar dressing (or more to taste); 1 cup croutons (optional)

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Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad combines your favorite salad with a little bit of pasta to make a family dinner or side dish that’s quick, easy, and so darn tasty. Full of all the classic flavors and a little bit of bacon, this pasta salad recipe will be on your must make list.

My kids, like most, don’t ever want to eat their veggies.

So I find a way to get those greens in.

I get behind their defenses and hit them where it hurts.

Right in the taste buds.

This Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad recipe is a beautiful pairing of pasta and salad that they love because of a tricky secret ingredient.

The secret ingredient? Bacon!

It makes this dish just too tasty.

Ingredients

To make this you’ll need:

Pasta- 1 cup of dry pasta cooked to package directions
Bacon– Cooked crisp and crumples along with bacon grease
Rotisserie chicken– Chopped
Red onion– Thinly sliced
Parmesan cheese– I recommend shredded Parmesan cheese
Romaine or green leaf lettuce– Chopped
Salt and pepper- To taste
Caesar dressing– You can use store bought or Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing
Croutons– Optional but highly recommended for extra crunch

How to Make

This Caesar pasta salad is so easy to make!

To do it, just cook the pasta according to package directions.

Then, drain the pasta and run it under cold water to stop cooking.

Set it aside.

While the pasta is cooking, cook the bacon, reserving 1 tbsp of the grease/drippings.

Transfer cooled pasta to a bowl and toss with the bacon drippings until evenly combined.

Stir in the other ingredients until evenly combined.

Add in more dressing if necessary, to taste, and again toss everything to evenly coat.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Can I make this ahead of time?

Yes! With one small note.

If you’d like to make this ahead of time, don’t stir in the lettuce until you are ready to serve. It will get soggy.

Prepare everything else as instructed, and store it in an airtight container.

You can prep your lettuce and store it in a separate container. Toss together just before you’re ready to serve.

Tips and Tricks

Use a smaller shaped pasta that the dressing will cling to well- we like penne, rotini, farfalle, cavatappi, or radiatorre.
Don’t skip tossing the pasta with bacon drippings. It adds so much flavor and keeps the noodles from sticking together.
You can use whatever version of Caesar dressing you fancy most, just use a creamy version and not a vinaigrette. You need the creamy to stick to all the ingredients and keep them together. If all you have is caesar vinaigrette, whisk a tablespoon or two of mayo into it until smooth & creamy.
We don’t serve this as a chilled pasta salad, but it tastes good that way too. If you’d prefer it cold, simply make as instructed (skipping the lettuce until serving time), and chill, covered, in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours before needed.

Other Pasta Salad Recipes

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is loaded with a bonanza of flavors from penne pasta noodles, crisp green leaf lettuce, crumbled bacon, tangry red onions, and chopped rotisserie chicken all lightly bathed in a creamy Caesar dressing.

It’s a perfect filling side or light, filling meal.

Looking for other pasta salad recipes? Try these:

f you’ve tried this CHICKEN CAESAR PASTA SALAD, or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!