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–+ servings

The Best Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

Sheila
The best of both worlds chicken caesar salad and pasta salad wrapped up in one perfectly scrumptious salad. This pasta salad comes together quickly and is always a hit with everyone.
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Prep Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour
Course dinner, easy dinner, lunch, Salad
Cuisine American, summer
Servings 8 servings
Calories 800 kcal

Equipment

  • large pot for cooking past
  • sharp knife for cutting and prepping ingredients
  • cutting board
  • salad spinner for washing lettuce
  • large serving bowl

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound pasta I prefer campanella or cellentani
  • 4 cups of grilled or roasted chicken cut into small pieces or shredded
  • 3/4 cup sliced almonds toasted
  • 1/2 cup red bell pepper diced into small chunks
  • 1/2 cup onion minced
  • 1/2 cup celery finely chopped, approx. 2 stalks
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 cup bottled Caesar Salad Dressing use whatever you have on hand
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
  • 5 ounce bag chunky salad croutons for garnish
  • 2 heads of romaine lettuce approximately 4 cups

Instructions
 

  • Cook pasta in boiling salted water, drain pasta. Allow to cool and then transfer to a large bowl, big enough for mixing ingredients.
  • Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper; grill or bake, let cool, cut into bite sized pieces. Add to chicken to the cooked pasta.
  • Spread almonds on a cookie sheet bake in oven for 4 minutes at 350 degrees, let cool.
  • Chop red bell pepper, celery, and onion add to bowl with pasta and chicken.
  • Whisk mayonnaise, caesar salad dressing, and fresh ground pepper together in a small bowl.
  • Add parmesan cheese, toasted almonds, and dressing to pasta and chicken. Mix well.
  • Chop romaine lettuce into 2 inch chunks, clean in a salad spinner. Set aside.
  • Transfer pasta and chicken salad to a serving bowl garnish with extra parmesan cheese and croutons.

If you will be serving as a dinner you can mix romaine in right before serving. If you are going to make ahead and serve the next day, store romaine in a zip-loc bag add right before serving.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 800kcalCarbohydrates: 59gProtein: 39gFat: 46gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 15gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 84mgSodium: 1157mgPotassium: 236mgFiber: 3gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 412IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 188mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword caesar, cheese, chicken, easy meal, pasta, salad, summer
    Tried this recipe?Mention @eat2gather or tag #eat2gather!