Caesar Pasta Salad

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This Caesar pasta salad is a terrific main course salad. Make it gluten-free if desired, and notes for vegetarian diners. Make your own homemade caesar dressing or use bottled. Serve extra croutons, Parmesan, and dressing on the side. See links at the end for homemade chicken and croutons.

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Assemble time10

Total Time1

Course: Entree, Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 628kcal

Author: Sally Cameron

Equipment

Large pot to cook pasta
blender if making homemade caesar dressing
Baking sheet for croutons
Parchment paper

Ingredients

Caesar Salad

12 ounces hearts of romaine 3 large heads in a package
4-6 ounces pasta gluten-free or regular, cooked
1 pound chopped cooked chicken grilled or rotisserie
1 cup croutons gluten-free or regular
4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Caesar Dressing (yield ¾ cup)

3 tablespoons lemon juice or more to taste
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon anchovy paste in a tube optional
1 large garlic clove finely chopped or zested
½ teaspoon balsamic vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese or Mexican Cotija cheese
2 pinches sea salt
2 pinches white pepper or black pepper

Instructions

Homemade Caesar dressing

Place the lemon juice egg yolk, mustard, anchovy paste, garlic, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce in a blender and puree on lowest speed for a few seconds to blend.
With the blender top on and the center top removed, slowly stream the oil into the blender until dressing is creamy and emulsified. Increase the speed as you go. Add the Parmesan and puree until creamy. If the dressing gets too thick, add either a little more lemon juice or warm water to make it the consistency you prefer.
Refrigerate the dressing until serving time in an airtight container. Due to the egg yolk, the dressing lasts 2-3 days max in the refrigerator. Be sure to label and date.

Make the salad

Pasta: Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling sated water, then drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain again and allow pasta to dry on a clean kitchen towel or baking sheet. Refrigerate until serving time so it's cold.
In the mean time work on the other parts of the salad.
Lettuce: Slice the hearts of romaine crosswise into 1-inch strips. Separate the leaves and wash (if not pre-washed), then dry well and chill. Using a salad spinner makes it easy.
Chicken: Cube or shred the cooked chicken.

Serving the salad

Add the romaine, chicken, and pasta to a large salad bowl and toss with a few tablespoons of Caesar dressing. Top with the croutons and Parmesan cheese. Serve extra dressing on the side along with more cheese and croutons.

Notes

For the chicken:

For the grilled chicken that I use, make this super easy blender lemon chicken marinade, marinate boneless, skinless breasts for an hour or overnight, then grill for 12 minutes.

For the croutons:

Here's my recipe for gluten-free croutons.

To make this vegetarian:

Swap the chicken for hard boiled eggs and/or chickpeas (garbanzo beans. Use canned beans, rinsed and drained well.

Nutrition calculation just for the dressing:

Serving is 2 tablespoons.

calories: 179kcal, carbs 1 g, protein 1 g, fat 19g, cholesterol 32mg, sodium 54mg, potassium 22mg, fiber 0, sugar 0. For all numbers please see the dressing recipe card.

Nutrition