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Short-Order Kitchen

Caesar Pasta Salad

By Wes Ellis1 min read
A close-up of Caesar salad with grilled chicken pieces, croutons, shaved Parmesan and creamy dressing.
Recipe card
Servings
4
Prep
10 minutes
Cook
8 to 10 minutes
Method
Stovetop
Heat
Boiling water
Difficulty
Easy
Jump to ingredients & directions ↓

Part 17 of the thread Bowls, salads and wraps

THE SHORT VERSION4 points
  • 3 cups of cooked protein pasta plus a cup of chicken and two of romaine.
  • The dressing is Greek yogurt, a Caesar seasoning packet and lemon.
  • Rinse the pasta completely cold before it meets the lettuce.
  • Making it ahead? Keep the dressing separate until you eat.
THE RECIPE · CAESAR PASTA SALAD

Ingredients

Salad

Dressing

You'll need

  • Pot
  • Colander
  • Large salad bowl
  • Small bowl and whisk

Directions

  1. Cook the pasta to al dente. Drain, rinse under cold water until completely cool, then drain well again.
  2. Chop the romaine and the chicken.
  3. Whisk the yogurt, Caesar seasoning and lemon juice until smooth. Add a little water if it's too thick to toss.
  4. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, chicken and romaine. Pour on the dressing and toss until coated.
  5. Stir in some Parmesan if you like, and top with croutons and more Parmesan right before serving.
Notes Keeps a day or two in the fridge, though the romaine wilts. For make-ahead lunches, store the dressing and greens separately and toss when you eat. Roughly 400 calories and 45 g protein per serving, give or take.

wesellis.com/blog/caesar-pasta-salad/

A Caesar salad with enough pasta in it to count as dinner. Chickpea rotini gives it body and a good share of the protein, chicken does the rest, and the dressing is the kind of shortcut that's hard to argue with.

A two-minute Caesar dressing

Traditional Caesar dressing is egg yolk, anchovy, oil and a lot of whisking. This version is Greek yogurt stirred into a dry Caesar seasoning packet with a squeeze of lemon. The packet brings the garlic, Parmesan and savory notes, and the yogurt makes it thick and tangy. Whisk it smooth and thin it with a teaspoon of water at a time until it coats a spoon without being gloopy.

Tip

Taste the dressing before you pour. Some seasoning packets are much saltier than others, and more lemon can balance it out.

Cold pasta, crisp lettuce

Warm pasta wilts romaine on contact. Rinse it under cold water until it's completely cool, drain it twice, and only then add the lettuce. Rotini's spirals hold onto the dressing better than smooth shapes.

The Caesar Salad Wraps roll the same flavors into a tortilla. For another chickpea-pasta salad that holds up well in the fridge, try the High-Protein Macaroni Salad.

Heads up

Croutons go soggy within minutes of meeting dressing. Put them on at the table.

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