Chicken caesar pasta salad is the fusion of pasta salad and chicken caesar salad - perfect if you want to enjoy all your favorite parmesan, romaine, buttery pasta, and rotisserie chicken flavors as a hearty and comforting meal instead of a side dish.
5oz.package of classic caesar croutons(about 2 cups)
½cupcrumbled bacon
12oz.jar of caesar salad dressing
Freshly cracked pepper and sea saltoptional
lemon wedgesfor garnish
Instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook bowtie pasta according to package instructions, Drain and rinse with cold water until completely cool.
When the pasta is cool, toss together all of the salad ingredients In a large bowl.
Top with freshly cracked black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve immediately.
Notes
Once ingredients have been assembled and tossed, serve the salad immediately to maintain not only its freshness, but the delicious crunch of the croutons as well. Never leave this salad sitting at room temperature for an extended amount of time.
It’s best to use Romaine lettuce for this pasta salad as it has a more robust leaf structure, won't wilt as easily as other more leafy lettuce varieties, and has a lovely flavor.
You can use bacon crumbles that are packaged or crumble freshly cooked bacon yourself.
This recipe calls for a 12 oz jar of dressing which is sufficient to mix into the salad. If you want to coat your salad more heavily then you will need another jar of dressing to add to the salad or to serve as a side condiment. Otherwise, make as much of your own homemade dressing as you like.
Remember that stored pasta usually absorbs more dressing or sauce as it sits in storage. You may find that additional dressing needs to be added when serving leftover chicken caesar pasta salad for this reason.