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Dairy Free Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
Chicken caesar pasta salad has crunchy romaine, juicy chicken, fresh tomato, homemade croutons, and tender pasta tossed in a homemade caesar dressing. This delicious recipe is dairy free and can easily be made gluten free.
Looking for more salad recipes? Try my kale crunch salad, salmon caesar salad with crispy chickpea croutons, or zesty Italian pasta salad.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make chicken caesar salad with pasta:
- Chicken breasts – chicken breasts seasoned with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, and black pepper, and baked until juicy.
- Chickpea croutons – a lighter crouton that offsets any heaviness with the addition of pasta, yet still yields a crunchy texture.
- Fusilli or rotini pasta – or bow-tie pasta.
- Crisp Romaine lettuce – creates a nice contrast of texture against the pasta.
- Fresh cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes) – add a pop of color, a little acidity, and texture.
- Dairy free creamy Caesar dressing – a combination of mayonnaise, olive oil, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, fish sauce, and a few other seasonings.
How to Make Caesar Pasta Salad: Step By Step
Here are some quick visual instructions. The full instructions and ingredient list will be in the printable recipe card below!
- In a large bowl, combine the chicken breasts with olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, and black pepper. Bake until cooked through and juicy, let rest, then cut into cubes.
- Dry the chickpeas with a clean kitchen towel. Discard any skins that fall off. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet (without parchment paper). Toss with olive oil and the seasonings then spread into a single layer.
- Roast the chickpeas for 30 minutes, shaking the pan every 10 minutes or so for even cooking. When the chickpeas are done, they’ll be a deep golden brown color with a crispy exterior.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water, shaking off any excess.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the cooked pasta, cubed chicken, chopped romaine, halved cherry tomatoes, and caesar salad dressing until well combined. Top with crispy chickpea croutons or traditional croutons just before serving.
Helpful Tips
- Use store-bought rotisserie chicken and store-bought crispy chickpeas for an even quicker meal.
- Rinse the cooked pasta with cold water after you drain it, otherwise the warm pasta will wilt the lettuce.
- Only add the chickpea croutons right before serving, otherwise they’ll get soggy.
Storage
Store the leftover pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Store the leftover chickpea croutons in a bowl with a clean kitchen towel loosely over the top on the counter at room temperature. This will ensure they stay crispy for a couple of days. Don’t store them in a tightly sealed container, otherwise, they lose their crisp texture and turn soggy.
Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this chicken caesar pasta salad recipe using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- No chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans)? – you can use homemade dairy free croutons if you have some bread lying around.
- Make it gluten free – use your favorite gluten-free pasta. I like brown rice pasta from the Jovial brand.
- Make it plant-based – leave out the chicken.
- Add-ins – crispy bacon or baked crispy prosciutto, avocado, or crunchy vegetables such as red bell pepper, snap peas, etc.
More Salad Recipes
I hope you love this Caesar Pasta Salad! If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment & a star rating below. Thank you!
Dairy Free Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
Chicken caesar pasta salad has crunchy romaine, juicy chicken, fresh tomato, homemade croutons, and tender pasta tossed in a homemade caesar dressing. This delicious recipe is dairy free and can easily be made gluten free.
Ingredients
Baked Chicken
- 1.25 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon EACH garlic powder and onion powder
- ½ teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt ¼ teaspoon if using any other kind
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Chickpea Croutons (optional)
- 15 ounce can drained and rinsed chickpeas also called garbanzo beans
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon EACH garlic powder and onion powder
- ½ teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt ¼ teaspoon if using any other kind
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Caesar Pasta Salad
- 12 ounces dry fusilli or rotini pasta
- 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
- dairy free caesar dressing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC. Line one baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside another baking sheet without parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the chicken breasts with olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, and black pepper.
- Transfer the seasoned chicken to the prepared pan and bake for 22-25 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF. Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting into cubes.
- Dry the chickpeas with a clean kitchen towel. Discard any skins that fall off. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet (without parchment paper). Toss with olive oil and the seasonings then spread into a single layer.
- Roast the chickpeas for 30 minutes at 400ºF, shaking the pan every 10 minutes or so for even cooking. When the chickpeas are done, they’ll be a deep golden brown color with a crispy exterior.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water, shaking off any excess.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the cooked pasta, cubed chicken, chopped romaine, halved cherry tomatoes, and caesar salad dressing until well combined. Top with crispy chickpea croutons or traditional croutons just before serving.
Notes
See the blog post for helpful tips and storage instructions.