Caesar Pasta Salad with Parmesan Crusted Chicken Croutons

Jim specifically said that this dish should be on rotation every week over the summer.  I guess that should tell you how good it is!

This is at it’s most basic, a classic Caesar Salad, but with a few twists.  You can make just the classic salad, and the Parmesan Crusted Chicken, and it makes a great meal.  But I’m taking it to the next level and turning it into a pasta salad which will be great on picnics, BBQ’s, or even just to eat for lunch on a hot day. It makes a great side, or a light and satisfying main dish.  By the way, for me, a classic Caesar Salad includes crispy bacon! Instead of including fresh bread croutons (see my Ultimate Caesar Salad) I am using crispy juicy Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breasts, which are then cut into croutons.  So, healthy protein, crunchy coating, and plenty of parmesan cheese, which is also an integral part of a Caesar Salad. 

First Things First, Parmesan Crusted Chicken

For this portion of the recipe, you will need chicken breasts, and the ingredients for dredging.  Before hitting a skillet, the chicken breasts will be coated in a breadcrumb and parmesan cheese coating.

Two medium to large sized breasts will be enough to feed four comfortably.  You will carefully slice each breast in half horizontally, creating two thinner versions.  Do this by placing you palm firmly on the breast while you use a sharp knife to carefully cut across through the center.  They should now be a good thickness.  You want something close to 1/4 inch.  If for some reason they are still quite thick, feel free to place between wax paper and pound out till you have a breast that is thin enough to cook in 4 to 5 minutes.

The dredging station is fun to set up.  Use three shallow bowls or pie plates that will accommodate the chicken.  Into the first you will add flour (you can use your favourite gluten free flour here). The second pie plate will hold whisked eggs, and the third plate will hold bread crumbs (or even crushed chicharon!)  grated parmesan cheese, and fresh herbs.  All three plates should be seasoned with salt, pepper and a little paprika. This way you will ensure that there is seasoning all through the coating, not just on the outer layer.

Place a piece of chicken into the first, and then gently shake away the excess flour.  Transfer to the second plate and coat both sides thoroughly with the egg wash.  Let the excess drip away, and then place into the third plate with the bread coating.  Press the coating evenly into all parts of the chicken breast.  Then place onto a baking sheet till ready to saute in the skillet.  Repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken breast.

When ready to cook, heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet (or else you will need to cook the breasts in two batches).  Once the fats are just bubbling, over medium high heat, gently place the chicken pieces into the oil.  Let them cook without moving for two to three minutes depending on how thick they are.  Turn over and cook the other side.  Adjust the heat if necessary.  When both sides are golden brown and crispy, use tongs to transfer the chicken breasts to a paper towel lined wire rack.  They are now ready to be eaten.

These can be made in advance, and reheated in an air fryer, toaster oven, or in a skillet over medium heat till warmed through.

Caesar Salad

The classic ingredients are romaine lettuce, shredded or shaved parmesan cheese, crispy bacon, and bread croutons.  I’m leaving out the croutons, but feel free to make some if you feel so inclined.  Depending on where we are when Jim orders a Caesar Salad, there is often a pile of croutons on the side of the plate when he is finished.  If croutons come out of a box, this is often a case.  I’ve shared my homemade fresh sourdough croutons in both an earlier recipe here on the blog, as well as for the Caesar Salad in my Cookbook, which Jim will never pile up to be discarded at the end of dinner)

You can prep the lettuce ahead of time (shred by hand as opposed to a knife to guarantee that the edges of the lettuce leaves don’t begin to oxidize) I will rinse, spin and place the shredded lettuce into a container with paper towel and store in the fridge to help keep everything crisp.

You can also prep the bacon ahead of time, and store in a container till ready to make the salad.

When ready to serve, toss the lettuce in my creamy tangy, garlicky and lemony dressing and place onto plates or a serving platter.  Scatter the bacon and parmesan cheese around.  Cut the Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breasts into thin slices and place on top of the salad.  Finish with a bit more dressing and cheese.

Caesar Pasta Salad

Now let’s take that great salad, and make it even better.  With pasta!   This totally makes it a complete meal if that’s how you want to serve it.  Perfect summer picnic food. 

Use your favourite shorter pasta. Rigatoni, farfale, penne, orrechiete, etc. You will use approximately 3 oz of dry pasta per person.  Once cooked and drained, toss the pasta in a bowl with a combo of some dressing and a little olive oil.  This will soak into the pasta, giving it great flavour, and will keep it from sticking together as it cools.

When ready to assemble, use the pasta that has cooled down. You will add in one or two handfuls of lettuce, two rashers of bacon and one chicken breast per person. Cut the crispy chicken breasts into cubes.  Toss with as much dressing as you like.  I always start with less, and add more, just to be on the safe side.

Always save extra dressing, especially if you are storing extra salad in a container in the fridge.  Any salad will stiffen or dry out a bit even though there is dressing on once stored in the fridge.  But extra dressing will fix that. In fact. make extra dressing, it keeps well in the fridge for a few weeks.

Final Thoughts

I usually have little gems lettuce (a baby form of romaine lettuce), but if there is frisee, brussels sprouts, even micro greens etc these will also end up in this salad.

Feel free to use turkey bacon, or other version your family likes.  And yes, while I say to use two rashers per person, feel free to add an extra rasher if you are in the mood.

And yes, if you still want to add bread croutons, go ahead, the more the merrier in this bowl.  See my Ultimate Caesar Salad for the best Crouton recipe!

This recipe is easily adjusted up or down for just two servings or more. Like any good salad, use more of all your favourite ingredients in the salad itself, it won’t hurt a thing.

Feel free to add extra parmesan cheese to the dressing if you want it extra creamy.

If you want extra crunch, why not sliced radishes, red onions, broccoli florets, or other favourite veggie.

And yes, this recipe for Chicken (which is a slight variation on my Schnitzel) can be used in all sorts of settings.  Serve it with rice, mashed potatoes, in a sandwich, you know the drill!

If you make this tangy and bright Caesar Pasta Salad with Parmesan Crusted Chicken Croutons, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! It’s always lovely to hear from you guys, and I always do my best to respond to each comment or question. And of course, if you do make this recipe, and you post it on Instagram, don’t forget to also tag me so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is such a treat.

Love Jen

Print

Caesar Pasta Salad with Parmesan Crusted Chicken Croutons

A classic Caesar Salad just turned into a meal with the addition of your favourite pasta! A creamy tangy dressing brings everything together. The Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breasts are cut into cubes and become the croutons for this salad. A perfect picnic or potluck salad, or just a salad to live on during the week.

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine North American

Keyword Caesar Salad, Parmesan Chicken, pasta salad

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 6 minutes

Assemble 15 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breasts, can be made in advance

• 2 chicken breasts, about 1 1/2 lb, or 680 grams
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika, anything but hot Hungarian paprika
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour, or your favourite gf cup for cup blend
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs, such as thyme, parsley, chives or combination of them all
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Caesar Salad Dressing, can be made in advance

• 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 5 anchovy fillets, can be omitted, replace with extra dashes of Worchestershire sauce
• juice of one lemon
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 egg yolks, can be coddled if you feel it
• 2 good dashes of Worchestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, you can use more if you want the dressing extra creamy
• salt and pepper

Caesar Pasta Salad, for four

• 12 oz dry small pasta, rigatoni, penne, farfale, orrechiete, etc
• 4-5 large handfuls of chopped baby romaine lettuce or other greens, see Notes
• 8 rashers of bacon, cooked, and dried on paper towel, broken into bite sized pieces
• 2 oz parmesan cheese to shave or grate in and over the salad

Instructions

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breasts, can be made in advance

1. Take the chicken breasts and slice in half horizontally. This should make them approximately 1/4 inch thick. If still too thick, then place between wax paper and pound out till the correct thickness.
2. Season both sides with a pinch of the salt, pepper and paprika.
3. Set up three pie plates or large shallow bowls in an assembly line. Put the flour in the first pie plate. Beat the eggs in the second pie plate. Combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and chopped fresh herbs in the third pie plate.
4. Divide the remaining salt, pepper and paprika between each pie plate and stir to combine well.
5. Dredge a chicken breast in the flour to cover all sides, and shake off the excess. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture and turn to coat evenly, letting any excess egg drip off. Finally, dredge the chicken in the bread crumb mixture, pressing down to coat well It may take a few turns to get it all covered. Set breaded chicken on a small baking sheet, and repeat until all of the chicken breasts are breaded.
6. Heat the butter and oil in a large sauté pan over medium to medium-high heat. Only when the butter and oil are hot, add the chicken breasts gently to the pan. Do not disturb for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the first side is golden brown. Flip and continue cooking until done, 2 to 3 minutes longer.
7. Transfer the chicken breasts to a paper towel lined wire rack.

Caesar Salad Dressing, can be made in advance

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large glass jar and use an immersion blender to completely blend till smooth. Taste and re-season as desired. Place a lid on the jar and store in the fridge till needed. Alternatively, you can use a blender or other preferred method to blend well. If in the fridge too long, it will stiffen up, so bring out to room temperature before using.

Caesar Pasta Salad

1. Cook the pasta as per the package directions. Drain in a colander or strainer. Place in a bowl to cool down. Combine 2 tbsp of the dressing and two tbsp of olive oil. Pour this over the pasta and toss. As it cools down it will absorb the flavour and the liquid will help keep the pasta from sticking together.

Assemble

1. In a large serving bowl combine the cooled pasta, lettuce, most of the bacon, most of the parmesan cheese.
2. Take the cooled Parmesan Chicken Breasts and cut into large bite sized croutons. Add most of these to the salad.
3. Pour 1/3 or so cup of the dressing over everthing and toss gently. Taste and see if you like the amount of dressing, if not, drizzle some more evenly over the salad. Garnish with the remaining bacon, parmesan cheese, and chicken croutons.

4. See blog post for more details and serving suggestions

Recipe Notes

Feel free to make the chicken ahead of time. It can be served warm or room temperature. It can be re-heated in an air fryer, toaster oven, or skillet till warmed through.
Use whichever lettuce you like. Baby romaine, romaine hearts, baby kale, brussels sprouts, even broccoli, frisee, etc will are work great!
Feel free to double the amount of dressing, it will last a few weeks in the fridge.
Leftovers of the salad will keep in a sealed container in the fridge. Serve with extra dressing to loosen it up the next day.