Chicken and Bacon Caesar Pasta Salad

Ready in under 30 minutes, this Chicken and Bacon Caesar Pasta Salad is a perfect side dish to have at your next barbecue. Using ingredients you probably already have on hand, this pasta salad is creamy, cheesy, and full of bacon!

Is there a more perfect dish than a pasta salad? It's easy to make, is delicious room temperature or cold, and it keeps in the refrigerator a long time! You can also make them for all sorts of occasions like this Spooky Halloween Pasta Salad. Don't miss this garden vegetable and herb pasta salad, Bowtie Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing, and orzo pesto pasta salad.

If you need some recipes to serve with pasta salad, make sure to check out all these delicious recipes in this what to serve with pasta salad roundup!

What's in this Pasta Salad?

Ingredients for the Bacon and Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad laid out

Chicken Breasts- If you don't have chicken breasts, or want to make this recipe even easier, feel free to use a rotisserie chicken. Shred the meat off the chicken and use that. This is also a great recipe to add any leftover chicken you might have in the refrigerator.

Pasta- Use whatever your favorite pasta shape is. I think the farfalle are really fun for the Summer and they hold the Caesar dressing really well. If you do not have farfalle on hand though, any pasta shape will work.

Romaine Hearts- You want to use a hearty lettuce in this recipe. Mixed greens will wilt and get soggy under the weight of the pasta and Caesar dressing.

Bacon- Use your favorite type of bacon, Applewood or thick cut would be delicious.. Avoid maple bacon or flavored bacon, as that would overpower the salad.

Caesar Dressing- For this recipe, I used Ken's Caesar Salad Dressing. There are so many different Caesar dressings out there that are delicious. If you want to make your own, this is a great recipe for homemade Caesar dressing.

Equipment You'll Need

How to Make this Chicken and Bacon Caesar Pasta Salad

Add the romaine lettuce to a large bowl — **Step 1:** Wash and chop the romaine hearts and place them in a large bowl. You can also use the prewashed romaine lettuce that is in bags at the grocery store.

cook the pasta according to package instructions — **Step 2:** Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Make sure you salt the water well, as that is the only time you will be able to season the pasta. When the pasta is done cooking, drain it into a colander and run cold water over the pasta. This will stop the cooking and cool down the pasta faster. Add the pasta to the romaine lettuce.

sauté the bacon strips to crisp up the bacon — **Step 3:** Cook the bacon until crispy and drain the grease off the bacon. Crumble the bacon and set it aside.

cook the chicken breasts until fully cooked through — **Step 4:** Cut the chicken breasts into about one inch pieces and place them in a lightly oiled sauté pan. Add the granulated garlic and Italian seasoning to the chicken breasts in the pan and cook about 10 minutes. The chicken breasts should be completely cooked through. Set them on a plate and allow the chicken to cool slightly.

add the cheese, pasta, chicken, and bacon to the bowl with the romaine lettuce — **Step 5:** Add the ingredients to a large bowl.

Top the chicken and bacon caesar pasta salad with caesar dressing — **Step 6:** Add the Caesar salad dressing to the bowl and mix all the ingredients well. Serve or refrigerate.

Questions about this Recipe

Can I make this ahead of time?

Yes, but there's a special way to do it. If you want to make this ahead of time, make all the components separately, and store them in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve the pasta salad. Then, when you are ready to serve, place all the ingredients into a large bowl and toss to combine. The romaine tends to get soggy if it is in the dressing too long, and the croutons get soggy as well.

What would go well with this dish?

This would be a perfect dish to take to a barbecue, or you could make it as a side to this Instant Pot pulled bbq chicken, open face tuna melt, or a chicken burger with feta and spinach. This pasta salad does need to stay quite cold, so avoid serving it at room temperature. The creamy dressing and the chicken breasts need to stay cool at all times.

What are other variations of this recipe?

If you wanted to make this vegetarian, simply keep the chicken out of the recipe. To make it dairy free, use your favorite dairy free dressing and eliminate the parmesan cheese. Feel free to up the veggie content by adding corn or cucumbers. Instead of chicken, shrimp would be amazing in this recipe too!

a scoop of the pasta salad being put onto a plate

Other Recipes to Try!

Did you give this Chicken and Bacon Caesar Pasta Salad a try? I’d love to hear from you! Give me a shout on Instagram or Facebook and let me know! And don't forget to follow me on Pinterest!

And don't forget to check out some other drool worthy recipes below! Thanks for sharing this journey with me!

a chunk of parmesan cheese next to the pasta salad

📖 Recipe