Caesar Pasta Salad

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

• This is unlike any other pasta salad you have had before. You might be thinking pasta and lettuce together, but I promise this will be one of your favorite salads to share with friends and family.
• It’s simple to make and comes together in just 10 minutes.
• There are many variations when making this salad. Add flank steak, shrimp, or juicy chicken for a delicious meal.
• This salad is the perfect way to use fresh parsley and basil from the garden.
• We have added feta cheese instead of Parmesan cheese that you would normally think goes with Caesar dressing and I promise it WORKS!
• This pasta salad is the perfect side dish to take to any backyard BBQ or pot luck gathering.
• The recipe uses a store-bought creamy Caesar dressing that you can purchase from the grocery store, but feel free to make your favorite homemade dressing.

INGREDIENTS

1. Pasta – The best pasta to use for this pasta salad is Ditalini. It’s a small tube shape pasta and has been described as “thimble-size” pasta. Often used in soup, it goes great in a cold pasta salad. Cook this pasta just past al dente. You could also use penne pasta or rotini pasta.
2. Crisp Romaine Lettuce – Romaine hearts are perfect for this salad.
3. Cherry or Grape Tomatoes – Cherry tomatoes are my go-to for this salad because they are bright and sweet all year long. During the summer months, cut up tomatoes from your garden or from the local farmers market in place of cherry tomatoes.
4. Green Onions – Green Onions have a sweeter less abrasive flavor than their root. They are perfect in most salads.
5. Fresh Basil – This is super important to the recipe. To get basil ribbons, stack, roll, and slice the basil.
6. Fresh Parsley – You can use Italian or curly parsley for this recipe.
7. Creamy Caesar Dressing – Use your favorite store bought Caesar dressing for this recipe. In my opinion the best Caesar dressings are Ken’s and Girard’s. They both taste like homemade Caesar salad dressing.
8. Black Pepper – Add pepper to taste.

HOW TO MAKE CAESAR PASTA SALAD

Cook pasta according to the package directions. Rinse and cool the pasta completely with cold water.

Drain pasta and set a side.

In a large mixing bowl, add 3 cups cooked pasta, 2 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce, 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, 4 oz crumbled feta cheese, 1/2 cup diced green onions, 1/2 cup fresh basil ribbons,1/4 cup minced fresh parsley and 1/3 cup Caesar creamy dressing.

Toss until the dressing has coated all the ingredients and everything is mixed well.

Serve immediately.

TIPS AND SALAD VARIATIONS

• Add grilled chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken to create a tasty chicken Caesar pasta salad recipe.
• One or two cloves garlic would be great depending upon the type of dressing you use.
• To add more protein without adding any meat consider adding a can of chickpeas to the salad.
• I’m tempted to add diced red bell pepper to most any salad.
• Marinated flank steak would be a welcome addition to this salad recipe.
• I recommend dressing the salad right before serving. Don’t worry it won’t get too soggy over night, but won’t last in the fridge much more than 24 hours.
• Store any leftover pasta in an airtight container.

MORE SALAD RECIPES

Sweet Creamy Coleslaw

Easy Broccoli Cauliflower Salad with Bacon

Homemade Croutons

CAESAR PASTA SALAD

If you make this recipe, please let me know! I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comments below.