Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad with Light Caesar Dressing

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad with Light Caesar Dressing: Pasta and salad greens tossed with grilled chicken and a delicious, homemade Light Caesar Dressing.

If this was 1996, my name would be right next to Caesar Salad in the dictionomary.

It didn’t matter what high class/low class restaurant I was at, I would order me a Caesar Salad with Chicken each and every time. I thought I was the healthiest person on the planet because I wasn’t touching all that other stuff on the menu. I was sticking to a SALAD! With a verrrryyyy CREAMY dressing. 

For those that don’t remember, like those that were BORN in 1996, lemme tell you… In the early to mid-90’s, all you knew was to eat fat-free-this and salad-that. These things were supposed to make you/keep you skinny. Eating 24 fat-free cheese slices was all good. Fat-Free ice cream? Bring it on!
I know a few people that would inhale a tub of said ice cream, thinking that they would never gain weight because it was Fat Free. Dumba**. 😀

Then, the 20/20 people, or maybe it was the Nightline people… Dateline? Umm, whatev. One of those reported that fat-free labeled foods AND salads were making people gain weight. And I was all like, What the what the whaaaaaat?

Come to find out, a Chicken Caesar Salad had 10,000 calories. Maybe it was 1,000. But still! It’s a salad! My food-world was shattered, if only for a minute.

But because I’m smart (kidding) and know my way around the kitchen, and since I barely know what a salad is without a gazillion ingredients, I started making my own salad dressings at home! I was 18 and brilliant! (kidding again) Umm, I had a 3.98 GPA in college. Not kidding. #bragging
Pat on the back, please.
Thanks. 😀

This whole salad thingamajig doesn’t seem like a meal, but it’s very filling. You can make it as big or as little as you want. I’ve made it for big crowds as an appetizer and I’ve made it for just the four of us.

If you love a caesar salad as much as moi, you’ll die for this! The dressing is heaven-sent! SO GOOD! Trust me. Just make it and you’ll see.

ENJOY!

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad with Light Caesar Dressing

Katerina | Diethood

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is made with salad greens, tossed with grilled chicken, and topped with a drizzle of homemade Light Caesar Dressing. This easy chicken salad is perfect for a light summer meal!

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Servings : 6

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

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For the Salad

• ▢ 1 pound multi-color fusilli pasta
• ▢ 6 cups chopped Romaine Lettuce
• ▢ 4 chicken breast halves , grilled and cut into bite-size pieces
• ▢ grated parmesan cheese , for garnish

For the Light Caesar Dressing

• ▢ 1/2 cup NonFat Plain Yogurt (I use Dannon)
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoons dijon mustard
• ▢ 1 garlic clove
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 1 tablespoon water (add 1 more tablespoon for a thinner consistency)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• ▢ salt and fresh ground pepper , to taste

Instructions

 

• Cook pasta according to the directions on the package; rinse, drain and completely cool.
• Layer the chopped lettuce on a large, shallow plate.
• Add cooked pasta over lettuce and top with chicken; set aside.
• Prepare the dressing by combining all ingredients in a blender.
• Blend until creamy and smooth.
• Drizzle over salad.
• Garnish with grated parmesan cheese.
• Serve.

Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: DIETHOOD

 

Nutrition

Calories: 300 kcal | Carbohydrates: 41 g | Protein: 25 g | Fat: 3 g | Saturated Fat: 0 g | Cholesterol: 50 mg | Sodium: 149 mg | Potassium: 558 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 3 g | Vitamin A: 4130 IU | Vitamin C: 5 mg | Calcium: 89 mg | Iron: 1.4 mg | Net Carbs: 39 g

Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.

Course: Side Dish/Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken caesar pasta, chicken caesar salad, chicken pasta salad

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