recipe
June 21, 2024
This Caesar Pasta Salad with Chicken recipe has a couple tricks up its sleeve! Grilled corn, cilantro, a smoky seasoning on the chicken and chipotle dressing take this traditional side dish up a level of deliciousness.
Chipotle Caesar Pasta Salad Ingredients
- Grilled Corn: If you have some leftover grilled corn, this is the perfect dish to use it in!
- Herbs: Herbs are such an important part of summer meals. I’ve added cilantro and green onions to this pasta salad, but you could also use parsley or omit the cilantro if it’s not for you.
- Seasoning: Tajin, smoked paprika, and cumin give the grilled chicken an extra boost of flavor. If you have leftover grilled chicken, you could also use that and it will come together even quicker.
- Dressing: It’s your traditional homemade Caesar dressing, but with chipotles in adobo sauce added to it for an irresistible smoky flavor.
Ingredients
ForThe Salad:
- 6 ounces penne pasta
- 2 medium ears corn grilled with corn removed from the cobb
- 1/4 cup green onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/3 cup red onion, diced
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup Caesar croutons
Chipotle Grilled Chicken:
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenders equivalent to a pound
- 1 Tbsp Tajin seasoning
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
Chipotle Dressing
- 3 anchovy filets
- 3-4 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- Lots of cracked black pepper (about 20 cranks from my pepper mill)
- Juice of one-half lemon (or one-third of a big lemon)
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise (ideally made with olive oil)
- 2 Tbsp Chipotle Chili with Adobo paste from a can of adobo chilis chopped fine
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
- 2 teaspoons finishing salt to taste
Instructions
Grilled Chicken:
- For the chicken mix together the spices with olive oil to make a paste and toss the mixture with the chicken breasts until they’re coated.
- Place the seasoned chicken on the grill and grill for 8-10 minutes per side, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center
- Cut into cubes
Salad Dressing:
- Blend all ingredients in a food processor
Salad:
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain water and set aside to cool
- In a large bowl, toss together cooked penne pasta, corn, green onion, Cilantro, red onion, cherry tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, and croutons.
- Drizzle with Caesar salad dressing and toss to coat.