Pasta salad season is upon us! And what better way to welcome the season than to turn a classic into a Tortellini Caesar Salad? This is your basic chicken Caesar salad kicked up to a whole new level with tons of cheese-stuffed tortellini, crispy romaine lettuce, crunchy homemade garlic croutons, and my two-minute salad dressing that you’re going to want to have in the refrigerator at all times. In the summertime, Anees and I make it a point to eat cold food for lunch. This is Texas. When the weatherman tells you it’s going to be just shy of 110ºF, you don’t want to turn on the stove, oven, or even microwave if you don’t have to during the day. So I keep a batch of homemade Caesar dressing in the fridge, ask Anees to grill up chicken on the weekends, and for lunch, you’ve got everything for a quick tortellini caesar salad ready to go in the refrigerator.
I’m picky when it comes to Caesar salads. I once tried what one restaurant claimed was an “award-winning Caesar salad,” and I’m still trying to figure out what was so great about it head scratch Too tangy Caesar salad dressing with poached flavor-free chicken, and store-bought croutons? I’ll pass. Trust me when I say this; this one is definitely worth making! It’s no secret that this girl loves her pasta salads. It’s all in one food, you know? You’ve got crisp veggies, sometimes a bit of protein, chewy noodles, and always a tangy and/or creamy dressing to pair with all those textures. I mean, have you made my California pasta salad, Mediterranean pasta salad, sesame chicken pasta salad, Mediterranean Tuna orzo, Italian couscous salad, or my Thai noodle salad? No joke, I could eat a pasta salad every day and not get tired of it.
What ingredients do you need to prepare tortellini caesar salad?
cooked tortellini lettuce cooked chicken shaved parmesan homemade croutons Caesar salad dressing
What kind of tortellini do I need?
Tortellini is sold fresh in the refrigerated section but also dried in the pasta section of most grocery stores. I usually prefer to use fresh tortellini because we prefer the taste of it, and it takes less time to cook. However, either form of tortellini will work for this recipe. Just keep in mind that fresh tortellini takes much less time to cook than the dried kind. Make sure to follow the directions on the package when preparing.
How to make the easiest Caesar salad dressing:
I’ve got a super simple recipe for a two-minute caesar salad dressing that I make all the time.
What do you need to make homemade croutons?
stale french bread melted butter garlic powder salt
How to make homemade croutons:
What do you use to marinate the chicken?
You don’t have to cook or grill chicken for this recipe. Pre-cooked shredded chicken will work just fine or even a shredded rotisserie chicken for weeknights. My marinade for the chicken is pretty standard. It’s what I almost always use when I’m grilling chicken in batches for our weeks’ lunches. It’s a lot of the same flavors Caesar salad dressing, so the flavors mesh together really well. Here’s what you’ll need:
Two tablespoons olive oil a splash of red wine vinegar One tablespoon Worcestershire 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard One teaspoon of honey a big pinch of salt, pepper, garlic powder
Just combine it all in a big bowl with a whisk and toss in anywhere between 1 – 1 1/2 pounds of chicken and allow it to hang out for 30 minutes-6 hours. I have Anees throw the chicken on the grill, or sometimes I’ll just do it on an indoor grill pan! So simple! I hope that you’ll make my Tortellini Pasta salad at least a few times this summer. And if you end up making it for all 93 days of summer, I would not be mad at that.
see the post for my favorite chicken marinade recipe.
