Caesar Pasta Salad is made with pasta, Romain lettuce Caesar dressing, parmesan and croutons for the easiest salad ever! Add chicken to make a main dish.
Ingredients
1lbpasta, any shape (I like Radiatore) cooked al dente
1envelope Good Seasons Italian dressing, dry
2cupsgrape or cherry tomatoes, halve them if you like
2large or 6 hearts of Romaine lettuce, washed, chopped
4cupscroutons, home made or store bought
2cupsgrated Parmesan cheese*
1/2 to 3/432 oz bottle Cardinis Original Caesar Dressing*, refrigerated before using if possible
Instructions
Make ahead- if possible,the night before serving:
Place cooked pasta in a bowl. Sprinkle with dry Good Seasons Italian dressing and about 1/2 cup of the bottled Cardinis dressing. Refrigerate overnight.
The next day, before serving:
Place the prepared pasta, grape tomatoes, chopped lettuce, croutons and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Toss with about 1/2 of the bottle of dressing. Let sit for a few minutes, add additional dressing to taste just before serving.
Notes
I purchase the grape tomatoes, Romaine, croutons, Parmesan cheese and Cardini's dressing at Costco.
I usually prefer fresh grated Parmesan, but in this case, I like the bagged grated Parmesan. It holds up better and won't "fade" into the salad. A big bag will last forever, and can be frozen, if needed. Found in the refrigerator section next to other bagged, grated cheese.
If you can't find Cardini's, any other name brand of Caesar dressing will work. Also, it's best to refrigerate the salad dressing before adding to the salad, it helps keep the salad cooler.
If grape or cherry tomatoes aren't available or too expensive, use chopped Roma tomatoes instead.
Adding chopped or sliced chicken makes this salad a main dish.
This makes a huge salad, enough to serve about 30 as a side dish, or with chicken added 14-16 as a main dish.