The Cozy Cookbook is here! 
This One Pot Chicken Caesar Pasta recipe is so easy to make! Angel hair pasta and blackened chicken are tossed in a creamy Parmesan sauce with a hint of Caesar dressing, lemons, and capers.
Be sure to serve this with a side of my Garlic Bread with Cheese!
Chicken Caesar Pasta
So, the idea of Chicken Caesar Pasta is extremely enticing. That being said, the balance of flavors, amount of sauce, and the consistency of the sauce is key in order to make it work without it being overpowering.
I recently saw a huge recipe website post this recipe concept using 2 cups of Caesar dressing. Which basically means it’s pasta drenched in Caesar dressing. (Not my jam.)
I put a lighter spin on this idea with more balanced flavors and a one pot method.
I’m personally obsessed with Chicken Caesar Salad, so I had to make this perfect. Let’s do it.
How to Make it
See recipe card at the bottom of post for full ingredient quantities and instructions
Season and Marinate the Chicken. Slice the chicken in half to create thinner pieces of equal size. Season with lemon pepper seasoning and marinate in Caesar dressing for 20+ minutes.
Sear the chicken, sauté the garlic. Sear the chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown and partially blackened. Once the chicken is cooked, set it aside on a plate. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Whisk in the chicken broth, milk, Caesar dressing, and capers. Bring to a boil. Add the pasta and twist the noodles into the pan as they soften. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
Add the Parmesan Cheese, chicken, and lemon juice. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the pasta and gently mix until melted and combined. Add the chicken back to the pan along with the lemon juice. Stir to combine. Garnish with fresh parsley and cracked pepper and serve.
Using Cooked or Rotisserie Chicken
2 cups of cooked chicken can be mixed in at the end once the pasta is cooked. No need to marinate or sear the chicken first.
Storage
- Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- You can also freeze it and store it for up to 3 months.
What to Serve with Chicken Caesar Pasta
- Garlic Bread with Cheese
- Easy Roasted Broccoli, Green Beans, or Carrots.
- Salad with homemade Italian or Caesar Dressing
- Buttermilk Biscuits or Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Try These Next
-
- Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
-
- Chicken Piccata
-
- Chicken Noodle Casserole
-
- Chicken Spaghetti
-
- Skillet Lasagna
-
- Chicken Divan
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Chicken Caesar Pasta (One Pot!)
Ingredients
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup Caesar salad dressing, divided
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 small boneless skinless chicken breasts, or 1 large
- 3 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 8 oz. angel hair pasta, equal to 1/2 lb.
- 1 Tablespoon capers
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- Freshly cracked pepper
- Fresh Parsley, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Slice each chicken breast in half to create two thinner pieces of equal size. Season each side with lemon pepper seasoning.
- Place the chicken in a freezer Ziploc bag and add ¾ cup of Caesar dressing (save ¼ cup for the pasta sauce). Coat the chicken with the dressing and seal. Refrigerate for 20 minutes (or longer if time allows.)
- Meanwhile, shred the Parmesan cheese and set it aside. It should be at room temp when added to the sauce.
- Take ¼ cup of the Caesar dressing and whisk it with ¾ cup milk. Set it aside, it should also come down to nearly room temp. Don’t worry if it’s not completely uniform in consistency.
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large high-walled skillet or dutch oven.
- Add the marinated chicken and let it sear, undisrupted, for 4-5 minutes per side. Decrease heat to medium if oil begins to splatter.
- Set the chicken on a plate. Let it rest for 5 minutes, then cut it into strips. Transfer any juice left on the plate back to the pot.
- Reduce the heat to medium and melt the butter. Add the minced garlic. Heat for one minute.
- Add the chicken broth, and use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom of the pot. Slowly stir in the milk/Caesar dressing. Bring to a boil.
- Add the angel hair pasta and use kitchen tongs to gently bend the noodles into the pan as they soften. (If preferred, you can also break them in half.)
- Let the pasta simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure the noodles don't stick together.
- Once the pasta is softened and cooked through, add the capers and decrease heat to low.
- Gradually sprinkle in the Parmesan cheese, use tongs to toss and combine. Add the chicken back to the pan along with the lemon juice. Stir to combine.
- Garnish with freshly chopped parsley. Add freshly cracked pepper and serve.
Notes
Caesar Dressing Recommendation:
- My homemade Caesar Dressing is excellent. Otherwise I recommend Marie’s Caesar salad dressing found in the refrigerated aisle in the produce section.
Serve this with my Garlic Bread with Cheese.
Using Rotisserie or Leftover Chicken: 2 cups of cooked chicken can be mixed in at the end once the pasta is cooked. No need to marinate or sear the chicken first.
Tried this recipe tonight with my family I added some chopped up veggies and it was supper yummy definitely recommend.
I’m so happy to hear that Elizabeth! One pot meals are such a life saver! Thanks so much for taking the time to review!❤️
Just made this! Was a hit with the whole family! So yummy! Thank you so much!
So happy to hear that Lucinda!! My family loves this one too, we make it often! 🙂 Thank you so much for the review! -Stephanie
I have made this recipe at least half a dozen times for my family, and even my picky eaters ask for it again and again! I have even made it for a potluck dinner. I put the finished dish in a sprayed 9×13 casserole dish, topped with some extra parmesan and asiago cheese and baked just long enough to toast the cheese on top. Everyone raved about it! So glad I found this recipe, thanks for sharing!
I’m so happy to hear that Starr!! WOW I love the idea of baking it in a casserole dish and topping it with cheese, I definitely have to try that sometime- thank you for sharing that tidbit and thank you so much for the review! 🙂 -Stephanie
I can’t find GF angel hair in my stores, I only have spaghetti. How much and of what liquid ingredients do I need to increase?
Hi Liz, you can use the same quantity of spaghetti. You’ll have to go by look at feel as you’re cooking but I would suggest you add an extra 1/2 cup of chicken broth, an extra 1/2 cup of half and half, and up to 1/2 cup more cheese. You’ll need about 12-15 minutes of cooking time, refer to the package for guidance on how much time is needed to cook the pasta.
Awesome thank you!!
Made this for my family tonight and it was a winner for everyone. Simple and delicious!! A keeper for sure.
I’m happy to hear that Chad! One pot meals are so great! I’ve been relying on them so much more now that we are super busy. Thanks so much for the review!😃
This was very delish my family loved it
That’s so great to hear!😃
Made this tonight and it was FANTASTIC. To keep the calories low, I used yogurt based dressing, 2% milk and chickpea pasta. Also cooked the chicken in a separate cast iron pan. It was still delicious. Might increase the amount of liquid ingredients because the sauce burned off super quick after the pasta cooked. But this will definitely be a regular in our house. We have all the ingredients already and it took less than 30 minutes.
Thanks so much for the review and feedback Anna!😃 I’m so happy this was a hit! This is a regular in our house too, especially when pressed for time!
Made this for the first time tonight. The flavor was excellent .. the appearance was not appealing .. Not sure if we were supposed to use a second pan or clean out the first pan before finishing the steps after cooking the chicken but with the oil and the chicken char the end product was kind of a dull brown color .. but it will go in our books as another “go to” recipe!
Hey Devon! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the recipe! I typically don’t clean out the pan before proceeding because the chicken remnants left on the pan (called “fond”), add a lot of good flavor to the sauce. But, if during the searing process the pan does get really charred and almost black, you can either clean it completely, or use a wet paper towel to clean off the black bits, or just get a clean pan. I’m glad that you’ll be making this again!!! Also, be sure to sear the chicken in just oil (not butter), as oil has a higher smoke point and is less likely to char/burn. I hope that helps!! -Stephanie
I made this tonight and while the flavor was awesome, the consistency was off. It came out way too thick and mushy. any idea what may have gone wrong?
Thank you!
Hey Cathy! Did you use angel hair pasta? Sounds like the pasta may have been cooked for too long? It cooks SUPER fast. Did you use 1/4 cup dressing with 3/4 cup of milk without any substitutions? I’m also curious as to what kind of dressing was used but the kind that I use is pretty thick so it shouldn’t really matter! Let me know if you have any other thoughts! It should come together like it shows in this video. I hope that helps! -Stephanie
Thanks for the response! I did use angel hair. The dressing I used was Ken’s Caesar. I just had a thought – I didn’t use fresh grated parmesan. Maybe that was it?
That has to be it. Packaged cheese contains cellulose which prevents it from clumping together but it also prevents it from melting well, thus the gloopy result. You also want to make sure that the base isn’t super hot when you add the cheese or the dairy will separate and you’ll have a grainy consistency. You want the base to be warm and you can slowly incorporate the Parmesan cheese until your desired consistency is obtained. But yes, freshly grated cheese is the way to go!
Winner!! Love this recipe. My husband and I eat gluten free so I used Jovial Brown rice cappelini. I added frozen peas and sautéed mushrooms and everyone loved it. I also cannot eat rich foods like alfredo sauce, and found this recipe tasted both rich and creamy without any tummy discomfort. Even my non gluten free family and friends rave about this and request the recipe. I am making it tomorrow and am going to try adding some crispy bacon at the end. Thank you for the delicious recipe.
Hey Bonnie! I am SO happy to hear that! (Thinking about this makes me want to go back it right now!)- I’m so happy that you were able to share it and that everyone enjoys it. You can’t go wrong with some crispy bacon on the top at the end! Thank you so much for this review, I really appreciate it. -Stephanie