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Chicken Caesar Pasta (One Pot!)

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!

A spoon scooping up angel hair in a creamy Caesar sauce from a pot with capers and lemons.

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.

Seasoned chicken next to a bag of chicken marinating in a Ziploc bag.

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.

Blackened chicken in a pot next to a pot with minced garlic.

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.

A pot of cream sauce with uncooked pasta in it next to a pot of cooked angel hair pasta.

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.

A pot of angel hair pasta in a cream sauce topped with parmesan cheese next to a pot of creamy pasta topped with grilled chicken.

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.

A white bowl filled with Chicken Caesar Pasta with chicken, capers, and lemons

What to Serve with Chicken Caesar Pasta

A close up view of angel hair pasta in a creamy Caesar sauce with grilled chicken, capers, and lemons.

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Chicken Caesar Pasta (One Pot!)

4.98 from 41 ratings
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.

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

Note: Be sure to use angel hair. Substituting regular spaghetti noodles requires more liquid and cooking time. If you only have spaghetti, plan on using an extra 1/2 cup chicken broth, an extra 1/2 cup milk, and an extra 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

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.

Nutrition

Calories: 625kcal, Carbohydrates: 49g, Protein: 39g, Fat: 30g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 101mg, Sodium: 1102mg, Potassium: 758mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 314IU, Vitamin C: 14mg, Calcium: 248mg, Iron: 2mg
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127 comments on “Chicken Caesar Pasta (One Pot!)”

  1. This was really delicious!  I made it according to the recipe & feel it needed more liquid?  But the marinated chicken was soooo good & maybe I’ll just add a little more broth next time.  Yummy!

    • Hi Laurie!! Perhaps you used a brand of pasta that absorbed a little more liquid (you did use angel hair right)? Or if you’re using a wide cooking vessel, liquid can evaporate more quickly, in which case, more chicken broth can be used. I’m glad that you enjoyed the chicken, definitely add more chicken broth as needed next time! 🙂

  2. I made this recipe and it was so good and so easy! I used a full pound of penne pasta because we like to have leftovers and my 2 year old can’t eat spaghetti yet. So, to adjust I used 5 cups chicken broth, 1 cup of milk, and about a half cup of Caesar dressing for the sauce and I think it came out great!

    • Hiiii Jena! First of all, I am so happy that you were able to make that adjustment with 1 pound of penne and my apologies for not getting back to you quickly on that one! I saw your question come through and was going to figure it out, but I kept getting sidetracked! Amazing work on that, and thank you for sharing what adjustments you made so that others can replicate it as well! You are the best! Thank you a million! 🙂 -Stephanie

  3. This was a tasty and easy dinner. I made exactly as written, though I used the juice of one lemon rather than measure.  I’ve never thought to use Caesar dressing as the base of a sauce – it added quite a bit of flavor. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

    • I’m so happy you enjoyed this one Kelley! I agree, it’s definitely fun and different, thanks so much for the great comments and review!❤️

  4. I don’t believe there is angel hair pasta where I live, what other suggestions do you recommend besides spaghetti?

    • Hi Carmen, if you don’t have any sort of spaghetti option near you, I am not sure what to suggest as I’m not sure what you have available near you. The kind of pasta that you use will likely have a higher cooking time than angel hair and thus will require more liquid. I have only tested this recipe with angel hair, and have adapted the liquid ratio to indicate what to use for spaghetti, but I’m not sure how to advise further.

  5. This was a delicious dinner! I didn’t add as much lemon pepper, great recipe!

  6. Wow! Lots of flavor and really easy! Made this tonight and there is nothing left! I switched out the Cesar dressing for a dairy free option and used goat milk~DELISH! 

  7. Delicious! The only thing I would change is making the sauce thicker and creamier. Maybe less milk?

    • Hi Abbey, the sauce does continue to thicken upon standing, but you can always use heavy cream instead of using less milk, I wouldn’t reduce the amount of liquid because that can make it dry.

  8. This was excellent! I used spaghettini as angel hair sold here is really, really thin and doesn’t cook nicely in sauce. The capers add a lot of zing!

  9. Made this today and loved the flavors. I had some leftover noodles so I used those instead of cooking them in the dish. Still turned out ok but I should have reduced the amount of broth as it came out really thin. I also used oat milk as we can’t do cooked dairy and it still turned out great! Thanks for the recipe 

  10. A weekly favorite for sure!

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