Kale Caesar Pasta Salad

This Kale Caesar Pasta Salad is creamy, refreshing and filling!  Perfect for lunch or a summer side dish.  It’s easy to make and packed with healthy ingredients.

I meant to post this Kale Caesar Pasta Salad Recipe before Memorial Day weekend but time got a way from me.  But, it’s an easy and delicious pasta salad that can be enjoyed all year round!  It’s a variation of traditional Caesar salad, but with pasta, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes and kale instead of romaine.  It’s so good!

Last week I shared my recipe for Bruschetta Pasta Salad and I’m honestly having a hard time deciding which of these recipes I like better!  Both have so many delicious ingredients and can be served warm or cold.

What You’ll Need For This Kale Caesar Pasta Salad

• Pasta – You can use any kind of pasta you like: regular, whole wheat or gluten free.  I would recommend using something bite sized.  I happened to have some bowties and penne so I mixed them together and it worked great.
• Kale – Traditional Caesar salad is made with crunchy romaine lettuce.  I happen to love kale though so I made this recipe using kale instead.  It is nice and hearty and stands up well to the pasta and dressing.
• Croutons – You can use store-bought or homemade.  I just bought a package of caesar croutons and they worked great.  They soften up a little after being mixed with the dressing so they have a really nice texture.
• Caesar Dressing – Again, you can use store-bought or homemade.  I used store-bought because it was much easier for me since I don’t have a go-to homemade recipe that I use regularly.
• Chickpeas – I realize there are a lot of carbs in this pasta salad, haha, but I love the taste and texture they add.  You can easily omit them if you like though.

Caesar Pasta Salad

I love this pasta salad for a few reasons:

• It’s really easy to make –  The only cooking you have to do is making the pasta and crisping up the chickpeas.  Other than that, you just add all the ingredients to a large bowl and mix together.  Using store-bought croutons and dressing really helps cut down on the preparation time!
• You can enjoy it warm or cold – You can eat the pasta immediately after making it or it can be refrigerator for 3-4 days.  Using kale instead of lettuce really helps it stand up in the refrigerator better.
• It’s great for lunch or a side dish – When I made this recipe we enjoyed it for both lunch and dinner!  It would also be great as a BBQ, picnic or potluck side dish.

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