Punchy and flavorful, this Caesar Pasta Salad is packed with kale and perfect for potlucks and gatherings. Made with a creamy, no-mayo Caesar dressing, lemon zest, and garlicky toasted panko.
Why You’ll Love This Caesar Pasta Salad
This Kale Caesar Pasta Salad recipe is loaded up wth lacinato kale and made without mayo or egg yolks. It’s punchy and flavorful from pecorino cheese, anchovies, and lemon zest. As a chef, I love recipes that I know will please a crowd. Last night I tested this on a group of friends and got the thumbs up, so I thought I’d share.
The idea came from Dan Pelosi at the NY Times, but as you know, we like to tweak things a bit here. I left out the mayo, added Worcestershire and lemon zest – lightening and brightening it up a bit. It’s like a Caesar salad but with pasta, and we skip the croutons, replacing them with garlicky toasted panko— packed with flavor, and perfect for summer gatherings and potlucks.
Caesar Pasta Salad Recipe Ingredients
- Pasta: Use rigatoni, ziti, fusili, rotini, or penne pasta. Feel free to use gluten-free pasta.
- Kale: Lacinato kale works best here. Grab an extra large bunch.
- Caesar dressing: Extra virgin olive oil, anchovies, garlic cloves, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and pecorino.
- Pecorino: Use shaved pecorino cheese or substitute with grated parmesan cheese.
- Lemons: You will use both the zest and juice for bright, citrusy flavor.
- Toasted bread crumbs: Panko, olive oil, garlic clove, and lemon zest.
- Optional additions: Aleppo or Urfa Biber, red onion, capers, flat leaf parsley, cherry tomatoes, or bacon.
How to Make Kale Caesar Pasta Salad
1. Cook pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta to al dente, following package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water, then toss with a bit of olive olive and chill until ready to use.
2. Toast bread crumbs. In a large skillet, add olive oil, panko, and grated garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Toast over medium heat, stirring frequently, until crispy and golden brown. Stir in lemon zest and turn off heat.
3. Make homemade Caesar dressing. Add all of the Caesar ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. It should taste salty.
4. Prep kale. Tear kale leaves off the stems and chop into 1-inch pieces. Add to a large mixing bowl and massage the leaves with 2-3 teaspoons of olive oil for a minute or two to tenderize it.
5. Assemble. To a large bowl, add chilled pasta, half of the shaved pecorino, and most of the dressing. Toss well, then refrigerate until ready to serve.
6. Serve. Toss half of the panko into the bowl. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper—the pasta will soak up some of the flavor, so season generously here! Sprinkle remaining panko and shaved pecorino over top and garnish with lemon zest and Aleppo chili flakes or Urfa biber, if desired.
Chef’s Tips
- Salt the pasta water well: This helps season the pasta itself—don’t skimp!
- Massage the kale: Massaging the lacinato kale for 1-2 minutes with olive oil makes it tender and easier to digest.
- If adding optional additions: Red onions, capers, or flat-leaf parsley can be added in step 5. Cherry tomatoes should be added just before serving.
- Serve it chilled. The pasta salad tastes best when cold from the fridge, but since it contains no mayo or eggs, it will also keep at room temperature for a few hours.
Meal Prep & Storage
- Meal prep: Prep the pasta salad through step 5 up to a day in advance.
- Storage: Store leftover Caesar Pasta Salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Serving Suggestions
For a main dish, serve with rotisserie chicken (we love chicken caesar pasta salad!), grilled lemon chicken, grilled steak, shrimp or salmon. For extra fiber and protein, feel free to toss in chickpeas!
FAQs
Caesar salad dressing is made with olive oil, anchovies, garlic, lemon, Worcestershire, dijon, salt, pepper, and pecorino. Unlike classic Caesar salad, we use kale instead of crisp romaine lettuce, and toasted breadcrumbs instead of croutons. And add pasta!
Be careful not to overcook the pasta—cook just to al dente. Don’t mix everything together until ready to serve. Ingredients like breadcrumbs or cherry tomatoes should be added just before serving to preserve texture. Finally, avoid skimping on seasoning!
There are so many flavor components that go into Caesar dressing and the salad itself, but Worcestershire adds a particularly briny taste, and anchovies add umami depth.
I hope you enjoy this quick and easy Caesar Pasta Salad recipe! Let me know what you think in the comments, and don’t forget to give this recipe a rating!
More Pasta Salad Recipes!
Kale Caesar Pasta Salad
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 10-11 cups
- Category: pasta salad, salad recipes,
- Method: Tossed
- Cuisine: American
Description
Punchy and flavorful, this Kale Caesar Pasta Salad is perfect for potlucks and gatherings. Made with a creamy, no-mayo Caesar dressing, lemon zest, and garlicky toasted panko.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces of pasta- rigatoni, penne, ziti, fusilli or rotini pasta
- 1 extra-large bunch lacinato kale, 5-6 ounces, 4 cups
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup pecorino cheese, shaved (or sub shaved parmesan)
- 2 lemons, zest and juice, divided (to use below)
Optional additions: Aleppo or Urfa Biber for sprinkling, 1/4 cup red onion, 1 tablespoon capers, ¼ cup flat leaf parsley, cherry tomatoes
Caesar Dressing
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 12 anchovies (2-ounce tin, drained)
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1/3 cup lemon juice (from lemons above, save the zest)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 3/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste.
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup pecorino cheese, sliced, or grated
Toasted Bread Crumbs
Instructions
- Pasta. Cook pasta in ample salted water, cook to al dente, according to package directions. Rinse with cool water, drain, toss with a bit of olive oil, and chill until ready to use.
- Toast Panko. In a skillet, add the olive oil, panko, and grated garlic. Season with salt and pepper and toast over medium heat, stirring, until crispy, golden brown. Stir in the lemon zest and turn the heat off.
- Caeaser Dressing. Place all the Caesar ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. It will taste salty and tangy- this is needed for the pasta.
- Prep Kale. Tear the kale off the stems and chop into 1-inch pieces. Place in a large bowl and massage the leaves with 2-3 teaspoons of olive oil for 1-2 minutes. This will tenderize it.
- Combine. Add the chilled pasta to the bowl, along with half of the shaved pecorino, half the zest, and the dressing to coat well- you may not need all. Toss to coat well. Refrigerate until serving. The pasta will soak up the dressing a bit, so add more as needed.
- Serve. When ready to serve, toss in half of the panko. Taste and season generously with salt and pepper (the pasta likes to soak up the flavor). Sprinkle with remaining panko and shaved pecorino. Sprinkle with lemon zest. Aleppo chili flakes or Urfa biber are nice here too.
Notes
If adding red onions, capers, or parsley, feel free to add them in step 5. Add cherry tomatoes right before serving.
Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Pasta salad can be made one day ahead.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 309
- Sugar: 1.8 g
- Sodium: 425.9 mg
- Fat: 18.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 29.1 g
- Fiber: 1.6 g
- Protein: 7.5 g
- Cholesterol: 7.6 mg
Looks delicious. I love all your recipes. Can this be halved?
Thanks
Should work just fine Toni!
Any substitute for all those anchovies? Maybe anchovy paste instead? We’re not anchovy fans. Thank you!
Hi Claudia, The dressing gets blended, so essentially would be the same as using paste. Capers or miso paste can be a good substitute to give a salty depth.
Great! Thank you!
🙂