Everything you love about Caesar salad, tossed with pasta for the best meal-prepped lunch or BBQ side.
Course Main Course, pasta, Salad, Side Dish
Keyword barbecue, bbq side, creamy pasta salad, easy lunch recipe, fresh herb pasta salad, healthy pasta salad, meal prep, Quick lunch recipes, quick pasta salad, summer pasta salad
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Servings 2people
Ingredients
Broccoli Caesar Pasta Salad
8ozpasta
1head broccoliraw or quickly blanched, chopped
Avocadochopped
1cupbreadcrumbs
2tbspbutter
Fresh herbs I like green onions + basil
Garnish:finely grated parmesan + the breadcrumbs
Caesar Dressing
1/2cupmayonnaiseor Greek yogurt for lighter option - or I like doing half/half!
2tbspolive oil
1garlic clovefinely minced/grated
Juice of 1 lemon
1tspDijon mustard
2tspWorcestershire sauceor anchovy paste
½cupParmesanfinely grated
Salt + black pepperto taste
Instructions
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add broccoli florets and blanch for about 30 seconds, just until they turn bright green. Immediately transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking.
In the same pot, cook your pasta until tender. Drain, rinse with cold water to stop the cooking, and toss with a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking.
While the pasta boils, melt the butter in a small sauté pan. Add your breadcrumbs—I like pulsing stale bread in a food processor for a slightly rustic texture. Toast until golden, then season with salt.
Make the dressing: whisk together all the ingredients until smooth. If it’s too thick, add a bit of lemon juice to loosen it up. If it’s too thin, stir in a little extra Greek yogurt or mayo.
Pat the blanched broccoli dry and roughly chop. Dice the avocado, slice the green onions, and chop the basil.
To assemble, combine the pasta, broccoli, herbs, avocado, and the dressing. Toss well to mix.
Finish with the breadcrumbs and some more parmesan cheese.