This book-inspired recipe for The Cloisters is an amalgamation of all my lunchtime favorites.

We’re talking Chicken Caesar Wraps with hearty pieces of white meat chicken. We’re talking Caesar Salads with creamy, dreamy dressing. We’re talking cool and refreshing pasta salads.

What’s a girl to do when she can’t decide what to have for lunch?

You have it all with Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad.

Why is Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad the book-inspired recipe for The Cloisters?

The Met Cloisters has a lovely courtyard garden with bistro tables, and that’s where The Cloisters main characters Ann and Rachel take their lunch break together.

There’s a little café in the courtyard, and that’s where Ann usually buys her lunch.

When I visited The Met Cloisters this past summer with the author of Decoding the Stars, I was excited to enjoy a lil’ snacky snack in that gorgeous space.

But, imagine how disappointed I was to discover that Ann’s “café” is more of a rolling cart peddling overpriced, pre-made sandwiches and lackluster bottled drinks. Womp, womp.

I had really been hoping for a Chicken Caesar wrap, which is one of my favorite sandwiches to get at a café. Alas, there was none to be found on the menu, and nothing else looked remotely appetizing.

I think Ann must have brought her lunch from home a lot more times than she let on.

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is an homage to what I wished I’d found at The Met Cloisters — and, what I’ll be bringing from home on my next field trip across the Hudson.

**Wait, this is a Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad — not a Chicken Caesar Wrap. What gives?**

When I’m out and about and need to grab lunch somewhere, my go-to is a Chicken Caesar Wrap.

But I love any chance to change that classic up, and one of the best ways I’ve found to breathe new life into Caesar anything is to add a little pasta to it.

Who doesn’t love a good pasta salad, especially in the warmer weather? Since The Cloisters takes place during the dog days of a NYC summer, I thought I’d combine my two lunchtime loves for this book-inspired recipe.

What makes Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad awesome?

At a quick glance, the standard parts of a classic Caesar Salad are there. Crispy, chopped Romaine lettuce. Long shavings of salty cheese. Thick, meaty pieces of roast chicken. And, of course, the creamy, tangy dressing that Caesar salad is famous for.

My twists on a classic Caesar?

I added fresh grape tomatoes.

I swapped out the croutons for pasta. #controversial

I made a homemade, healthier Caesar dressing without anchovies.

The best Caesar dressing made without mayo and without anchovies. (Mostly.)

When I discovered that most Caesar dressings are made with anchovies, I was shocked. And dismayed. To think that the flavor I crave comes from pulverized, oily, little fish.

Like, ew.

Add that to the fact that most Caesar salads are drenched in mayo-based dressing, and I was soon googling alternative recipe options.

Luckily, I found them. Like with most salads on my blog, I swapped out the mayo for Greek yogurt. And, to get classic Caesar taste without hauling fish from a jar, I discovered a brilliant swap ingredient: Worcestershire sauce.

Okay, yes – Worcestershire sauce contains some anchovy. But, there’s lots of other ingredients in that sauce to give it a unique depth of flavor — and mask the fishiness.

Trust me, if you don’t want to use actual anchovies in your dressing, Worcestershire is your friend.

Meal Prepping Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

I’m a fan of meal prepping for the week, which means making a big batch of something on Sunday and working my way through it during the week.

Obviously, if you’re making Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad to serve immediately with dinner or for a party, the assembly is pretty simple. Just toss all the ingredients together in a big bowl with the dressing about 20 minutes before serving.

But, if you want to prep Chicken Caesar Pasta salad to eat throughout the week, here’s what you wanna do:

Portion out the chopped lettuce, shredded rotisserie chicken, cooked pasta, sliced tomatoes, and grated cheese into containers so you have mini, undressed salads in ready-to-grab containers for each day of the week.
Whip up the dressing and pour it into a resealable jar.
Refrigerate everything.
The next morning, grab a container of salad and your bottle of dressing. Keep all ingredients in a cooler or your fridge until you’re ready to eat, then drizzle the dressing over the pre-portioned salad. Give everything a little shake, shake, shake, and you’ve got a fresh Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad for lunch.

What pairs well with Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad?

Honestly, Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad is a meal all on its own. You get your veggies, protein, and carbs all in one dish, and it’s hearty enough to serve as a main course dinner.

If you’re someone who enjoys a soup-and-salad lunch combo à la Panera, serve this pasta salad with a side of Parmesan Lemon Broccoli Soup. For the salad-and-sandwich combo lover, Chicken Curry Salad Croissant Sandwiches is a great way to use up any leftover shredded rotisserie chicken.

Since no meal is complete without dessert, be sure to tuck a few Chocolate Orange Truffles into your lunchbox. Or, if you’re working from home, skip the Starbucks run and sip on an Iced Dirty Chai Latte that you can make right in your kitchen in about five minutes.