Cold Chicken Pasta Salad a delicious salad that is packed with great flavors and is super simple to make and it can be made the day ahead before serving.
This cold chicken pasta is a great way to use vegetable and herbs out of the garden at this time of the year, but it is delicious to make at any time of the year.
This is the time of year that a cold pasta goes great for lunch or a light dinner, or even as a side dish. There are so many different ways that you can make cold pasta dishes. Most of the pasta dishes that I eat during the year are mayo based, but this one with the olive oil and vinegar is a bit lighter and is nice for a warm day.
Some of the vegetables for the salad came from the garden and I snuck a couple of the herbs from our garden in the dressing. We have a nice amount of cucumbers and cherry tomatoes in the garden. Bell peppers never seem to do well in the garden, so end up buying them from a vegetable stand that sells local vegetables.
What makes for a good pasta salad?
- Noodles that are cooked so that they are tender and not mushy.
- Crisp fresh vegetables such as carrots, celery, cucumbers, zucchini
- Colorful vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, bright colored bell peppers
- Flavorful dressings to bring the whole salad together
I have more pasta salad recipes. Take a look at these recipes:
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Cold Chicken Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken pan fried, grilled, or rotisserie
- 1/2 cup red onion chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper chopped
- 3/4 cup cucumber quarter slices
- 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
- 2 cups cooked pasta
Dressing
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
- 1 tablespoon oregano chopped
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. I pan fried the chicken in olive oil just until it was no longer pink inside, but you can use grilled or rotisserie chicken in this salad.
- Prepare the vegetables by cutting into small pieces/bite-size pieces
- Mix the chicken and the vegetables together in a large bowl
- Prepare the dressing for the salad. In a mini food processor, food processor, or blender. Add the chopped garlic, basil, oregano and process until the ingredients are in small pieces.
- Add the red wine vinegar, mustard, and sugar and blend together. Gradually add the olive oil and process until well blended.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until everything is well blended.
- Refrigerate for an hour or more before serving. This salad can be made the day before it is served.
Notes
This is great to bring to work or a picnic! Yummy and healthy!
Cold pasta salads are always so refreshing at this time of the year. This one looks exceptional — the chicken really up the flavor and nutrition, and you’ve loaded this up with so many good things. Thanks!
Our bell peppers never do that well, either. I think it’s because our growing season is just too short here, so they are just getting nice and big when the first frost rolls through and puts an end to them. Either way, this pasta salad sounds like something I would love! Nice and easy lunches for the week!
What a gorgeous pasta salad! Light dressing, light on the pasta and heavy on the chicken and veggies—sounds like a winner!!
Dawn, this is the perfect meal for the weather we are experiencing…light and refreshing…thanks for the recipe.
I hope you are having a fantastic week!
Loving all those fresh veggies, Dawn! I have yet to see a bell pepper in our garden but there’s still hope. Right now, I’ve got tomatoes…lots of tomatoes…and some jalapenos to spice things up! 😉 This is a perfect salad for the summer. Our family would love it!