Chicken Pasta Salad

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This Chicken Pasta Salad is the perfect thing for a quick dinner or to share at a picnic. Chicken, veggies, and homemade dressing make this pasta recipe absolutely delicious.

If you’re looking for more cold pasta recipes, try our tasty tri-color pasta salad and pesto pasta salad.

Chicken Pasta Salad with tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, rotini, and chicken in a bowl with a fork.

Table Of Contents

Recipe Details
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Notes
Add-ins and Substitutions
How to Make Chicken Pasta Salad
Recipe Tips
FAQs
Serving Suggestions
Make This Recipe in Advance
More Great Pasta Salads!
Full Recipe Instructions

Recipe Details

This Chicken Pasta Salad is the perfect warm-weather dish. Served cold, it’s full of delicious flavor and is easy to make. It’s one of my favorite recipes to serve on a hot summer day to friends and family.

TASTE: Savory chicken is tossed with sweet tomatoes and pungent onions, then topped with a tangy homemade dressing.
TEXTURE: The veggies are crisp, the chicken is juicy, and the pasta is cooked al dente. What’s not to love in this amazing salad!
TIME: It takes just 17 minutes to make.
EASE: This dish comes together quickly and easily, which makes it ideal for weeknight dinners, an easy lunch option, or for outdoor picnics.

What You’ll Need

Ingredients for Chicken Pasta Salad: tricolor rotini, chicken breasts, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, cucumber, olive oil, tomatoes, red onion, avocado, lemon, honey, and apple cider vinegar.

Ingredient Notes

Pasta- I used tri-color rotini pasta, but you can use any small pasta you like.
Chicken- Boneless and skinless chicken breasts.
Seasonings- Olive oil, Italian seasoning, Salt, and Black pepper.
Vegetables- Cherry tomatoes, Cucumber, Red onion, and Avocado.
For the dressing- Olive oil, Apple cider vinegar, Honey, Water, Lemon juice, Italian spices, and Salt.

Add-ins and Substitutions

Add cheese- Add shredded or cubed cheese to this Chicken Pasta Salad, such as cheddar, pepper jack, crumbled blue cheese, or feta cheese.
Substitute other vegetables- You can make this salad with other veggies, like asparagus, olives, bell pepper, banana peppers, or shredded carrots.
Use another dressing- Instead of this dressing, you can also make it with Greek Salad Dressing, Buttermilk Ranch Dressing, or Easy Cilantro Lime Dressing.
Substitute the chicken- Make this pasta salad with fish, shrimp, steak, or tofu for some variation.

How to Make Chicken Pasta Salad

Chop and season the chicken. Slice the chicken breasts into thin cutlets and season both sides with Italian seasoning, and then salt and pepper to taste.
Cook the chicken. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Then cook the chicken on both sides until cooked through. You can check with a meat thermometer to make sure it has reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit at the thickest part of the meat.
Let it rest. Once cooked, let the chicken sit for about 5-10 minutes, covered. Then cut it up into bite-sized pieces.

Pro Tip: If only have frozen chicken, you can totally cook frozen chicken breast in an Instant Pot. It cooks in a fraction of the time!

Steps to make Chicken Pasta Salad: season the chicken and then cook it in a cast iron pan before chopping it into bite sized pieces.

Cook the pasta. Now cook the rotini according to the package directions. When it’s done, drain it and rinse with cold water to keep it from overcooking.
Chop up the vegetables. Then slice up the cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and onion. Cut the avocado into small cubes. Place the cooked pasta, chicken, and vegetables into a large bowl.
Make the dressing. In a large measuring cup, add the olive oil, vinegar, honey, lemon juice, water, Italian spices, and salt. Whisk together.
Dress the salad. Pour the dressing onto the chicken pasta salad and toss to combine. Serve chilled.

Steps to make Chicken Pasta Salad: combine the oil, vinegar, honey, lemon juice, water, Italian spices, and salt in a measuring cup with a whisk, then add the avocado, chicken, pasta, onion, and tomatoes to a bowl and toss with dressing.

Recipe Tips

Don’t overcook the pasta- Make sure to cook the pasta al dente, and then rinse it with cold water after draining. This is important to stop the cooking process so the pasta doesn’t become mushy and broken when tossed with the other ingredients.
Fully cook the chicken- To ensure the chicken is fully cooked, the best thing to do is insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. It should read at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
Keep everything about the same size- When chopping the chicken and vegetables, try to keep them all about the same size so the salad is uniform. That way, when you take a bite, you aren’t getting a big mouthful of any one ingredient, but a little of everything.
Double your dressing- Make some extra dressing to store in the refrigerator for your next salad. In a lidded jar or bottle, it can last for a week.

FAQs

Is it better to make pasta salad the night before?

Actually, yes! This pasta salad tastes even better the second day because the pasta and chicken absorb more of the dressing and flavor. So making this ahead of time is not only convenient, but delicious.

Do you rinse off pasta for pasta salad?

For a cold dish like pasta salad, you rinse the pasta. This stops the cooking process and cools the noodles before you add the other ingredients. The only time you don’t rinse pasta is for a hot dish.

Chicken Pasta Salad with tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, onions, rotini, and chicken in a bowl with a wooden spoon.

Serving Suggestions

This Chicken Pasta Salad can be eaten just as it is for any meal. But if you want to pair it with another dish, here are a few suggestions:

Sandwiches- This is a great side dish for sandwiches, like this Classic BLT Sandwich, Caprese Sandwich, or Slow Cooker Beef Brisket Sandwich.
Grilled meats- If you’re bringing this to a barbecue or picnic, it’ll pair nicely with steaks, burgers, hot dogs, and ribs. You could even serve it with a Cast Iron Ribeye Steak, Smoked Chicken Wings, or BBQ Air Fryer Chicken Legs.
Bread- If Chicken Pasta Salad is the main course, consider serving a side of buttered Focaccia Bread, Buttermilk Cornbread, or Garlic Cheese Bread.
Vegetables- Another great side to serve with this cold pasta would be vegetables, like these Roasted Air Fryer Vegetables, Bacon Wrapped Asparagus (Oven Baked), and Crispy Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts.

Make This Recipe in Advance

Make ahead: You can make this pasta salad beforehand, but you shouldn’t make it more than 2-3 days ahead because the vegetables will start to become mushy. The dressing can be made about a week in advance and then added to the freshly prepared pasta, veggies, and chicken though.

Storing: Store any leftover Chicken Pasta Salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Just give it a stir and serve when you are ready.

Freeze: If the chicken was previously frozen, it’s not advised to refreeze it. This salad is best made fresh or within a few days and stored in the fridge because ingredients like the dressing, tomatoes, and cucumbers don’t thaw well.

More Great Pasta Salads!

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Hi, I’m Dina, so glad you stopped by! I believe life is too short for bad coffee and boring meals. With my easy to follow step-by-step recipes, you’ll be surprised at how quickly a wholesome and delicious meal can come together. I hope you find something you enjoy!