This chicken pasta salad only takes a few minutes to whip together, and is my favorite way to eat a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket! It’s a balanced meal with a good amount of protein, carbs, veggies, and even healthy fats—and they’re also great leftovers for the next day. The thing about salads like this is that there’s no fixed rule, and you can get creative with the ingredients. I’ll share some notes on what I used below.
The vegetables I used are cucumber, bell pepper, and cherry tomatoes. These are EXTREMELY easy to find at any supermarket, and I go through them fairly quickly because they can be used in other dishes too. I see red onion used commonly in salads, but I personally don’t like raw onions which is why I didn’t use any. Celery is also a great veggie I would love to use, but I can only buy a whole bunch of stalks at a time and they end up going to waste. Parsley would also make a good garnish and add much more depth to the flavor, but it’s not easily available at my local grocery store. Moral of the story is that you should adjust the recipe to what works for you
How much pasta is enough?
I should note that while the average serving size for pasta is 100g, I used 125g for two servings. This is because there’s a lot more chicken in a serving than I’d normally eat, so I reduced the carbs. You can add more pasta if you want the salad to be even more filling.
Creamy Chicken Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing
Instructions
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Chop the vegetables into small bite-sized pieces and add to a large bowl.
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Shred the rotisserie chicken and add to the veggies.
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Cook the pasta according to packaging instructions, about 10-11 minutes. In the meantime, make your dressing.
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Whisk together mayonnaise, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper.
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Once the pasta is cooked, give it a quick rinse to stop the cooking, then add to your salad bowl. Drizzle over the dressing and toss everything together until well combined.
