This creamy and delicious Grilled Chicken and Veggies Pasta Salad is ideal for a weeknight meal or a weekend potluck gathering. If you're looking for a dish that packs flavor and nutrition, then look no further than this tasty pasta salad loaded with chicken and vegetables.
Our entire family enjoys this salad. This is a healthy salad with carbs, protein, and the goodness of several vegetables. You can make a large batch of salad, store it in the refrigerator and serve it with your meals every day! Sounds exciting, isn't it!
Though it is commonly referred to be a summer salad, I enjoy it at any time of year, summer or winter.
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Ingredients - Grilled Chicken and Veggies Pasta Salad
Chicken: I have used boneless chicken especially the breast piece for this pasta salad. You can also use boneless and skinless chicken leg and thighs for the same. I always recommend using freshly grilled chicken however, you can use leftover grilled chicken in this salad.
Pasta: When I serve this salad to my family and friends, they often question what pasta we can use in this salad. Can we use any pasta, or must we keep to a specific variety?
To answer this question, I would say avoid using long pasta such as spaghetti, fettuccine, etc. for this pasta salad recipe. You can use short variety pasta including penne, macaroni, farfalle, rigatoni, etc.
Vegetables: I have used a wide range of vegetables such as broccoli, red & yellow bell peppers, green & yellow zucchini, onion, cherry tomatoes, etc. You can add sweet corn, baby corn, English cucumber, purple cabbage, etc. in this recipe.
Salad Leaves: Red leaf lettuce or Lollo Rossa and leafy green lettuce leaves
Dressing: Mayonnaise, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, crushed pepper, dried mixed herbs, etc.
Others: Black olives.
Instructions
Follow the step-by-step instructions and learn how to make pasta salad with grilled chicken and vegetables. I have used grilled chicken in this salad. For that, I have taken chicken breast piece and cut into bite size pieces.
Marinated the chicken pieces with the olive oil, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and chilli flakes. Spray oil in a heated grill pan and grill the marinated chicken pieces in a grilling pan until the color changes to golden brown.
Alternatively, you can also marinate the chicken breast and later shred the grilled chicken to use in salad.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Once the pasta turns al Dante, drain the water and set it aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients (excluding the salt and pepper) listed under the dressing tab. Place aside.
Place all of the chopped veggies, salad leaves, olives, and grilled chicken pieces in a large mixing bowl. To mix, toss everything together.
Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss well. Season with salt and crushed black pepper to taste. Now salad is ready to serve.
What to Serve with Pasta Salad
Perhaps you're planning a home party or a summer pool party and want to keep the pasta salad on the menu but aren't sure what additional items to serve with it. Here I have listed some options to serve alongside pasta salad.
- Burgers
- Sandwiches
- Garlic Bread (Air Fryer Garlic Bread)
- BBQ Chicken (Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Breast)
- Roasted or oven baked vegetables (Crispy Roasted Baby Potatoes with Rosemary)
- Kebabs
- Veg or Non veg patty (Kidney Bean Patties)
Variations & Substitutions
You can use your choice of meat and swap with grilled chicken. Instead of using meat you can add hard-boiled egg pieces in the salad. Alternatively, you can substitute meat with silken tofu or boiled chickpea.
If you don't prefer to add mayonnaise, you can replace it with hung curd or Greek yogurt.
Make Ahead & Storage
You can easily make ahead this pasta salad with grilled chicken and vegetables (without adding the dressing) and store in the refrigerator. Take out from the refrigerator, drizzle the dressing and enjoy the salad. Many people add the dressing and store it in an airtight container; however, I avoid this.
In case of leftover salad, you can store it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Top tip
Submerge the leaves in a large bowl of cold water. Wash the dirt out of the leaves gently. Remove the water. Fill the bowl halfway with ice cold water and immerse the lettuce for 5-7 minutes. They'll become crisp and fresh.
More Salad Recipes
Grilled Chicken and Veggies Pasta Salad
Materials
Salad Ingredients
- 1½ cups Penne Pasta
- 350 gms Boneless Chicken cut into bite size
- ½ cup Yellow Zucchini chopped
- ½ cup Green Zucchini chopped
- ½ cup Red Bell Pepper chopped
- ½ cup Yellow Bell Pepper chopped
- 1 no Onion chopped
- 8-10 no Cherry Tomato cut into halves
- 1 cup Red Lettuce chopped
- 1 cup Iceberg Lettuce chopped
- ¼ cup Black Olives drained and sliced into thin rounds
- ½ teaspoon Crushed Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Chilli Flakes
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
Dressing
- 3 tablespoon Mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1½ tablespoon Vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Crushed Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Mixed Herbs
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Take chicken pieces in a bowl and marinate with olive oil, salt, pepper, chilli flakes, onion and garlic powder.
- Heat a grilling pan and add the marinated chicken pieces and grill them until the color changes to golden brown. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat up a large pot of salted water. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Once done, drain the water and keep aside.
- Take ingredients (except salt and pepper) mentioned under dressing tab in a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Now take all the chopped vegetables, salad leaves, olives, and grilled chicken pieces in a large bowl. Toss to combine.
- Drizzle the dressing on the salad and toss once again.
- Season with salt and crushed black pepper to taste. Serve the salad.
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