Pesto Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe

Pesto Chicken Pasta Salad is an easy to make dish that is full of amazing flavor and texture and is ready to eat in only 20 minutes! Leftover rotisserie chicken is browned and combined with cooked penne pasta, and cherry tomatoes and tossed in an easy to make dressing.

It is hearty enough to serve as a main dish. However, it is also light enough that it is the perfect side dish to serve with your favorite grilled meats.

Although you may be thinking that this is just another pasta salad recipe, it is way different than the standard pasta salad recipes that are tossed in a thick mayonnaise or drenched in Italian dressing. This dish has way more flavor and it couldn’t be easier to make!

Why You Will Love This Pesto Chicken Pasta Salad

Great Use For Leftover Rotisserie Chicken – As much as I like the cost and convenience of a store-bought rotisserie chicken, I always have a lot of leftovers after enjoying my initial chicken and mashed potatoes meal. Therefore, I am always searching for new recipes to use the leftover meat.

I will make Chicken Broccoli Stuffing Casserole, Chicken Salad Sandwiches and Buffalo Chicken Wraps. However, there are times when I want the chicken to be less of the focus in the recipe, and that is when this Pesto Chicken Pasta Salad comes in handy. .

Easy To Prepare – With the help of store-bought ingredients this recipe comes together in minutes. In fact, the most time consuming step is to boil the pasta. Then toss everything together and the dish is made!

Versatile Recipe – Although this recipe is delicious as written you can customize it even further to your taste preference. If you like more spice in your food, add more crushed red pepper flakes. Or if you like more texture, toss in a few toasted pecans for that added crunch. The possibilities are endless.

Serve as a Main Dish or Side Dish – I have eaten this pasta salad as a main dish served with a piece of crusty bread to soak up the dressing. But I most often serve it as a side dish in the middle of summer with my favorite grilled meats.

Ingredients – Pesto Chicken Pasta Salad

• Cooked Chicken – I most often use leftover diced rotisserie chicken in this recipe. However, you can also use leftover chicken breast, chicken thighs or even canned chicken in this recipe. Just be sure that the leftover chicken doesn’t have too much seasoning that would over power the flavor of the other ingredients.

• Pasta – It is best to use tubular or spiral varieties of pasta so that the dressing and ingredients can cling to the noodles. I prefer penne pasta, but some other great varieties include: rotini, fusilli, and cavatappi.

• Tomatoes – Cherry tomatoes are super easy and convenient to include in pasta salad. However, for the ease of eating, I prefer to cut them in half. You can also use grape tomatoes, or even diced roma tomatoes as well.

• Pesto – Although I will make homemade pesto in the middle of summer when my basil is at its peak, I use store bought jarred pesto the remaining months of the year. You can most often find jars of pesto in the pasta sauce aisle at the grocery store. However, you can sometimes find it near the speciality meat and cheese section as well.

• Mayonnaise – A little bit of mayonnaise helps to cut the oil in pesto. However, this Pesto Chicken Pasta Salad will not look creamy once the ingredients are mixed together.

• Feta Cheese – The sharp, tangy flavor of Feta cheese provides a nice contrast to the other flavors of the pasta salad. Use as little or as much as you would like.

• Seasoning – Because there is so much flavor already going on in this recipe all you need is a little salt and pepper to taste. I also add in some red pepper flakes to help balance out the other bold flavors.

Possible Recipe Variations

• Healthy alternative – Use plain Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise.
• Pasta Choices – As mentioned above, use just about any short or medium pasta that can hold the sauce. Penne, rotini, fusilli, cavatappi, and farfalle (bow-tie) pasta all work great in this recipe.
• Other Common Additional Ingredients – Diced banana peppers and/or olives would make great additions to this Pesto Chicken Pasta Salad recipe.
• Cheese – Add diced fresh mozzarella or baby mozzarella balls instead of the Feta cheese.
• Nuts – Toasted pecans or walnuts would add a nice crunch to the salad.
• Vegetarian Option – Omit the chicken altogether or add cooked chickpeas or white beans in place of the chicken.
• Vegan Option – Follow the vegetarian option and then omit the cheese. Although I would highly recommend adding the toasted nuts for added texture and flavor.

Pasta Cooking Tip

Cook your pasta 1 minute beyond the package instructions for al’ dente consistency. Once cooked and cooled the pasta will become more firm. It will then be the perfect texture that can hold up to be tossed with the other ingredients, but tender enough to easily be chewed.

Pesto Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe

*A printable recipe card is located at the bottom of this article which contains the specific measurements, temperatures and cook times. However, continue reading below to learn about more helpful tips about this specific recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 ounces penne pasta
• 2 cups diced rotisserie chicken
• 1⁄2 tablespoon olive oil
• 3⁄4 cup cherry tomato halves
• 1⁄3 cup pesto
• 1⁄4 cup mayonnaise
• 1⁄4 cup crumbled Feta cheese
• 1⁄8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook The Pasta

• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the penne pasta and cook per package instructions for al’ dente plus 1 minute of additional cooking time. Drain pasta and immediately rinse under cold running water. Drain well.

Brown The Chicken

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet placed over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the chicken begins to turn golden brown in color. Remove from the heat and let it cool completely.

Assemble The Pasta Salad

• In a medium serving bowl add the cooked and drained pasta, cooled chicken, cherry tomato halves, pesto, mayonnaise, Feta cheese, red pepper flakes (if using), salt and pepper. Toss until well coated.
• Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Enjoy! Mary

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