Nothing says contemporary fairly like the colourful flavors on this simple pasta salad.It’s my go-to meal prep choice when the climate will get heat. I like that it’s filled with hen, pasta, contemporary veggies, cheese, and pesto, so I’m getting each taste and vitamin. And I particularly like to convey it to summer season BBQs and potlucks and for my selfmade packed lunches.
I Wish to serve it as a predominant dish more often than not
Not solely is that this protein and veggie-packed salad flavorful, however it’s additionally simple to make. True, it might be served as a facet salad, however it’s really a predominant dish, with sufficient protein, carbs, wholesome fat, and fiber to gasoline you thru the day. It additionally works nicely as a facet dish.
For that reason, I like to make a giant batch to maintain available for fast, simple meals that my entire household will eat. It’s really a game-changer when life will get busy and I like that my children clear their plates after I make it though they don’t love greens.
Recipe Highlights
This hen pesto pasta salad is a recipe I make on repeat when the climate will get heat. Listed here are a number of the explanation why:
- With minimal prep time and simply 12 minutes of cooking time, your complete dish comes collectively in nearly half-hour, that means I can get out and in of the kitchen quick.
- It calls for easy components, together with store-bought pesto sauce.
- It tastes nice served heat or chilly, so it turns out to be useful on my busiest of days.
- I can simply combine and match the components to fulfill totally different preferences and deplete any further protein or veggies I’ve available.
- Leftovers retailer nicely so I can put together a giant batch as soon as and luxuriate in it for days.
- It options seasonal components, making it budget-friendly and nutritious.
What You’ll Want
- Diced cooked hen – use leftover grilled hen, shredded hen, hen breasts, precooked hen breasts strips, or rotisserie hen.
- Cavatappi pasta – any small to medium-sized pasta shapes reminiscent of penne, rotini, or bow-tie pasta will work. Use gluten-free pasta, if wanted.
- Contemporary mozzarella – I exploit ciliengine or mozzarella pearls. Nonetheless, it’s also possible to use a big ball of contemporary mozzarella and minimize it into bite-sized items
- Persian or mini cucumbers – might sub English cucumbers
- Grape or heirloom cherry tomatoes
- Pink onion
- Pesto – I exploit this selfmade basil pesto, however any store-bought pesto will style nice
- Parmesan cheese – for the most effective style and texture, purchase a block of parmesan and grate it your self.
How To Make It
- Mix the cooked hen and pasta in a big bowl.
- Add the remaining components, and blend gently to mix.
- Garnish with contemporary basil leaves and extra parmesan, if desired.
- Serve instantly, or switch the hen pesto pasta salad to the fridge to chill.
For the Finest Texture
Watch out to prepare dinner the pasta simply to al dente in keeping with the bundle directions. Then, instantly rinse it with chilly water to cease the cooking course of. In any other case, the pasta is prone to turn into mushy.
Change It Up
Listed here are some methods I prefer to customise this recipe:
- Swap the hen with tuna or shrimp
- Add in spinach or child arugula for further greens
- Mix the pesto sauce with heavy cream or cream cheese to create a creamy hen pesto pasta salad recipe
- Embrace sun-dried tomatoes
- Exchange the mozzarella and Parmesan with crumbled feta
Make It Dairy-Free
Omit the cheese and use dairy-free pesto to maintain this pasta salad dairy-free.
Make It Gluten-Free
Use your favourite gluten-free pasta, cooking it simply till al dente. A few of our favorites that we’ve examined on this salad are garbanzo-based cavatappi, gluten-free rotini, and the brown rice and quinoa fusilli from Dealer Joe’s.
How To Retailer
Retailer any leftover pasta salad in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 4 days. Give the combination a very good stir to redistribute the components earlier than serving. The pesto might darken a bit however it’s nonetheless fit for human consumption and many scrumptious.
The Good Facet Or Important Dish
This pasta salad pairs nicely with a wide range of predominant dishes reminiscent of grilled flank steak, grilled salmon kabobs, and grilled bacon burgers if you wish to add a bit extra protein to the meal.
Nonetheless, it’s additionally nice to function an entire meal by itself. When you’re on the lookout for methods to bulk up the meal, strive pairing it with sides like cornbread muffins and fruit salad.
Need to save this recipe?
Enter your electronic mail under & we’ll ship it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get nice new recipes from us each week!
Recipe
Rooster Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe
A lightweight, shiny and flavorful twist on pasta salad. Studded with tender bites of hen and a number of contemporary veggies, this salad is nice for make-ahead lunches or a light-weight dinner.
Prep: 20 minutesCook dinner: 12 minutesWhole: 32 minutes
Servings: 11 cups – 8 (1 ¾ cup) servings 1x
Directions
- Mix cooked and cooled pasta and hen in a big mixing bowl.
- Add mozzarella cheese pearls, cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, pesto, and Parmesan cheese. Combine gently to mix.
- Garnish with contemporary basil leaves and extra Parmesan, if desired.
- Retailer any leftovers in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 4 days.
Final Step! Please go away a assessment and ranking letting us know the way you appreciated this recipe! This helps our enterprise thrive so we will proceed offering free recipes and high-quality content material for you.
Notes
For gluten-free, we’ve examined and like these manufacturers of pasta when served chilly: Banza, Barilla Gluten-Free, and Dealer Joe’s Brown Rice & Quinoa Fusilli.
Diet Data
- Serving Dimension: 1 3/4 cup
- Energy: 340
- Fats: 17 g
- (Sat Fats: 6 g)
- Sodium: 350 mg
- Carbohydrate: 22 g
- (Fiber: 2 g
- Sugar: 2 g)
- Protein: 24 g
- Ldl cholesterol: 65 mg
Dietary
The pictures on this weblog submit have been taken by Rachel Cook dinner of Half Acre Home.
For final success, we extremely advocate studying the ideas within the full weblog submit above. All pictures and content material are copyright-protected. Please don’t use our pictures with out prior written permission. When you want to republish a recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your individual distinctive phrases. Hyperlink again to the supply recipe right here on The Actual Meals Dietitians. Thanks!
