Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad

I bet you have all the ingredients on hand to make this tasty Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad; chicken, pasta, peppers, onion, and a simple dressing are all you need to make it today!  This salad packs easily into a cooler for a picnic or a trip to the beach.  It can be eaten for lunch or a light dinner with a green salad on the side.  

Summer is always highly anticipated, but then when it hits it can be quite a bit like a wrecking ball swinging this way and that crashing into our lives leaving us strewn everywhere.  However, not beaten and bruised mind you, but enjoying all that Summer has to offer.  It is just dang hard to get myself to sit down and blog, when beaches, books, taco tours, the pool,  bonfires, overnight guests,  farmers markets, kids sports, college visits and weekend getaways are clamoring for my attention!  Not to mention trying to get a meal on the table.

As my kids have gotten older and more active our summers have become out and out craziness.  Gone are the days of sitting around the kiddy pool and going to the library and the zoo for outings.  It was easy to coral everyone back then,  now I need a flow chart!!

I wanted to share with you a little trick of mine.  It’s called over cooking.  Also known as making enough for two meals.  Grilling steak or chicken?  Make extra and use the leftover for wraps or to slice over a salad the next day.  We had grilled chicken recently and I used the extra to make a pasta salad for lunch and midnight munching for the busy weekend.  It was a lifesaver!

What tips do you have for making mealtime easier in the Summer?

XO, Sheila

Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad

Sheila

This recipe is perfect for a potluck, or to keep on hand for a quick lunch option. Nothing complicated here only simply delicious!

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course easy dinner

Cuisine American

Servings 8 servings

Calories 505 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 pound shell pasta
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts grilled
• 1 whole red bell pepper see directions for cutting instructions
• 1 whole green pepper see directions for cutting instructions
• 1/4 cup red onion finely chopped

Dressing

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup stoneground mustard
• 1 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp celery salt
• 1/8 tsp a pinch of ground rosemary
• 1/8 tsp a dash of Garlic Powder

Instructions

 

• Bring salted water to a boil in a 6 quart pot, add pasta and cook for 7 minutes, drain, and set aside to cool.
• Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper and grill until done, allow to cool then slice thin on a diagonal and cut through once. Set aside.
• Wash peppers, cut in half, cut out seeds and stem. Cut one half of each pepper into long thin strips; finely chop the second half of each pepper.
• Whisk together dressing ingredients.
• Combine pasta, chicken, peppers, onion and dressing. Mix until all ingredients are covered with dressing. Place in refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 2cupsCalories: 505kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 26gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 13gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 66mgSodium: 439mgPotassium: 467mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 54IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 1mg

Keyword chicken, easy dinner, pasta, salad

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