Cold chicken pasta salad is a summer staple in my house. It is equal parts quick, refreshing, and delicious!
Pasta Salad with Chicken
Imagine pasta salad and chicken salad sandwiches had a baby and voila! You’re thinking of chicken pasta salad. I don’t know about you, but nothing screams summertime to me quite like a pasta salad. It’s easy enough to make after a long summer day of coaxing your kids to wear sunscreen and feeding the neighborhood kids lunch (and endless snacks)! But it also fits in at the family bbq, your cousin’s baby shower and your niece’s wedding luncheon seamlessly.
Oh, and did I mention it’s versatile and delicious? Yeah, it’s that too. So if you need a recipe to put into your weekly summer meal rotation, give this chicken pasta salad recipe a try.
What is in Chicken Pasta Salad?
- Pasta – You can really use whatever pasta shape you’d like. I typically use mini bowtie or rigatoni!
- Chopped Cooked Chicken – I like to use rotisserie chicken here to make my life easier, but feel free to use whatever cooked chicken you would like!
- Celery – Keep the celery raw!
- Grapes – I prefer red/purple grapes in this salad but green would work as well!
- Green Onion
- Sliced Almonds
- Sour Cream – You can use plain greek yogurt in place of the sour cream, if desired.
- Mayo
- Milk
- Vinegar
- Sugar
- Salt
- Poppyseeds
Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe
- Cook your chosen pasta until al dente. Once done, drain and run it under cold water to help it cool. Cook chicken (if not using rotisserie).
- Prep all ingredients by chopping cooked chicken, celery, grapes and the green onion. Once you have correct quantities, set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayo, milk, vinegar, sugar, salt and poppyseeds until creamy and smooth.
- To a large bowl, add the cooked + cooled pasta, chopped chicken, celery, grapes, green onion and sliced almonds. Then pour the poppyseed dressing over the top of all other ingredients.
- Mix to coat all ingredients with a spatula & serve immediately. If you are wanting to make this ahead of time, make extra of the dressing because the pasta tends to soak up the dressing as it sits.
How do I store this?
Store in the fridge for up to 3 days! Please note, the noodles may soak up the sauce while in the fridge. You can make extra dressing to remedy this issue if you’re planning on eating leftovers later.
How is this best served?
This salad should be served cold!
I have a nut allergy, are there any good substitutions for this salad?
This salad is versatile, so please feel free to remove nuts all together. If you’re looking for something to had a little crunch, try adding in sliced apples or chinese crunchy noodles. I also love adding pineapple, bell peppers, or olives to this!
Recipes Similar to Chicken Pasta Salad
Chicken Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 16 oz pasta cooked al dente and cooled
- 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
- 1 cup celery
- 2 cups grapes
- 1/4 cup sliced green onion
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup milk
- 4 tbsp vinegar
- 4 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp poppyseeds
Instructions
- To a large bowl, add the cooked + cooled pasta, chopped chicken, celery, grapes, green onion and sliced almonds.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayo, milk, vinegar, sugar, salt and poppyseeds until creamy and smooth.
- Pour over the pasta and other ingredients in the larger bowl, toss to coat.
- Serve immediately. If you are wanting to make this ahead of time, you will want to make extra of the dressing because the pasta tends to soak up the dressing as it sits.
- Enjoy!
Shay says
I love you so much, lol! Every single recipe I have ever tried from you has been absolutely fantastic! Thank you so much for being amazing!
Katie says
Followed recipe exactly. Oh, so good! Will definitely make this again. Thanks, Karli!