This Chicken Pasta Salad is a must make. The flavors combine in the most amazing way, making it a pasta salad you will whip up on repeat.
I really have never met a pasta salad I didn’t like. They are honestly some of my favorite recipes, and were some of my first viral recipes (specifically my Taco Pasta Salad and my Crab Pasta Salad).
This Chicken Pasta Salad is full of delicious veggies, chicken, and bacon, and has the best creamy sauce to go with it. It makes a nice big batch, making it perfect to bring to parties or make at the start of the work week. Everyone will want this recipe.
How to Make Pasta Salad with Chicken
Here is a brief overview of how this cold chicken pasta salad recipe comes together. For the full recipe, including all ingredients, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Prepare and Combine Salad Ingredients
In a very large bowl, mix the cooked pasta, cooked chicken, bacon, celery, bell pepper, red onion, baby spinach, and cherry tomatoes.
Make the Dressing
Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. Taste the dressing and adjust the flavor as needed. Add more salt and pepper as needed. If the dressing is tart from the vinegar, add a dash more sugar. If it is at all sweet, you can balance that with teaspoon more of vinegar.
Put it All Together
Pour the dressing over the other ingredients and toss to combine. Make sure everything is well coated.
Tips and Tricks
- Prepare your ingredients in advance: Cook and chop the bacon, cook the pasta, cook and cube the chicken, storing everything in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator so that when you are ready to make your salad, everything is cold and you can combine it quickly. For best results, add the dressing right before serving.
- Cooking pasta for pasta salad: This recipe can be made with any short pasta, such as penne or rotini. You can find all of my tips and tricks for cooking pasta here: How to Cook Pasta.
- Switch out the pasta: This recipe calls for fusili, which are really fat spiral noodles. But other pasta like rotini, penne, or farfalle (bow tie pasta).
- Using a rotisserie chicken: Using a rotisserie chicken for this recipe is a great shortcut. Otherwise, you can boil or bake chicken and cube it for this pasta salad.
Storing Leftovers
This Chicken and Pasta Salad recipe can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days. Always use your best discretion when storing and eating leftovers. If this salad sits out for more than two hours, toss any remaining salad.
If you make this Chicken Pasta Salad recipe or any of my other recipes, I’d love to hear what you think and how you enjoyed it! Leave a comment and let me know.
Chicken Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Pasta Salad
- 1 pound fusilli pasta (453.6 grams)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups cubed cooked chicken see note (295 grams)
- 4 sliced bacon diced and cooked until crisp
- 3 stalks celery diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1/2 small red onion diced small
- 2 cups baby spinach (40 grams)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half (148 grams)
Dressing
- 1 1/2 cups low-fat sour cream
- 1/2 cup low-fat mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (if using table salt, start with half)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a roaring boil. Add the dry pasts and kosher salt. Cook pasta for the length of time indicated on the box. Drain and rinse with cold water. While the pasta is cooking, cook the bacon, dice the vegetables, and prepare the sauce.1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 pound fusilli pasta
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings as desired, you may need to add more salt, pepper, or garlic powder.1 1/2 cups low-fat sour cream, 1/2 cup low-fat mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- In a very large bowl, mix the cooked pasta, cooked chicken, bacon, celery, bell pepper, red onion, baby spinach, and cherry tomatoes.2 cups cubed cooked chicken, 4 sliced bacon, 3 stalks celery, 1 red bell pepper, 1/2 small red onion, 2 cups baby spinach, 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- Pour the dressing over the pasta and veggies and stir to combine. Serve right away, or refrigerate and serve within 48 hours.
Notes
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