Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad
This chicken pesto pasta salad is hearty, flavorful and easy to make for summer BBQs, picnics and potlucks!
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 357kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 oz pasta fusilli, penne
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast diced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper optional
- ⅓ cup pesto
- 3 mini cucumbers diced
- 6 radishes sliced
- ¼ cup red onion optional, finely diced
Instructions
- Dice the chicken breast into small bite-size pieces. Sprinkle with dried thyme, salt and optional black pepper. Heat oil in a skillet and, once shimmering, cook the chicken pieces for 4-5 minutes each side or until cooked through. Check for an internal temperature of 165F using a meat thermometer. Set aside to cool.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to package instructions but so that it is a little past al dente, so it has a softer texture. Drain and set aside to cool. You can drizzle the cooked pasta with a little olive oil as it cools to help prevent sticking.
- Dice the mini cucumbers and radishes, and finely dice the red onion.
- Once the chicken and pasta have cooled, add to a large bowl with your cucumbers, radishes, red onion and pesto. Stir to combine so the ingredients are all coated in the pesto sauce. Spoon onto your serving plate or bowl.
Notes
- Adjust the amount of pesto used to preference.
- If you prefer, you can cook chicken breast and then shred with two forks instead of having diced chicken pieces.
- Nutritional information is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- pesto will depend upon ingredients used.
- wheat (pasta), scores 1. There are other forms of gluten free and alternative pasta so use the type you know you tolerate best.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
- red onion is not mentioned. White onion can be used as a swap.
Nutrition
Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 224mg | Potassium: 609mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 412IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 1mg
