Lemon Chicken Pasta Salad

Lemon Chicken Pasta Salad is made with pasta, grilled chicken, lemon, herbs, cheese, and a lot of colorful vegetables. The refreshing flavor of lemon makes it an awesome summer pasta salad.

Craving for something healthy & delicious? This chicken pasta salad with lemon herb dressing is perfect for summer.

This recipe is inspired by my Italian Pasta Salad recipe. The difference is the addition of grilled chicken and lemon dressing to the salad.

Lemon juice gives this pasta salad a tangy punch, red pepper flakes add a spicy kick, and honey balances all the sharp flavors. This easy pasta salad is packed up with all the addictive flavors.

Recipe features

• Quick & easy to make - Just toss the pasta, grilled chicken, and other salad ingredients with lemon herb dressing.  You can make this lemon pasta salad within 30 minutes.
• Healthy - This pasta salad is packed up with fresh vegetables, protein and all the goodness of fresh lemon juice.
• Easy to customize – see the ingredient list below for alternative ingredients. You can add or skip the ingredients as per your choice.
• Good way to use leftovers - you can use leftover grilled chicken to make this salad.
• Perfect for Meal prep - You can cut the veggies ahead of time. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It stays good for a week. Cooked pasta can also be stored in the refrigerator upto a week. Also, you can marinate the chicken in advance and freeze it to use it later.

Lemon Chicken Pasta Salad Ingredients             

• Pasta - You can use Rotini or Fusili pasta. Or make it with any other pasta of your choice.
• Vegetables - I have used cherry tomatoes, onions, red bell pepper, and cucumber. They add fresh flavors, crunch & beautiful colors to the salad. You can add any summer vegetables of your choice.
• Chicken  - You can use leftover grilled chicken too.
• Feta Cheese - To substitute, you can use any soft cheese as a substitute. Or use Mozzarella cheese cubes. Or sprinkle some grated parmesan.
• Honey - The sweetness of honey balances the tangy flavor of lemon juice. To substitute it you can add sugar or maple syrup.
• Olive oil - Olive oil has great flavor & many health benefits.
• Fresh Lemon - Fresh lemon juice gives a slight tangy punch to the taste buds. Also, lemon zest enhances the flavors. It has many health benefits. To substitute, you can add rice wine vinegar.
• Herbs - I have added fresh cilantro. You can skip it. Or add fresh basil or parsley.
• Flavoring - Add salt, freshly minced garlic, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning & black pepper powder as per taste. You can substitute fresh garlic with garlic powder. Or skip it. If you do not prefer spicy salad skip red pepper flakes.

For the detailed list of ingredients & their measurements, please check out the recipe card below.

How to make Lemon Chicken Pasta Salad

1. Marinate the chicken with egg, soy sauce, black pepper powder, and salt. Remove and coat it in the flour. Shake off the excess flour. Keep it aside.
2. Heat a pan on medium high heat. Add oil and butter. Place the chicken breast over it. Cook the chicken undisturbed for 3-4 minutes on one side. Flip and cook on the other side until the chicken is completely cooked.
3. Remove to a chopping board. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes. Chop it into bite-size pieces.
4. In the same pan lightly roast the red bell peppers. This is completely optional step. You can also add red bell pepper without cooking it.
5. Make the Lemon herb dressing by combining all the salad dressing ingredients.
6. Cook the pasta according to the package directions (refer notes in the recipe card). Drain it to a colander. Rinse under cold water. Transfer it to a bowl.
7. To this bowl add the chopped chicken, onion, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, cilantro and cheese.
8. Give a quick stir to the salad dressing and add it to the bowl. Toss to combine.
9. Cover and keep it in the refrigerator to chill for an hour.
10. It tastes best when served chilled.

Recipe Tips and Notes

• Cook the pasta one minute extra. If the cooking instruction for al dente is 8 minutes. Then cook the pasta for 9 minutes. We are not going to cook it further. So better to cook it one minute extra. But be careful mushy or overcooked pasta will not taste good.
• Rinse pasta with cold water - It will stop the cooking process immediately. Also, the excess starch is rinsed with the water that makes the pasta sticky.
• Chicken - Cook chicken in advance. Let it cool down completely. Transfer it to an airtight container. Stays good for 2 days. Or you can use leftover grilled chicken to make the salad.
• Vegetables - You can use any summer vegetables of your choice.
• Tastes best when served cold - After making the salad, cover with a cling wrap & refrigerate for an hour. It tastes best when served chilled. This also ensures that the pasta & the vegetables get enough time to soak the flavors from the dressing.

If you like this recipe, you may also like these easy pasta salad recipes:

• Grilled Summer Corn Salad
• Grilled Chicken Salad
• Chinese Chicken Salad
• Healthy Greek Yogurt Coleslaw
• Spaghetti Salad

FAQs

Variations that you can try     

• Use Tofu or Paneer instead of Chicken to make vegetarian version of this pasta salad.
• You can use grilled shrimp or prawns.
• Add some olives to it.
• Make this Glutten-free pasta salad - Season the chicken with salt and pepper only. Pan fry it. Set this aside. Also, use gluten-free pasta to make the salad.

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Lemon Chicken Pasta Salad

Lemon Chicken Pasta Salad made with pasta, grilled chicken, lemon, herbs, cheese and a lot of colorful vegetables. The refreshing lemon flavor makes it awesome summer pasta salad.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 430kcal

Author: Preeti

Equipment

• Mixing bowl

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1 Chicken breast
• 1 Egg
• 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Black Pepper Powder
• Salt to taste
• ¼ cup All-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon Butter

Lemon Herb Dressing

• ¼ cup Lemon Juice
• 1 tablespoon Lemon Zest
• 1 teaspoon Black Pepper Powder
• Salt to taste
• 1.5 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon Honey
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 3 tablespoon Olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes optional

For Salad

• 250 gram Pasta uncooked
• 1 Onion chopped
• 1 Cucumber Diced
• ½ cup Cherry Tomatoes
• Red bell pepper
• ¼ cup chopped Cilantro Coriander Leaves
• ½ cup Cheese cut into cubes

Instructions

Instructions:

• Marinate the chicken with egg, soy sauce, black pepper powder, and salt. Remove and coat it in the flour. Shake off the excess flour. Keep it aside.
• Heat a pan on medium high heat. Add oil and butter. Place the chicken breast over it. Cook the chicken undisturbed for 3-4 minutes on one side. Flip and cook on the other side until the chicken is completely cooked. Remove to a chopping board. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes. Chop it into bite-size pieces.
• In the same pan lightly roast the red bell peppers. This is completely optional step. You can add red bell pepper without cooking it.
• Make the Lemon herb dressing by combining all the salad dressing ingredients.
• Cook the pasta according to the package directions (refer notes). Drain it to a colander. Rinse under cold water. Transfer it to a bowl.
• To this bowl add the chopped chicken, onion, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, cilantro and cheese.
• Give a quick stir to the salad dressing and add it to the bowl. Toss to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
• Cover and keep it in the refrigerator to chill for an hour.
• It tastes best when served chilled.

Video

Notes

• Cook the pasta one minute extra. If the cooking instruction for al dente in 8 minutes. Then cook the pasta for 9 minutes. We are not going to cook it further. So better to cook it one minute extra. But be careful mushy or overcooked pasta will not taste good.
• Rinse pasta with cold water - It will stop the cooking process immediately. Also, the excess starch is rinsed with water that makes the pasta sticky.
• Chicken - Cook chicken in advance. Let it cool down completely. Transfer it to an airtight container. Stays good for 2 days. Or you can use leftover grilled chicken to make the salad.
• Vegetables - You can use any summer vegetables of your choice.
• Tastes best when served chilled - After making the salad, cover with a cling wrap & refrigerate for an hour. It tastes best when served chill. This also ensures that the pasta & the vegetables get enough time to soak the flavors from the dressing.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 430kcal

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