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.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4servings
Calories: 430kcal
Author: Preeti
Equipment
Mixing bowl
Ingredients
Chicken
1Chicken breast
1Egg
1tablespoonSoy Sauce
1teaspoonBlack Pepper Powder
Salt to taste
¼cupAll-purpose flour
1tablespoonOlive Oil
1tablespoonButter
Lemon Herb Dressing
¼cupLemon Juice
1tablespoonLemon Zest
1teaspoonBlack Pepper Powder
Salt to taste
1.5teaspoonfinely chopped garlic
1tablespoonHoney
1teaspoonItalian Seasoning
3tablespoonOlive oil
1teaspoonRed Pepper Flakesoptional
For Salad
250gramPastauncooked
1Onionchopped
1CucumberDiced
½cupCherry Tomatoes
Red bell pepper
¼cupchopped CilantroCoriander Leaves
½cupCheesecut 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.