Chicken Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing
Chicken Pasta Salad is packed with flavors and paired with a tangy Italian dressing. It’s an easy side dish perfect for cookouts or potlucks!
Why We Love Cold Chicken Pasta Salad
- This chicken pasta salad is packed with flavors! The sweet caramelized onions, smoky bacon, and tender chicken come together for a bite that’s both hearty and satisfying.
- No mayo? No worries! This pasta salad is dressed with zesty Italian dressing instead of mayonnaise, making it perfect for outdoor gatherings.
- This pasta salad is delicious right away, but you can make it up to 6 hours ahead of time for your convenience. Just keep it in the fridge until it’s time to serve.
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Chicken Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing
PASTA: I’m using tri-color rotini pasta, but you can use any short pasta you like. Farfalle, large elbow macaroni, orecchiette, or cavatelli would all work too.
ADD-INS: You can’t go wrong with crispy bacon and caramelized onions. Add in some Monterey Jack cheese for creaminess and roasted red peppers for sweetness and color, and you’re set!
DRESSING: I love using homemade Italian dressing for this pasta salad. The flavors pair beautifully with the other ingredients… but you can use your favorite store-bought Italian dressing too.
CHICKEN: You can use chicken breasts or chicken tenders, both work for this salad. I like to chop the chicken into small cubes, but you can shred it if you prefer.
How to Make Chicken Pasta Salad
Jump to RecipeSTEP 1 Place a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon, flipping it as needed, until crispy. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Once it’s cool enough to touch, crumble it into small pieces
STEP 2 To the same skillet, add the butter along with any leftover bacon grease. Add the sliced onions and cook until they begin to brown, about 5 to 8 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook for another 15 to 20 minutes until the onions are caramelized and golden brown. Transfer the onions to a bowl for later.
STEP 3 While the onions are cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rotini and cook the pasta according to package directions until it’s al dente. Then, drain the pasta and immediately run it under cold water to stop the cooking process and cool the noodles.
STEP 4 Add the pasta, bacon, onions, chicken, cheese, and roasted red peppers to a large serving bowl. Pour the Italian dressing over top and toss until everything is well coated.
STEP 5 Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve, uncover the bowl, give the salad a stir, and enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
- Using a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken is a great way to save on prep time. Remove the skin and chop up the chicken. You want to have 2-3 cups of chicken total.
- This pasta salad can be made up to 6 hours ahead of time and kept in the fridge. If you chill it for an extended period of time, let the salad sit out at room temperature for 20-30 minutes to let the dressing loosen up. Then stir everything right before serving.
- I really like grilling the chicken for this chicken pasta salad. It adds extra flavor, and I don’t heat up my house by running the stove.
Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe FAQ
What goes with chicken pasta salad?
This chicken pasta salad goes great with all your favorite cookout staples – dry rub ribs, burgers, grilled chicken thighs, and steak kabobs. It’s also great with sandwiches, a green salad, grilled vegetables, or on its own for a light lunch.
Should you rinse pasta for cold pasta salad?
Rinsing the pasta in cold water after it’s cooked stops the cooking process and cools it down quickly. Doing this also helps keep it from becoming mushy and ensures it’s ready to mix with the other salad ingredients.
I’ve heard you shouldn’t do this because it rinses away the starches on the pasta, and the dressing won’t adhere as well. I’ve never run into this issue personally.
Can you make pasta salad the night before?
You sure can. Making pasta salad the night before allows the flavors to meld together beautifully. Just give it a good toss before serving, and add a splash of extra dressing if it seems a bit dry. If you’re using more acidic ingredients, prep them ahead of time and stir them in at the last minute.
Other Recipes You May Like
Chicken Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing
Ingredients
- 6 strips bacon
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 large yellow onions peeled and thinly sliced
- 12 ounces tri-color rotini pasta
- 1 pound cooked chicken breast cut into bite-size pieces or shredded
- 8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese cut into small cubes
- ½ cup roasted red peppers chopped
- ½ cup italian dressing
Instructions
- Place a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the bacon, flipping as needed, until crispy – about 8 minutes. Transfer the strips to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Once cooled, crumble into small pieces.
- Add the butter to the same skillet with any leftover bacon grease. Then, add the onion slices and cook until the onions begin to brown, about 5 to 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook for another 15 to 20 minutes until the onions have caramelized and are soft and golden brown.
- While the onions are cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rotini and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain the pasta and immediately run it under cold water to stop the cooking and cool it down.
- Pour the pasta into a large mixing bowl. Add the bacon, caramelized onions, chicken, cheese, and roasted red peppers. Toss to combine.
- Pour the dressing over the ingredients in the bowl. Gently mix until everything is well coated.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour or until you're ready to serve (up to 6 hours ahead of time). You could serve this pasta salad as soon as everything is mixed if you don't mind things being warm.
Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.