Italian Chicken Pasta Salad — This Italian Chicken Pasta Salad is easy, ready in 20 minutes, and showcases some of my favorite summer ingredients. It’s perfect for summer potlucks and BBQs, or as a no-fuss family dinner!

The Best Italian Pasta Salad

I eat tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil year-round. Love them. That’s my go-to trifecta for salads, but everything just tastes so much better in the summer. There’s flavor and texture galore in every bite of this dish.

Tender chicken, al dente pasta, juicy tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, the peppery bite of basil, salty parmesan cheese, all perfumed with lemon juice, lemon zest, and Italian seasoning.

It’s healthy, perfect for busy nights, and makes a big enough batch that you can have some planned leftovers for work or school lunches. You can serve it warm or chilled, and since there’s no mayo it’s great for potlucks, picnics, and parties.

What’s in Italian Chicken Pasta Salad?

To make this tri color pasta salad with Italian dressing, you’ll need:

• Rotini pasta
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice and zest
• Apple cider vinegar
• Italian seasoning
• Cayenne pepper
• Chicken breasts
• Roma tomatoes
• Fresh basil
• Cucumber
• Grated Parmesan

How to Make Italian Chicken Pasta Salad

To make this rotini pasta salad, you’ll first need to cook the pasta until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, whisk together the pasta salad sauce ingredients (olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, Italian seasoning, lemon zest, salt and pepper). Set the dressing to the side.

Cook the chicken in a skillet, seasoning simply with salt and pepper. When the chicken is almost done, pour in the sauce you just made and let it bubble away until slightly thickened. Make sure to flip the chicken throughout this process!

Once the chicken is fully cooked, dice it into small cubes and add it to a large mixing bowl, along with any drippings left in the skillet.

Add the tomatoes, cucumber, basil, pasta, and Parmesan to the bowl and toss to combine. Give the tri color pasta salad a taste to see if it needs any additional seasoning (salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, etc).

What’s the Best Pasta for Pasta Salad?

I love a classic rotini pasta salad, but any sturdy pasta will work! I’d steer clear of spaghetti and long pastas like that. Rotini, bow tie, and macaroni are all good choices for this Italian chicken pasta salad recipe.

How to Store Pasta Salad

This Italian chicken pasta salad keeps in the fridge for up to five days if stored in an air-tight container. This can be enjoyed as a cold pasta salad straight from the fridge, or you can warm it up just before serving the leftovers.

You may need to toss the homemade pasta salad leftovers to redistribute the juices, too.

Tips for Making Italian Pasta Salad

It’s important that you don’t cook the rotini past al dente. The pasta will soak up the dressing as it sits in the fridge, and if you over cook it you run the risk of making soggy pasta salad.

Also, fresh basil is key to this recipe. You can’t substitute dried herbs in this recipe — the fresh basil really makes the flavors pop!

If you’d like to make this Italian pasta salad vegetarian, you can use chickpeas instead of chicken. To be honest, I haven’t tried this myself. But I imagine this cold Italian pasta salad would still turn out delicious that way.

More Pasta Salad Recipes:

ALL OF MY EASY PASTA SALAD RECIPES!

Easy Italian Chicken Pasta Salad – EASY, ready in 30 minutes, perfect for a hassle-free family meal, and makes a big batch so you can have planned leftovers!! A super FLEXIBLE recipe based on what vegetables you have on hand!!

Skinny Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing — EASY, ready in 30 minutes, feeds a crowd, and is on the SKINNY side!! Juicy chicken, fresh veggies, and the pasta are tossed in a light and tangy homemade Italian lemon vinaigrette!!

Chinese Chicken Pasta Salad – Big juicy chicken chunks and texture galore from the rainbow of crispy veggies! Fast, easy, fresh and healthy! Great for picnics, potlucks, and easy dinners!

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