This Greek pasta salad with chicken is an excellent meal-planning dish. It makes for a well-rounded lunch or a hearty snack.
Greek pasta salad with chicken is a light and flavourful dish. It has all the nutrients you need in a hearty meal and it doesn’t take long to make.
Because this pasta salad only gets better with time it’s the perfect dish for meal prep. Make it on a Sunday afternoon and you’ll have plenty of lunches for the week.
Don’t forget that this pasta salad is full of beautiful colours as well. This makes it a great candidate for a party appetizer!
Preparing Greek Pasta Salad with Chicken
Ingredients
Rotini pasta: Usually about 2 inches in length this delicious pasta is bouncy and thanks to its screw-like thread it catches all the flavours of the other ingredients. This pasta is often confused with fusilli which is actually a collection of strands shaped into a spring-like shape.
Grape tomatoes: Tomatoes are actually a fruit, despite most people believing them to be vegetables. Grape tomatoes are a type of small and usually oval tomato. They are meatier than cherry tomatoes but not as sweet.
Red onion: Red onions have a purply reddish colour and are an important addition to this recipe. It has a nice mild flavour both in its raw form and cooked.
Kalamata olives: Named after a city in Greece, these fruits are small, oval-shaped and have a purple hue.
Bell pepper: Though they are technically a fruit, bell peppers are typically used as a vegetable in cooking. Bell peppers are high in vitamins C and A. The red pepper adds a bit of crisp sweetness to this dish while the green pepper adds an earthy undertone.
Feta cheese: A brined cheese, feta is usually made from sheep’s milk. It is pressed into cubes and aged in brine. Its texture is medium-soft and crumbled.
Rotisserie chicken: A whole chicken that has been cooked on a rotisserie where it is spun directly in front of the heat source. The constant rotation of the rotisserie ensures very evenly baked chicken and most importantly skin. Flavours vary depending on what seasoning is added to the chicken before roasting.
How to Make Greek Pasta Salad with Chicken
Add water to a large pot and set to boil.
Start by making the dressing to give it a chance to merry. Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a small jar or bowl and set aside.
Once the water comes to a boil, add the noodles to the pot and cook according to the package instructions.
TIP: Place a wooden spoon over the pot with the pasta to prevent it from boiling over. Also, make sure that the heat is not too high.
Next, prep all the ingredients. Dice the tomatoes, red onions, bell pepper, rotisserie chicken, and feta cheese and slice the olives if they are not pre-sliced.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain it in a colander and rinse it with cold water. Shake off
as much of the excess water as you can.
Add the dried and cooled noodles to a large bowl, top with the prepped ingredients and cover with the dressing. Toss everything to coat and serve.
Substitutions
Rotini pasta: You can use any noodles that you like. The best noodles are ones that will hold on to the other ingredients and the dressing so that you get all the goodness in each bite.
Rotisserie Chicken: There are a few things you can do here. If you want to stick with chicken, any cut of chicken will be great. If you would like to make this a vegetarian meal you can replace the chicken with chickpeas or crispy tofu. Or, you can skip the protein altogether!
Bell peppers: If you’re not a fan of peppers or don’t have any on hand, add some cucumber instead.
Serving Greek Pasta Salad with Chicken
This pasta salad is a complete meal. We added the chicken to get that much-needed protein which rounds out this meal’s nutritional content. You have veggies, dairy, protein and carbs and all of the flavour you could want.
If you skip the chicken this pasta salad makes the perfect side dish to your protein.
Let us know in the comments if you have any questions. And if you like this recipe be sure to leave us a five-star rating below.
Are you looking for dinner ideas? Check out our recipes:
Greek Pasta Salad with Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- Knife and cutting board
- Medium pot
- Medium pan
- Colander
Ingredients
- 250 g rotini pasta
- 75g cup grape tomatoes (½ cup)
- 35g cup red onion (1/3 cup)
- ¼ cup kalamata olives pitted, sliced
- 65g red bell pepper (½ cup)
- 65g green bell pepper (½ cup)
- 90g cup feta cheese (½ cup)
- 185g chicken breast from a rotisserie chicken or baked chicken breast (1 chicken breast)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- G&K Greek salad dressing (4 servings)
Instructions
- Add water to a large pot and set to boil.
- Start by making the dressing to give it a chance to merry. Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a small jar or bowl and set aside.G&K Greek salad dressing
- Once the water comes to a boil, add the noodles to the pot and cook according to the package instructions.250 g rotini pasta
- Next, prep all the ingredients. Dice the tomatoes, red onions, bell pepper, rotisserie chicken, and feta cheese and slice the olives if they are not pre-sliced.75g cup grape tomatoes, 35g cup red onion, ¼ cup kalamata olives, 65g red bell pepper, 65g green bell pepper, 90g cup feta cheese, 185g chicken breast from a rotisserie chicken or baked chicken breast, Salt and pepper to taste
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain it in a colander and rinse it with cold water. Shake off as much of the excess water as you can.250 g rotini pasta
- Add the dried and cooled noodles to a large bowl, top with the prepped ingredients and cover with the dressing. Toss everything to coat and serve.
