Pasta Salad With Chicken and Spinach Recipe

Pasta Salad With Chicken and Spinach

The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 20 mins
Servings: 4 servings

This chicken, spinach, and pasta salad is dressed with a flavorful mayonnaise and lemon juice dressing. This is a great main dish salad for hot summer days.

Use cooked leftover chicken, canned chicken, or a rotisserie chicken for this tasty salad recipe. The recipe is very forgiving, so feel free to change some of the ingredients to suit your taste. Spinach can be replaced with arugula or baby kale, and the onion can be omitted if you aren't a fan. Use turkey or ham instead or chicken.

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces pasta (fusilli, rotini, etc.)
  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups spinach leaves
  • 1/2 red bell pepper
  • 12 grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes, halved)
  • 1/4 cup diced red onion
  • 1 medium clove garlic (finely minced)
  • 2 cups chopped chicken (cooked or canned)
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon or a favorite gourmet mustard
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf basil
  • salt (to taste)

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Pasta Salad With Chicken and Spinach ingredients

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  2.  Cook the pasta in boiling salted water following the package directions; drain and rinse well. Set aside to cool.

    pasta in a colander

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  3. Meanwhile, chop the spinach leaves coarsely and diced the red bell pepper half.  

    chopped pepper and spinach on a cutting board

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  4. Toss the cooled and drained pasta with the spinach, red bell pepper, tomato halves, onion, garlic, and chicken.

    Pasta Salad With Chicken and Spinach ingredients in a bowl

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  5. Combine 1 cup of the mayonnaise with wine vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, pepper, and basil.

    mayonnaise with wine vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, pepper, and basil in a bowl

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  6. Toss the dressing mixture with the pasta mixture. Add more mayonnaise, if needed. Taste and add salt, as needed. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving time for best flavor.

    Pasta Salad With Chicken and Spinach in a bowl

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

 

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
1148 Calories
71g Fat
80g Carbs
50g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 1148
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 71g 91%
Saturated Fat 13g 67%
Cholesterol 133mg 44%
Sodium 695mg 30%
Total Carbohydrate 80g 29%
Dietary Fiber 11g 39%
Protein 50g
Calcium 222mg 17%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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