Chicken Pasta Salad

This chicken pasta salad combines two iconic deli lunches—pasta salads and Ree Drummond's oh so creamy chicken salad–to make the perfect chilled picnic side dish. Filled with shreds of delicious (and convenient!) rotisserie chicken, crisp vegetables, and pasta, this dish will be welcome at any cookout, barbecue, or in a lunch box! Serve it on butter lettuce leaves for an elegant presentation, or just scoop it onto your plate and dive right in!

What's in chicken pasta salad?

Similar to chicken salad, this pasta salad version has all the classic ingredients such as chicken, celery, grapes, and fresh herbs. The dressing, made from yogurt and mayonnaise, is the perfect creamy binder for the whole dish. The finishing garnish of toasted almonds gives this tender salad a nice crunch.

Should you rinse pasta after cooking for pasta salad?

Absolutely! Once the pasta is done boiling, drain it, then rinse it with cold water. This helps stop the cooking process so the pasta doesn't become mushy, but it also helps rinse away the starchy film so the pasta doesn't stick together in clumps.

What kind of chicken do you use in chicken pasta salad?

This recipe calls for three cups of rotisserie chicken which can easily be picked off of a standard deli-roasted bird. It is one of the most convenient and tasty ingredients at the market! If your family prefers all white meat, get two rotisserie chickens and use just the breasts. (Save the leftover rotisserie chicken thighs for another recipe!)

What's the best pasta for chicken pasta salad?

You can use just about any pasta in this recipe, but short pasta shapes like penne, fusilli, and cavatappi tend to work best in this salad for the perfect bite.

What is the easiest way to shred chicken? 

Start by breaking the bird into pieces and removing the skin. You could use two forks to shred the meat, but it's even easier to control the size of the shreds when you use nature’s tool: your hands! Reserve the bones for delicious homemade chicken stock.

How do you avoid dry pasta salad?

Nothing is worse than digging into a pasta salad only to find that the pasta is dry or sticking together. Of course the salad could be underdressed, but if the instructions are followed, that shouldn’t be the issue. The culprit of dry pasta salad is often undercooked pasta. Finishing a perfectly cooked, al dente pasta in a warm, satiny sauce is a joyful experience, indeed. However, in the case of a cold salad, under-cooked pasta absorbs too much liquid as it sits. This produces a dry mess instead of creamy perfection. Simply cook the pasta for one minute longer than the package suggests and enjoy!