Pesto Chicken Salad

This Pesto Chicken Salad is light, healthy and packed with the perfect pesto flavor! Great for BBQs, brunches, baby showers & more! It’s sure to become a ‘go-to’ recipe all Summer long!

Pesto Pasta Salad

Have you ever tried a recipe at a get-together and knew you had to make it as SOON as you got home? This was me after I tried a delicious pesto salad that one of my friends brought to a lunch play date awhile ago. All of my girlfriends at the play date were raving over how tasty it was and I couldn’t wait to recreate this yummy pesto pasta salad recipe! After taking my first stab at the pesto salad, it turned out DELICIOUS! It’s so light and healthy and even husband-approved! This pesto pasta salad is the absolute perfect dish to bring to any get-together!

The combination of flavors in this pesto chicken salad is seriously to-die-for! It’s so easy to throw together and can be eaten as both a main or side dish. This pesto salad is equally as great eaten as leftovers…believe me, you won’t leave a bite behind! This has become one of my favorite ‘go-to’ Summer salad recipes and I have no doubt it will become of yours as well!

How to Make Pesto Salad

This pesto salad recipe is super easy and takes only minutes to make! Once you see how simple and tasty this recipe is, it’ll quickly become a fast favorite!

1. Cook bow-tie pasta according to package directions in a large pot of salted water. Drain pasta & run it under water. Drizzle with olive oil and stir around.
2. Put pasta in large serving bowl & stir in pesto and Italian dressing. Add spinach, chicken, tomatoes & feta cheese. Toss to combine. Salt and Pepper to taste.
3. Cover the pesto salad & refrigerate. If pasta seems dry before serving, stir in another tablespoon of olive oil.

Love this pesto salad? Check out these other pasta salad recipes:

• Easy tortellini Italian pasta salad
• BLT pasta salad
• Buffalo chicken pasta salad
• Cilantro lime chicken pasta salad 
• Macaroni salad

Here’s the printable recipe for Pesto Salad:

Pesto Salad

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pesto chicken salad, pesto salad

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 429

Author: Jamielyn Nye

This Pesto Chicken Salad is light, healthy and packed with the perfect pesto flavor! Great for BBQs, brunches, baby showers &  more! It's sure to become a 'go-to' recipe all Summer long!

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Ingredients

• 1 package bow tie pasta (whole wheat or plus)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup basil pesto (jarred or homemade)
• 1/4 cup Italian dressing
• 1 cup chicken (grilled, canned or rotisserie)
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup feta cheese

Instructions

• Cook the bow-tie pasta according to package directions in a large pot of salted water. Drain the pasta and run it under water. Drizzle with olive oil and stir around.
• Put the pasta in a large serving bowl and stir in the pesto and Italian dressing. Add the spinach, chicken, tomatoes and feta cheese. Toss to combine. Salt and Pepper to taste.
• Cover the pesto salad and refrigerate. If the pasta seems dry before serving, you can stir in another tablespoon of olive oil.

Notes

Instead of Italian dressing, you could also try a ranch packet mixed with sour cream or Greek yogurt in the pesto salad.

Nutrition

Calories: 429kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 493mg | Potassium: 334mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 33.5% | Vitamin C: 19.2% | Calcium: 12.3% | Iron: 9.5%

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