Chicken Pasta Salad

Chicken Pasta Salad

This is my go-to pasta salad recipe for any barbecue or picnic. I don't think there's a contest as to how many rare and weird ingredients you can throw into a pasta salad, so just stick to a few ingredients you know your family loves, and it will intantly become a favorite. We use to beg my mom to make this salad for us all the time, and now my husband does the same to me. Traditionally we always use Ranch salad dressing. I'm sure there are lots of dairy free salad dressings out there that would be really yummy, but my son's all time favorite is Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing. 

Chicken Pasta Salad

Recipe by Melody Blaser

1 package of tri-colored spiral noodles

1 pound chicken cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup celery, sliced (or more to your liking)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed (or more to your liking)
salt and pepper to taste
your favorite Italian dressing (or ranch if you have no allergies)


Cook the chicken (seasoned with some salt and pepper) in a skillet on medium-high in some olive oil until browned and cooked through. Cook the noodles as directed on the package and drain. I usually put my frozen peas in the strainer and drain my noodle water over the top to help them thaw. Mix the noodles, chicken, celery and peas in a bowl. Pour with dressing and chill. I always add more dressing when I'm ready to serve it too.