Our cold Chicken Pasta Salad recipe has spinach, mandarin oranges, craisins, almonds, and parmesan cheese tossed with bowtie pasta and chicken in a creamy greek yogurt dressing. It’s fresh, healthy, and absolutely delicious!
Chicken Pasta Salad is my healthy (and protein-packed) lunch, dinner, and meal-prep hack!
Chicken Pasta Salad is my healthy (and protein-packed) lunch, dinner, and meal-prep hack!This is one of those hearty pasta salad recipes you can enjoy all year round; the ingredients are accessible, it’s filling, protein packed, and tastes light and fresh. The creamy greek yogurt-based dressing is absolutely guilt-free (and adds even more protein).
It’s a great salad for meal prep (just like our other mason jar salad recipes); Divide the dressing between four quart-size mason jars. Add pasta, chicken, other toppings, and add spinach last. Secure the lid and store them in the fridge for an easy lunch throughout the week.
And you can totally serve Healthy Chicken Pasta Salad for dinner, too. I like to grab a rotisserie chicken so there’s hardly any cooking required. Trust me, you need this easy pasta salad in your life!
How to make Chicken Pasta Salad:
Make Dressing: Whisk all dressing ingredients until smooth or use a blender to make it really smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Cook Pasta: Cook pasta according to package instructions then drain and rinse with cold water. Add to a large bowl, add ¼ cup dressing and toss to combine.
Combine: Add chicken, spinach, mandarin oranges, craisins, green onion, parmesan cheese, and toasted almonds. Add more dressing on top (you may not want to use it all). Toss everything to combine and serve.
Meal Prep Instructions (for Mason Jar Salads):
Divide the dressing between four quart-size mason jars. Add pasta, chicken, other toppings, and add spinach last. Secure the lid refrigerate for 3-5 days (depending on freshness of ingredients). To eat, pour mason jar salad out into a bowl, and enjoy.
More Pasta Salad Recipes:
- Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
- Teriyaki Pasta Salad
- Street Corn Pasta Salad
- Cold Noodle Salad
- Pesto Tortellini
- Italian Pasta Salad
- Orzo Salad
- Pesto Pasta Salad
- Tuna Pasta Salad
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Recipe
Chicken Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces farfalle pasta (white or whole wheat) (225 grams)
- 2 cups cooked chicken , chopped (300 grams)
- 2 ounces baby spinach leaves (100 grams)
- 1 11 ounce can mandarin oranges drained
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries (60 grams)
- 2 green onions , chopped
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (30 grams)
- 1/3 cup slivered almonds toasted, (30 grams)
Dressing:
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt , or mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 3 Tablespoons honey
- Zest from 1 orange and lemon
- Juice from ½ of an orange and lemon
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Make dressing by combining all ingredients and whisking until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Assemble: Add pasta to a large bowl. Add ¼ cup dressing and toss to combine. Add chicken, spinach, mandarin oranges, craisins, green onion, parmesan cheese and toasted almonds and toss.
- Drizzle dressing over the top (to taste, you may not want to use it all), and toss everything to combine. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe July 2017. Updated November 2019 and January 2025.
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So good, so easy to prep ahead.
Love the citrus dressing but not the mandarins.
Great as Park City is finally warming up. I used Trader Joe’s orange flavored craisins. YUM!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Made this pasta salad for lunch perfect on a warm day!
This is a keeper!!
I made this as lunch for work. Combined everything except spinach and extra dressing then put the mixture on top of spinach in the morning and added dressing at lunch. It was delicious and an interesting flavor profile. Love your recipes!
This made for a pleasant meal.
This looks so good! perfect summertime lunch idea. Will try this soon!