Marry Me Chicken Pasta Salad
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast cooked and chopped
- 12 oz Rotini
- 1 cup of mayo
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp each salt, pepper, oregano, thyme
- 1 tsp each onion powder and garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped
- 1 tbsp oil from the sun dried tomatoes
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (plus more for topping)
- 1/2 a red onion chopped
- 1 heaping cup cherry tomatoes sliced
- 1 cup fresh spinach chopped
- 8 pieces of bacon cooked and chopped
Instructions
- You need 1 lb of cooked and chopped chicken for this recipe as well as 8 pieces of bacon cooked and chopped. I grilled the chicken with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder and cooked my bacon in the oven at 400 degrees F for about 25 minutes.
- Boil the rotini on the stove following the directions on the package. Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together mayo, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. Add 1/3 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes and 1 tbsp of the oil from the jar. Add Parmesan cheese and stir well.
- Add the cooked pasta, chopped red onions, chopped spinach, tomatoes, and the bacon. Stir everything together well and top the pasta salad with a little bit more Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator for an hour. Enjoy!
Notes
- Serve the pasta salad immediately or let it chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. After refrigerating, be sure to give the pasta salad a good stir before serving.
- Any cooked chicken should work in this recipe. I grilled chicken and seasoned it lightly with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder. This pasta salad would also be good without the chicken.
- This recipe calls for 8 pieces of cooked bacon. My favorite way to make bacon for recipes like this is by baking on a sheet pan lined with parchment at 400 degrees for 25 minutes!
- I like making this pasta salad with Rotini, but you could really use any pasta you have in the pantry. The corkscrew shape just helps hold onto the dressing pretty well.
- I used Parmesan cheese in this recipe, but you could also add some shredded mozzarella cheese.
- This is one of those recipes that you can customize to your liking!
- If you don’t keep red wine vinegar stocked you could use a little bit of white vinegar instead, but I’d start with a little less because it seems to have a stronger flavor.
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