Summery Chicken Pasta Salad

Published May 20, 2023

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Summery Chicken Pasta Salad – Made with fun mini bowtie pasta, a lemony herb flecked dressing, sharp cheddar, crisp veggies, flavor rich bacon, and tender rotisserie chicken. This is an absolute crowd pleaser!

Club Chicken Pasta Salad

This is a family favorite pasta salad! It’s similar to the taste of a club chicken sandwich meets a ranch salad. In other words it’s completely irresistible!

It has all the best flavors including the unmistakable taste of dill, sweet corn, vibrant tomatoes, crave-able cheese, meaty bacon, bone-in cooked chicken, and a rich tangy dressing. And if you want one more summery mix-in you can also include in a buttery avocado.

It makes an extra large batch which is perfectly fitting for a summer cook out of about 12 people, but the recipe can easily be halved as well for a smaller family lunch or dinner (amounts are included at the bottom of the recipe).

Though you’ll find it also keeps well in the fridge so you may opt to just make the full batch and have the extra for lunch that’s ready to go the following few days.

This chicken pasta salad is chilled and refreshing and perfect for a hot summer day. Plus it’s such a tasty upgrade from traditional pasta salad. So much delicious goodness in every serving!

Chicken Pasta Salad Recipes Ingredients

Olive oil
Mayonnaise
Fresh lemon
Fresh parsley
Dried dill
Fresh garlic
Salt and pepper
Fresh yellow corn
Bow tie pasta
Bacon
Green onions
Tomatoes
Cheddar cheese
English cucumber
Rotisserie chicken

How to Make Chicken Pasta Salad

Make the dressing: In a small mixing bowl whisk together olive oil, mayonnaise, lemon juice, parsley, dill, garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Boil water in pot: Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt water to taste (I use about 2 Tbsp).
Cook corn, cool: Add corn and boil (while turning as needed so all sides cook), 4 minutes. Remove corn and let cool while keeping water boiling.
Cook pasta, cool: Add pasta to boiling water and cook to al dente according to times listed on pasta package. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining pasta.
Transfer drained pasta to a greased baking sheet and let cool 10 to 20 minutes.
Cut corn from corn cobs.
Add pasta salad ingredients to bowl: In a extra large bowl add cooled pasta, corn, bacon, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, cucumber, and chicken.
Toss with dressing: Pour dressing over and 1/4 cup pasta water then toss to evenly coat. Thin with more pasta water as needed (as it rests it will thicken) and season with more salt as needed.
Rest: If time allows let flavors meld in fridge for 1 hour, otherwise it can be served right away.

Recipe Variations

Grilled or canned chicken: In place of rotisserie chicken you could use well drained canned chicken, grilled chicken, or other leftover cooked chicken.
Pastas: Other types of pasta that will work here are standard bow tie pasta (farfelle), mini penne, elbow macaroni, fusili, or small shell pasta.
Cheeses: In place of cheddar try swiss, feta, colby cheese or blue cheese.
Fresh dill: If you would like to use fresh dill just start with 1 Tbsp and add more to taste from there.
Frozen corn: If you don’t have access to fresh corn frozen corn will work as well, just cook according to package directions and run under cold water in a colander to cool.
Additions: 1 diced avocado is a delicious addition to this salad (should be fairly firm but ripe). For spicy heat you can also add cayenne pepper to taste.

How to Store

Pasta salad should not be kept at room temperature longer than 2 hours.
Don’t keep in warmer environments longer than 1 hour.
Store in refrigerator in an airtight container.

How Long Does it Keep?

This bacon cheddar chicken pasta salad will keep for 3 days in the fridge.

More Amazing Pasta Salad Recipes to Try

Caprese Pasta Salad
Chicken and Grape Poppy Seed Pasta Salad
Easy Pasta Salad
Greek Pasta Salad
Italian Pasta Salad
Macaroni Salad

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4.34 from 3 votes

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Made with mini bowtie pasta, a lemony herb flecked dressing, sharp cheddar, crisp veggies, flavor rich bacon, and tender rotisserie chicken. This is an absolute crowd pleaser!

Servings: 12

Prep30 minutes minutes

Cook15 minutes minutes

Ingredients

Dressing

2/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp dried dill
2 tsp minced garlic (2 cloves)
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Pasta Salad

2 ears fresh yellow corn
16 oz mini bow tie pasta
12 slices (12 oz) bacon, cooked, drained and chopped*
12 oz. grape tomatoes, halved
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups chopped English cucumber (about 3/4 of one medium)
1 cup chopped green onions (about 5)
3 1/2 cups cooked shredded rotisserie chicken, chilled
1/4 cup pasta water, or more as needed

Instructions

Dressing

In a small mixing bowl whisk together olive oil, mayonnaise, lemon juice, parsley, dill, garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Pasta Salad

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season the water with salt (I use about 2 Tbsp).
Add corn and boil (while turning as needed so all sides cook), 4 minutes. Remove corn and let cool while keeping water boiling.
Add pasta to boiling water and cook to al dente according to times listed on pasta package. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining pasta.
Transfer drained pasta to a greased baking sheet and let cool 10 to 20 minutes.
Cut corn kernels from corn cobs.
In a extra large bowl add cooled pasta, corn, bacon, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, cucumber, green onions, and cooked chicken.
Pour dressing over along with 1/4 cup pasta water then toss to evenly coat. Thin with more pasta water as needed (as it rests it will thicken) and season with more salt as needed.
If time allows let flavors meld in fridge for 1 to 2 hours, otherwise it can be served right away.

Notes

*To cook bacon I bake in a 400 degree oven on a rimmed 18 by 13-inch baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. It takes about 15 to 23 minutes depending on the thickness of the bacon. Using tongs transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.
Optionally you can also add 1 diced avocado to salad or some cayenne pepper to taste for a kick of heat.
Recipe makes about 18 cups.
Recipe can be halved for a smaller group. If doing so just use these amounts: 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 1/2 Tbsp mayonnaise, 2 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/4 cup parsley, 1 1/2 tsp dried dill, 1 tsp garlic, salt and pepper to taste, 1 ear corn, 8 oz mini bow tie pasta, 6 slices cooked bacon, 1/2 cup green onions, 6 oz. grape tomatoes, 4 oz. sharp cheddar, 3/4 cup chopped english cucumber, 1 3/4 cup cooked chicken, 2 Tbsp pasta water.

Nutrition Facts

Summery Chicken Pasta Salad

Amount Per Serving

Calories 577Calories from Fat 333

% Daily Value*

Fat 37g57%

Saturated Fat 10g63%

Trans Fat 0.1g

Polyunsaturated Fat 7g

Monounsaturated Fat 17g

Cholesterol 77mg26%

Sodium 501mg22%

Potassium 495mg14%

Carbohydrates 37g12%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 4g4%

Protein 26g52%

11 Comments

Cabo Mama
Can this recipe be made the day before, or is better to be served the same day?
- Jaclyn
  You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Thin it with a little oil or chicken broth as desired.
Janey Bardlou
This was colorful and summery looking. The taste was lacking even though I followed the directions completely.
Sylvia deWolde
I made this salad for my son’s first birthday party (bowtie theme!) and it was outstanding. I almost shied away from it because of the long list of ingredients. It is a lot of prep work with the chopping and deboning the rotisserie chicken, if you choose to go that route, but it was worth it! It had so many good things in it, my son absolutely loved it. I loved the combination of all of the flavors and the sauce that it was all mixed in. I would definitely make this again!
- Jaclyn
  So glad to hear it was enjoyed and that you’d make it again! Thanks for your comment Sylvia!
Jody
You are very talented. I enjoy trying all your recipes.
- Jaclyn
  Thank you Jody! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed them!
Jaeda
My go to summer salad now!
- Jaclyn
  I’m thrilled to hear that Jaeda! Thanks for reviewing!
Dil
It’s good but it’s missing something. The flavor needs to be Punched up a bit. I was going to make it for my book club but it just is meh. Any suggestions? I used fresh dill instead of dried. Everything else was the same.
- Jaclyn
  In this recipe I actually preferred the dried dill so I would suggest sticking with that then for more flavor be sure it’s adequately seasoned with salt, add more lemon, garlic and onion. Hope this helps!

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