Chicken Macaroni Pasta Salad
Chicken Macaroni Pasta Salad is a healthy lunch your family will love. It's a nutritious take on a classic, packed with extra veggies.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry elbow macaroni pasta (higher protein option) I like to look for a higher protein option like chickpeas pasta or Catelli Protein+
- 1 lb chicken breast cooked and cubed (I recommend using this recipe)
- ½ cup celery diced
- ½ cup red bell pepper diced
- ½ cup orange bell pepper diced
- ½ cup matchstick carrots
- ½ cup red onion *see note below
- ½ cup dill pickles diced
For the dressing:
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoon mayonnaise optional, see note below
- 1 tablespoon classic dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoon white vinegar
- 2 tablespoon fresh dill
- 2 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder optional for colour and a bit more flavour
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Cook chicken breast.
- In a large bowl combine the cooked pasta, diced celery, bell peppers, carrots, red onions, pickles and cooked chicken.
- In a small bowl or jar whisk together yogurt, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, vinegar, dill, honey, salt, pepper and mustard powder until smooth.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
Notes
Red onion: if you find the flavour overpowering, I recommend diced the onion and placing in a small bowl of water for about 5 minutes before draining. This helps create a more mild flavour.
In the photo of the ingredients I did use diced carrots. This is definitely an option, however I do typically prefer matchstick carrots.
Mayonnaise: as with all of my salads, mayonnaise can 100% be substituted with additional yogurt. I typically like to include a bit of mayonnaise for a less bitter, creamier consistency and taste, however feel free to experiment and use any ratio of yogurt to mayonnaise that you prefer.
Chicken: I typically recommend using this recipe when cooking my chicken.
For higher protein: I recommend adding some beans like white beans or legumes like chickpeas!
*I have included an estimation of the nutrition information for this recipe below. However, always remember a recipe is so much more than just nutritional content and these numbers do not need to dictate your food choices. Please don't forget that both your body and soul need nourishment! The owner of this website is not liable for this estimation.
Nutrition
Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 304kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 514mg | Potassium: 466mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 2660IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 4mg
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