Easy

Cold Chicken Pasta Salad

Name: Cold Chicken Pasta Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Canadian
Ingredients: 1 lb rotini pasta; 2 cups cooked chicken, diced; 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved; 1 cup cucumber, diced; 0.5 cup black olives, sliced; 0.5 cup red onion, thinly sliced; 0.5 cup feta cheese, crumbled; 0.75 cup Italian dressing; 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped; 1 tsp salt

(464)

35 min8420 cal

By ChickenRecipes.ca Team|March 15, 2024

The potluck staple that shows up at every Canadian Canada Day barbecue, family reunion, and neighbourhood block party from coast to coast. Rotini pasta — always rotini because the spirals trap the dressing in every groove — grilled chicken, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, black olives, red onion, and a simple Italian dressing that soaks into the pasta overnight. Make it the night before and let it sit in the fridge — the pasta absorbs the dressing and the flavours develop into something significantly better than it was fresh. Add feta cheese crumbles on top if you want to look like you put in extra effort, which you didn't, because this salad takes 20 minutes of active work.

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Ingredients

Servings:

Instructions

Nutrition Per Serving

420

Calories

28g

Protein

16g

Fat

42g

Carbs

Fiber3g

Sugar5g

Sodium560mg

Reviews

4.7 / 5 (464 reviews)

Daniel J.

Oct 25, 2025

My family loved this recipe. Will definitely make again!

David I.

Nov 5, 2025

Simple ingredients, amazing results. Highly recommend.

Rachel U.

Feb 1, 2025

Best chicken recipe I have tried in a long time.

Recipe at a Glance

Prep:

20 min

Cook:

15 min

Total:

35 min

Servings:

Difficulty:

Easy

Pro Tips

1Always rinse the pasta with cold water — it stops the cooking and washes off starch that makes cold pasta gummy.
2The salad absorbs dressing overnight. Before serving, add 2-3 tablespoons of extra dressing and toss again.
3This serves 8 easily — make the full batch. It disappears faster than you'd expect at any gathering.

Variations

Greek pasta salad: add Kalamata olives, cucumber, and a Greek vinaigrette instead of Italian.
Southwest version: add corn, black beans, and a cilantro-lime dressing.
Pesto version: replace Italian dressing with basil pesto thinned with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

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