Grilled Chicken Bow Tie Pasta Salad

Make Ahead Pasta salad

This is the perfect recipe to make ahead. In fact, we recommend it! This recipe tastes better the second day because all the flavor of the dressing melds with the vegetables, chicken and noodles.

We wouldn’t recommend making it more than two days ahead. After three days, the noodles start to break apart and the chicken may lose it’s tenderness.

We also recommend grilling a few extra chicken breasts whenever you grill. You can knock out two dinners with one night of preparation.

You can use the extra grilled chicken later on in the week to make this Grilled Chicken Bow Tie Pasta Salad.

How To know when your pasta is done

Pasta can get tricky. Even when I follow the cooking instructions on the box, I still feel like my noodles are always  undercooked or overcooked, but I think I have finally cracked the noodle code.

I decided to share my noodle secrets with you.

Step 1: Get the perfect water to noodle ratio. For every 4 ounces of pasta, use 1 quart of water. Just heat the water for now, without the noodles. You won’t add the noodles until it is at a boil.

Step 2: Bring the water to a boil. Make sure it is a roaring boil with large bubbles. Not just small bubbles that you can watch come to the surface. Add 1 tablespoon of salt for every 1 pound of pasta you will be boiling. Add the salt to the boiling water.

Step 3: Pour the pasta into the boiling water and salt mixture. Slowly fold and stir all the noodles in to make sure each noodle has been fully submerged. Cook the noodles for 8-12 minutes once the water returns to a boil.

Step 4: Drain the pasta in a strainer or colander immediately after the noodles have reached their desired consistency. If you wait and let the noodles remain in the hot water, they will continue to cook and get a mushy consistency.

Pasta Salad: The best way to sneak vegetables

Do you have picky eaters that refuse to eat vegetables? Well, this is the perfect recipe for them!

This salad is such a great way to get your kids to eat vegetables. The vegetables also soak up the flavor of the dressing so they taste delicious.

You can add any vegetables you have on hand in this recipe. Everything just comes together to create and amazing pasta salad that you and your kids will love.

We have also found if the kids help you pick out the vegetables and cut them up with you, they are more likely to eat them, because they get to pick their favorite veggies.

They will also want to taste something they created because they will take pride in it. I haven’t had one unsuccessful taste taster with this recipe.

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Serves: 10

Grilled Chicken Bow Tie Pasta Salad

20 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

30 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package Farfalle pasta
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cooked and cubed)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)
• 1 green bell pepper (diced)
• 4 ounces Colby Jack cheese (cubed)
• 1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced olives (drained)
• 1 (16 ounce) bottle Italian dressing
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Cook pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli to the cooking water for the last 2 minutes; drain.
2. Toss chicken pieces, tomatoes, pepper, cheese, olives and dressing together in a large bowl.
3. Add pasta and broccoli, toss lightly.
4. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Notes

This recipe can be made earlier in the day to give the pasta and vegetables time to marinate in the dressing.

Nutrition

Calories

4946 cal

Fat

128 g

Carbs

727 g

Protein

226 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

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