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Whether you’re looking for a meal prep friendly work lunch recipe to add to the rotation or a new crowd-pleasing side dish to serve to guests, this Broccoli Chicken Pasta Salad will be your new favorite recipe.
Broccoli is combined with tender pasta, diced chicken, golden raisins, crunchy celery, almonds and crisp bacon. It’s then all tossed together in a sweet and creamy dressing in this Broccoli Chicken Pasta Salad recipe.
If you’ve tried my viral Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad or my Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad, you already know you’ll absolutely love this new recipe for my broccoli chicken pasta salad.
Why You’ll Love Broccoli Chicken Pasta Salad
❤️ Sweet and savory pasta salad is full of flavors and textures that keep people coming back for seconds. I had my parents over and my mom loved this recipe so much she asked me to make another batch of it before they left.
❤️ Full of fresh broccoli – you’ll love this crisp fresh broccoli florets that are speckled throughout this pasta salad. No need to blanch them first.
❤️ The best work lunch! This meal prep friendly pasta salad has the perfect helping of veggies (uncooked broccoli and celery), protein and carbs for hearty, tasty, and super easy lunch.
❤️ Versatile – this recipe is so adaptable to your favorite flavors. It you prefer dried cranberries or cherries, swap out the golden raisins. Like a stronger onion flavor, sub red onions for the green onions. You can also leave out the chicken if you’re serving this as a side.
Key Ingredients
Here is the list of ingredients you’ll need to easily pull together this broccoli chicken pasta salad:
Pasta – radiatori pasta is what’s pictured here. You can also use bow tie pasta, macaroni, rotini/fusilli or your favorite short pasta shape.
Chicken – tenderloins or breasts will be seasoned with Italian seasoning and cooked in olive oil.
Broccoli – florets are broken up into bite sized pieces and added in raw without the need for blanching.
Celery – celery is diced up and added for a great crunchy bite.
Bacon – this is optional but wow, it pairs so well with broccoli. I added it after I took pics and regretted not planning for it when I made the recipe.
Almonds – you can use slivered or sliced almonds. You can also sub for pecans or pine nuts.
Golden Raisins – or your favorite dried fruit like dried cranberries or cherries.
Green Onions – these add a light and fresh onion flavor.
Optional toppings – diced water chestnuts, fresh spinach.
Dressing – a combination of sour cream, mayonnaise, honey, dijon mustard, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
How to Make Broccoli Chicken Pasta Salad
Boil Pasta & Cook Chicken
Rub chicken with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Season liberally on both sides with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil while sautéing the chicken.
In a skillet over medium-low heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add in the seasoned chicken and cook about 3-4 minutes per side or until cooked through. Rest 5 minutes then dice.
Cook pasta in the boiling water according to the package instructions. Strain and rinse with cool water.
Make the Dressing
In a large liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, add the dressing ingredients: mayo, sour cream, dijon mustard, honey and seasonings. Whisk until combined. Taste and adjust if needed.
Assemble Pasta Salad
In a large mixing bowl combine all the pasta salad toppings: pasta, broccoli, chicken, (bacon if using), celery, almonds, raisins, and pour over the dressing – reserving 1/4 cup.
Toss all the ingredients together until evenly combined. Add additional salt and pepper if needed. Store in the fridge at least 2 hours before serving. If needed, add in the reserved dressing before serving as the pasta absorbs it as it sits.
My Favorite Meal Prep Tools
How to Store Broccoli Chicken Pasta Salad?
The best way to store this pasta salad is by covering it tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerating. It lasts up to 5 days in the fridge.
Before serving, give it a good toss as the dressing and diced ingredients tend to creep down to the bottom. Add in the reserved dressing if needed and toss again. The pasta does absorb dressing as it sits.
Can Broccoli Chicken Pasta Salad Be Heated?
Traditionally this broccoli chicken pasta salad is served cold. However, my husband rarely eats cold food so he’s put just about every recipe I make to the test by heating up before serving.
I hate to admit, but this pasta salad is surprisingly delicious served warm. Just pop your portion into the microwave for about 45 seconds to remove the chill and warm through.
You can also keep the chicken out of the recipe and reheat it before serving. Just top the pasta salad with the warm chicken and serve.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe for this broccoli chicken and bacon pasta salad. Be sure to comment below with any questions or feedback!
If you make these or any other recipes, don’t forget to tag me on IG @BadBatchBaking to be featured on my story. Seeing your recreations makes my day!
Broccoli Chicken Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb. short pasta like radiatore, rotini or bow tie pasta
- 1 lb. chicken breasts or tenderloins
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoons Italian seasoning or Weber Kick'n Chicken seasoning for a spicier version
- 6-8 strips cooked bacon diced
- 3 cups broccoli florets cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3/4 cup diced celery
- 3/4 cup almonds slivered or sliced
- 1/2 cup golden raisins dried cranberries or cherries also work
- 1/3 cup green onions diced
- optional toppings** water chestnuts and baby spinach, see notes
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise or light mayonnaise
- 1 cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt
- 2 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustad
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
- salt to taste start with 1/4 tsp and work your way up
Instructions
- Rub chicken with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Season liberally on both sides with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning (or Kick'n Chicken seasoning if you prefer spicier seasoning).
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil while sautéing the chicken.
- In a skillet over medium-low heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add in the seasoned chicken and cook about 3-4 minutes per side or until cooked through. Rest 5 minutes then dice.
- Cook pasta in the boiling water according to the package instructions. Strain and rinse with cool water.
- In a large liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, add the dressing ingredients: mayo, sour cream, dijon mustard, honey and seasonings. Whisk until combined. Taste and adjust if needed.
- In a large mixing bowl combine all the pasta salad toppings: pasta, broccoli, chicken, bacon, celery, almonds, raisins, and pour over the dressing – reserving 1/4 cup.
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. Serve with reserved dressing if needed and give everything a toss.
Notes
- 1/2 cup diced water chestnuts
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach ( if using, only add 2 cups broccoli)
- 1/3 cup diced red onions instead of green onions
- dried cranberries instead of golden raisins
- dried cherries instead of golden raisins
- you can easily skip chicken if serving as a side dish
- pine nuts or diced pecans instead of almonds
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Here are some additional photos for your Pinterest boards:
