Cold Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe with a Rainbow of Veggies

This cold chicken pasta salad recipe includes a wide variety of fresh vegetables for added flavor and crunch.  A seriously healthy homemade pasta salad that goes great in lunch boxes or for picnics. 

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close up of chicken pasta salad with vegetables

Pasta Salads for lunch or dinner!

This week marks the second week back to school for my teenagers. They are less than thrilled (of course) and when asked what their favorite part of the school day is, the answer is usually lunch.

This cold chicken pasta salad recipe was tucked into their lunch boxes this week in an effort to send something other than sandwiches with them every day. Last year, they got VERY sick of sandwiches! Its hard to come up with healthy lunch box ideas, though.

Especially lunches that don’t require heating up. They really enjoyed this pasta salad recipe and I like that there are a ton of different vegetables mixed in to make it a bit healthier.

Cold Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe

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What I love about cold pasta salads

The great thing about this cold chicken pasta salad recipe is that it is incredibly versatile, depending on what you have on  hand. You could choose to throw in cherry tomatoes and fresh broccoli or whatever other veggies your kids really like to eat raw.

I used a relatively small amount of mayonnaise when mixing this up because my family really prefers a rather dry pasta salad recipe. If you like yours particularly creamy, add more mayo or you could even add an equal amount of plain yogurt to cut the fat a bit.

This cold chicken pasta salad recipe will feed a ton of people or a few people every day for a week. Honestly, it is a HUGE amount of pasta salad! It is easily enough for all 4 of us to eat for 3 days straight and probably still have a few leftovers.

If you are looking for healthy lunch box ideas, make up a batch of this on the weekend and toss it into serving sized containers. Then, just throw into the lunchbox with some fruit and dessert and you are on your way!

 

Cold Pasta Salad Recipe with Chicken and Rainbow Veggies

Cold Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe with a Rainbow of Veggies

Use canned chicken or shredded fresh chicken in this homemade pasta salad.  Combine with a variety of finely chopped fresh vegetables for a healthy pasta salad perfect for lunch or a light summer dinner. 

Yield: 12 to 16 servings

Cold Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe with a Rainbow of Veggies

Cold Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe

Need healthy lunch box ideas? This cold chicken pasta salad recipe with a rainbow of veggies will be a big hit. It is a super easy pasta salad recipe!

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 box (12 to 16 ounces) elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions.
  • 2 cans chicken breast (or 1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded)
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
  • 1 cup shredded carrot
  • 3 TBSP fresh parsley
  • 1 cup corn
  • 1 cucumber, seeded and diced
  • 3/4 cup to 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 minced onion
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. mix all ingredients into a large bowl and stir until completely combined.
  2. Store in a covered bowl in the refrigerator.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 293Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 245mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 12g

Nutrition information not always accurate


 

Enjoy this pasta salad recipe? Try this one!

Chicken Taco Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe

Chicken Taco Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe

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