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Bruschetta Chicken and Pasta Salad

by Jamie

Last week my kids and I were out and about town, running errands and making a stop at The Classic Fun Center. That place was brimming with kids roller skating, jumping in the bounce houses and splashing down water slides. Man, was it crowded! Boy was it loud and baby was I seriously beat when we left. All part of good summer time fun, right? We stopped at Costco on the way home to grab a couple of things we needed. I didn’t have a plan for dinner yet (a direct result of summer time fun being in full swing) so I loaded a few things in my cart I hoped would go well with a beautiful bunch of basil I had purchased earlier in the week.

I knew I didn’t want to heat up the oven.

Or the grill.

Or any other part of my existence. (Are you hot? It is so dang hot!)

This Bruschetta Chicken and Pasta Salad is what I ended up with and I am happy (and relieved!) to report that my family absolutely loved it and we had enough left over for a couple of us to eat it for lunch the next day. Hot dang.

If you love the flavors of freshly made bruschetta, crunchy crutons, tender chicken and hearty pasta…I bet you would get a kick out of this salad. You could serve it to your family for a light and refreshing dinner, or take it to your next back yard bbq.

Now, let me show you how to make it happen!

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1. Boil some water and cook the penne pasta according to package instructions.

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2. Find yourself some fresh basil. They have these pretty basil plants for sale at Wal-Mart and Wynco in the produce section.  I used about half of it for this recipe.

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3. Slice each grape tomato into 2-3 slices. Toss them into a bowl and add 3-4 tablespoons chopped basil (more if you like), 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. Give it a taste and add more salt and pepper to your liking. You can add more basil and balsamic vinegar if you like as well. Get wild and crazy, won’t you? You might as well live on the edge for a minute or two.

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4. Slice 8 sticks of mozzarella string cheese into small chunks and add them to the bruschetta.

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5. Grab your rotisserie chicken and remove as much meat as you can from the carcass.

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Chop it into chunks, you’ll want about 2-3 cups total.

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6. Add the chicken and the cooked pasta into the bruschetta bowl. Stir it to combine.

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7. Add 1/2-3/4 C Olive Garden Italian Dressing (homemade version here) or other Italian dressing of your choice. I have seen the Olive Garden brand lately at Costso, Sams Club and Walmart.
Toss everything together to combine. Now if you are planning to take this to a party I would cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it chill out in the fridge for a while. Wait to add the spring mix and crutons until you are ready to serve it. You will also want to freshen it up a bit with more salad dressing just before you serve. The pasta tends to soak up a lot of the dressing if it sits for too long.

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8. When you are ready to serve grab about 5 cups of Spring Mix lettuce and give it a rough chop. Add it to the pasta/bruschetta mixture.

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9. Add 2-3 cups seasoned crutons and toss it all together to combine. Add about 1/2 cup more Italian dressing. Toss it again and give it a taste. Add more dressing to your desired liking.

Bruschetta Chicken and Pasta Salad from Jamie Cooks It Up!!

Serve and enjoy!

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You’ve got to love fresh basil this time of year, don’t you? Mmmmm, the smell is divine. Hope you are having a great summer, everyone!

Prep Time: Cooking Time:
Nutrition facts: NA calories NA fat
Rating: 5.0/5
( 1 voted )

Ingredients

  • 1 (12 ounce) package penne pasta
  • 1 (2 pound) package grape tomatoes
  • 3-4  Tb chopped, fresh basil, loosely packed
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 2-3 C rotisserie chicken, chopped
  • 8 sticks of mozzarella string cheese
  • Olive Garden Salad Dressing or Italian dressing of your choice
  • 2-3 C croutons
  • 5 C spring mix salad, chopped (optional, I often leave it out)

Instructions

1. Boil some water and cook the penne pasta according to package instructions.
2. Find yourself some fresh basil. They have these pretty basil plants for sale at Wal-Mart and Wynco in the produce section.  I used about half of it for this recipe.
3. Slice each grape tomato into 2-3 slices. Toss them into a bowl and add 3-4 tablespoons chopped basil (more if you like), 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. Give it a taste and add more salt and pepper to your liking. You can add more basil and balsamic vinegar if you like as well. Get wild and crazy, won't you? You might as well live on the edge for a minute or two.
4. Slice 8 sticks of mozzarella string cheese into small chunks and add them to the bruschetta.
5. Grab your rotisserie chicken and remove as much meat as you can from the carcass. Chop it into chunks, you'll want about 2-3 cups total.
6. Add the chicken and the cooked pasta into the bruschetta bowl. Stir it to combine.
7. Add 1/2-3/4 C Olive Garden Italian Dressing (homemade version here) or other Italian dressing of your choice. I have seen the Olive Garden brand lately at Costco, Sams Club and Walmart.
Toss everything together to combine. Now if you are planning to take this to a party I would cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it chill out in the fridge for a while. Wait to add the spring mix and croutons until you are ready to serve it. You will also want to freshen it up a bit with more salad dressing just before you serve. The pasta tends to soak up a lot of the dressing if it sits for too long.
8. When you are ready to serve grab about 5 cups of Spring Mix lettuce and give it a rough chop. Add it to the pasta/bruschetta mixture.
9. Add 2-3 cups seasoned croutons and toss it all together to combine. Add about 1/2 cup more Italian dressing. Toss it again and give it a taste. Add more dressing to your desired liking.

Leave a Comment

9 comments

Jodie July 23, 2014 - 10:13 am

OMGoodness… I made this last night for my husband and I, it was incredible!! I don’t think it needs the the spring mix and I added a few capers and used fresh mozzarella. We will be having this again and again. thank you!!

Reply
Denise August 9, 2014 - 12:57 pm

This looks absolutely delish! Another winner Jamie =D A couple of Qs – have you tried it with the light version of the Olive Garden dressing and what brand of croutons do you like? Thanks so much!

Reply
Tami Weaver August 13, 2014 - 6:05 pm

Jamie!!! This recipe is amazing. My family loved loved loved it. I made homemade croutons and didn’t add the spring mix. Simply delicious. Perfect for summer.

Reply
Melanie October 20, 2014 - 11:35 am

Made this last night for a family dinner and it was amazing! I have a gluten allergy so made this with gluten free penne noodles and skipped the croutons. It was fabulous. Definitely adding this to the collection.

Reply
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Anna* July 19, 2015 - 7:33 am

I love bruschetta but the oil+vinegar and then the dressing seems redundant. Why not one or the other?

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