Chicken Pasta Salad with Grapes

Chicken Pasta Salad is full of colorful fruits and vegetables; mandarin oranges, pineapple chunks, grapes, celery, and onions. It’s tossed in a tangy and creamy dressing that makes all the flavors shine, then is topped with crunchy cashews!

Light main dishes salads like Bowtie Pasta Salad are exactly the kind of recipes you’ll go back to over and over all summer long. It can be made ahead which leaves plenty of time left over to enjoy your summer days!

Pasta salad with chicken can be made ahead

If you are looking for an easy, yet incredibly scrumptious go-to salad this summer look no further than this Chicken Bowtie Pasta Salad! It’s the perfect BBQ side dish recipe or light main dish salad!

This salad is seriously LOADED with all the good stuff! It’s crunchy, creamy, savory, and sweet all at the same time!

One of my very FAVORITE things about this salad is that it can be made ahead of time!

We’re always running on the farm until way past normal dinner hours. When we get in the house I don’t want to drag a bunch of food out and make dinner. It’s so handy to grab a big bowl of Chicken Pasta Salad and call it dinner!

LITTLE DAIRY ON THE PRAIRIE PRO TIP: One of my favorite hacks for getting dinner on the table quickly is to make extra core ingredients early in the week and using them later. Make extra of my Citrus Grilled Chicken Recipe, slice it, and add it to the salad. Pasta can also be cooked ahead of time and refrigerated until you’re ready to use it.

Grilling extra chicken really is the BEST time saver! You can add it to so many different dishes like BBQ Pineapple Chicken Pizza, Chicken Taco Pizza, Italian Chicken Sandwiches, Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadillas, Chicken and Ham Quesadillas, or Chicken Chili.

Okay, back to salad! If I’m going to eat a salad I want it to have an explosion of flavors. No boring salads at my house!

I used to turn my nose up at salads that had both fruits and veggies in them and now I’m in LOVE! It’s such a great combination! It’s basically a green salad, a fruit salad, and a pasta salad all rolled into one!

Ingredients in Chicken Grape Pasta Salad

The ingredients are pretty simple. There’s fresh fruit here, but you can also use canned fruit which will save you a trip to the grocery store. Plus I’ve got lots of options for chicken!

I love adding as much as possible to my salad. My boys on the other hand are a bit picky! Feel free to leave out some of the fruits or veggies if you don’t like them, then add extra of whatever you love to make up for it!

• Chicken – I love using leftover grilled chicken. Rotisserie or canned chicken is great too!
• Pasta – Bowtie is one of my favorites for salads because it’s pretty! Any type of noodles will work though! Think macaroni, shell pasta, penne, rotini.
• Mayonaisse – Plain Greek yogurt is a great substitute if you’re looking for a healthy option! I’m not a fan of Miracle Whip but you could use it too.
• Coleslaw Dressing – I like Kraft Coleslaw Dressing {affiliate link}. If you don’t have it you can always make the dressing for my KFC Coleslaw and use it.
• Canned Fruit – mandarin oranges and pineapple (tidbits, crushed, or chunks)
• Fresh Fruit – red grapes are pretty (use green if that’s what you have)
• Fresh Vegetables – celery, green onions (use other types of onions if that’s what you have), or even omit if you’re family is picky!
• Extras- dried cranberries, cashews (or use walnuts, peanuts, or pecans)

How to make chicken salad with grapes

Even though there are quite a few ingredients, this recipe is really easy to make.

STEP 1: Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water.

STEP 2: While pasta is cooking drain mandarin oranges and pineapple. Wash and cut or dice onions, celery, and grapes. Slice or shred chicken.

STEP 3: Mix mayonnaise and coleslaw dressing together. Set aside.

STEP 4: Add all ingredients except dressing to a large bowl.

STEP 5: Pour dressing over salad. Gently toss to coat.

STEP 5: Serve or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chicken salad recipe with grapes

The trick to getting my boys to eat anything that even begins to resemble salad is adding PLENTY of chicken! If you’re cooking chicken in your pressure cooker or crock-pot then shredding it be sure to see how I shred chicken in my Kitchenaid to make it quick and easy! It’s a lifesaver!

If you love main dish salads as much as you need to check out my Pizza Salad, Chicken Basil Pasta Salad, Oriental Cabbage Salad, and my Steakhouse Salad recipes!

Remember you can use whatever ingredients tickles your fancy! I’m pretty sure once you try this chicken grape pasta salad it’s going to be a favorite!

It just tastes like summer and being on a tropical vacation all at the same time!