Chicken Pasta Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Chicken Pasta Salad with Pecans, Cranberries, Green Onions, and Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing in a white bowl.

Chicken Pasta Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

This cozy Chicken Pasta Salad comes together in just 30 minutes. It's a crowd-pleasing recipe with only 5 main ingredients: chicken, bow-tie pasta, pecans, dried cranberries, and green onions. The creamy salad dressing is made completely from scratch (and lighter!) using mayo, Greek yogurt, mustard, honey, and poppy seeds.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken pasta salad

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings servings

Calories 634kcal

Author Julia

Ingredients

Salad

8 oz pasta farfalle (bow-tie)
1 lb chicken thighs or breasts (skinless, boneless)
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup pecans toasted, chopped
½ cup dried cranberries Craisins
4 green onions chopped

Dressing

½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
salt to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cooking steps

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions. Drain. In the meantime, proceed with the rest of the recipe.
In a large skillet, cook chicken seasoned with salt and pepper, and Italian seasoning, until cooked through. Slice into thin strips once the chicken is cooked.

Salad dressing

In a medium bowl, combine all dressing ingredients: mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, honey, Dijon mustard, and poppy seeds. Whisk until well combined. Add salt, to taste.

Assembly

In a large bowl, combine all salad ingredients: cooked and drained pasta, sliced cooked chicken, toasted pecans, and cranberries. Add salad dressing and toss to coat. Add salt, to taste, if needed.

Notes

Toast the pecans in the preheated oven at 350 F for about 5 or 10 minutes, checking frequently so that they don't burn.

Nutrition