Farmers' market chicken pasta salad

Farmers' Market Chicken Pasta Salad is an easy, delicious summer dinner. It's loaded with all kinds of fresh veggies (and a fruit) easily found at your local farmers market.

Welcome to Farmers Market Week! I participated last year, and was excited to participate again this year. This week, many bloggers will share recipes using ingredients found at their local farmers markets.

As you may know, I moved over the summer, so I'm no longer living near one of the best farmers markets in Philadelphia, Headhouse Farmers Market. But, I now live within walking distance of my new borough's farmers market, so I'm happy!

Today, I'm sharing a main course salad that combines shredded chicken, tortellini, peaches, basil, and lots of veggies. I also made a Parmesan vinaigrette to go with it.

Depending on how large your farmers market is, you could potentially get nearly all of the ingredients there. I have visited several that sell handmade pastas, small-batch vinegars, and flavored olive oils.

I served this salad to my husband for dinner after making it for the blog, and he said, sounding rather surprised, how good it was. He was hesitant about the peaches in the savory salad, but was pleased with how good it tasted.

This is a great meal to make when it's just too hot out to turn on your oven. If you don't have leftover cooked chicken meat lying around, use a store-bought rotisserie chicken. But what I like to do is buy family packs of chicken when they are on sale. I'll cook the whole package, use part of it right away, then freeze the rest in small portions for use in other recipes.

I used cheese tortellini in this recipe but you could also use penne, rigatoni, ziti or other short pasta shapes. I used tortellini because I can get my son to eat a deconstructed version of this salad: tortellini with a side of red bell pepper, mozzarella balls and peach slices. Hey, whatever gets them to eat veggies, right?

There are many ways to customize this salad. The original Southern Living recipe included corn, but I hate stripping kernels from the cob, so I omitted it, but include it if you like. Sugar snap peas or blanched asparagus spears would also be delicious additions.

Continue to Content

Farmers' Market Chicken Pasta Salad

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 7 minutes

Total Time: 27 minutes

Farmers' Market Chicken Pasta Salad is an easy, delicious summer dinner. It's loaded with all kinds of fresh veggies (and a fruit) easily found at your local farmers market.

Print

Ingredients

For the salad

• 10 oz cheese tortellini
• 8 oz cooked chicken thighs, shredded
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin 1-inch-long strips
• 1 ripe fresh peach, diced
• ⅓ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
• 4 oz mini mozzarella balls, halved

For the vinaigrette

• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the tortellini according to package directions to al dente. Drain, set aside to cool. Refrigerate if not continuing with the recipe immediately.
2. Place the shredded chicken, tomatoes, zucchini, bell pepper, peaches, mozzarella and basil in a large bowl.
3. Add the cooled tortellini, toss to combine and distribute the ingredients.
4. Place the parmesan cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper in a small food processor. Process for several seconds to emulsify the oil and vinegar, and chop the garlic.
5. Add the basil and pulse a few times to incorporate.
6. Serve the salad with the vinaigrette.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn a small percentage from qualifying purchases.

• 
  OXO Good Grips Little Salad Dressing Shaker, Green
• 
  2.5 Quarts Porcelain Serving Bowls - 2 Pack, White, Stackable
• 
  KitchenAid 3.5 Cup Mini Food Processor, Aqua Sky Blue

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 439Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 79mgSodium: 543mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 2gSugar: 9gProtein: 22g

I am not a certified nutritionist. This nutrition information is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only.

Did you love this recipe?

Leave a star rating below and share it on social media!

Adapted from Southern Living

Monday’s Farmer’s Market Week Recipes

• Baba Ganoush (Roasted Eggplant Dip) by Books n’Cooks
• Banana Spice Waffles with Peanut Butter Syrup by Family Around the Table
• Black Bean and Corn Salad by Palatable Pastime
• Blaukraut by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins by Tip Garden
• Bruschetta Chicken Tacos by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Dandelion Jelly by Daily Dish Recipes
• Farmers Market Chicken Pasta Salad by The Redhead Baker
• Herb Salad with Lemons by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Herb Vegetable Orzo Salad by Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Lamb Burger with Purslane Aioli by The Spiffy Cookie
• Lemon Garlic Scape White Bean Dip by Savory Moments
• Lemony Summer Roasted Green Beans by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Mexican Street Corn by Our Good Life
• Open-Faced Tomato Sandwiches by Cookaholic Wife
• Southern Corn Relish by The Freshman Cook
• Spinach Ricotta Pierogies by Cindy's Recipes and Writings