Easy Pasta Salad with Chicken and Vegetables Recipe

Are you ready for a backyard barbecue? This recipe is a perfect, hearty side dish to serve!

Watch how this recipe is made.

Ingredients

1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 6-ounce can chicken breast packed in water, drained and rinsed
½ cup balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
16 ounces uncooked whole-wheat pasta
1 10-ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables

Directions

Before you begin: Wash your hands.

1. Bring a gallon-sized pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
2. Two minutes before pasta is finished cooking, add in the frozen mixed vegetables. Once pasta is cooked and vegetables are tender, drain into colander.
3. While pasta and vegetables are cooking, gently mix the rinsed and drained beans, chicken and salad dressing in a large bowl until combined.
4. Add the pasta and vegetables to the bowl and mix with the beans, chicken and salad dressing. Serve salad warm or cold.

Cooking Tip

• Garbanzo beans are also known as chickpeas. Feel free to substitute any type of bean you like for the garbanzo beans; or, use tuna in place of canned chicken breast. Try using your favorite salad dressing flavor in place of balsamic vinaigrette.
• When selecting which shape pasta to use, opt for smaller pasta such as rotini, macaroni or shells, which are similar in size to the vegetables and chicken. This will allow for better mixture of ingredients and dressing.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 cup
Serves: 10

Calories: 315; Total fat: 9g; Sat. fat: 1.5g; Chol.: 14mg; Sodium: 235mg; Carb.: 46g; Fiber 5g; Sugars: 2g; Protein 15g

Tessa Nguyen, RD, LDN, is a chef and registered dietitian consultant in the food and nutrition industries. She shares culturally diverse recipes on her website, Tastenutritionconsulting.com and YouTube channel, Tessa’s Table.