Give your summer meal plan a flavor upgrade with grilled pesto pasta salad!
Product links in this post are affiliate links. It does not cost you anything and helps maintain the free information on this site, as well as answer the questions of “what brand do you use?” Please know I never personally recommend any product I wouldn’t use on my own family.
Sun, sand, paddle boards…and summer meal plans!
We are *so* ready! Summer break starts this week, and we didn’t waste any time over the weekend getting down to the water to enjoy the warmer weather and sunshine! I also busted out our first pasta salad dinner of the season, and my crew was thrilled that it included their favorite pesto.
Pasta salad with a flavor upgrade!
Pasta salad is a summer staple dinner around here, and over the last couple of summers, I’ve played around with adding various grilled summer veggies along with the grilled protein to give the salad more flavor. Turns out my kids *love* summer squash when it is grilled. The only way I have ever been able to get them to enjoy summer squash is in a soup form! They absolutely devour it when it is grilled. I encourage you to try it with your kids too!
The Method :: Making the Pesto
To get started, you’ll want to make the pesto. This will ultimately get mixed into the entire pasta salad. The recipe is large. I tend to make more than I need because my kids fight over who gets extra pesto if I don’t! You can start with using half of the pesto in the pasta salad, and add more if you like it saucier. Simply pulse everything in the food processor except the olive oil. Then stream the olive oil in while the processor is blending to create a creamy pesto sauce.
The Method :: Grill the Chicken
Next, you’ll rub the chicken with the seasonings and grill it. You can use an outdoor grill or grill pan inside. Let the chicken rest while you prepare the rest of the pasta salad so that the chicken retains it’s juices.
Let’s talk about the veggie stars of the show!
I already mentioned that my crew has never been huge fans of summer squash unless it is blended in a soup. Grilling it has been magic for some reason though, so I load it up in this pasta salad, along with chopped broccoli. The tiny tomatoes add a fun burst of flavor and color, and who doesn’t love growing a little cherry tomato plant for salads in the summer?!
The Method :: Grilling the Summer Squash
If your grill is large enough, you can grill the chicken and summer squash at the same time. Otherwise, take a few minutes before or after you grill the chicken to grill the summer squash. It is *so* worth this few minutes! You can also change out the veggies to what you have on hand. Asparagus, eggplant, zucchini, and peppers all grill up so well! If you don’t have a grill, try using a grill pan like this. It is one of my favorite kitchen tools!
Assemble the pesto pasta salad!
You can get your pasta boiling while you tend to the chicken and veggie grilling. By the time all of that is done, the pasta should be boiled, and you’ll be ready to assemble your pasta salad! Toss the cooked pasta and veggies with the pesto. Then, slice up the rested chicken and toss that into the pasta salad as well.
Pasta cooking tips for pasta salad
I find that pasta salads (especially gluten free pasta salads) have the best cold pasta salad texture when you cook the pasta just past al dente. So take the boiling process past what the box says by about a minute or so. This will ensure the pasta keeps a soft texture when it is cold. I also find that tossing the pasta in the dressing or sauce (in this case the pesto) while the pasta is still warm allows the pasta to soak in some of the oil, making it keep a soft texture.
Grilled Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the Pesto
For the Grilled Chicken
- 1 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 3-4 medium/large chicken breasts pat dry and filleted lengthwise
For the Pasta Salad:
- 1 large summer squash (yellow squash) sliced on the bias
- 2 cups chopped broccoli florets
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1 12 oz box pasta of choice I like using the Jovial Gluten Free Brown Rice Farfalle Pasta
Instructions
Make the Pesto:
- Put all of the pesto ingredients except the olive oil into a food processor and pulse to combine into small bits.
- Turn the food processor on to blend, and use the drip cup in the lid to drizzle the olive oil into the pesto mixture while blending. Scrape the sides down and blend until smooth. Set the pesto aside for dressing the pasta salad later.
Grill the chicken:
- Pre-heat your grill or grill pan to medium high. If using a grill pan, brush the pan with cooking fat of choice such as ghee, butter, olive oil, avocado oil.
- In a small dish, whisk the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder and then rub both sides of the filleted chicken breasts with the seasoning blend.
- Grill the chicken breasts until they are done. The internal temperature of the cooked chicken should be 165 degrees, but you'll want to pull the chicken off the grill before that as it will continue to cook while it rests.
- Let the chicken rest while you prepare the pasta salad.
Make the pasta salad:
- Get a pot of water boiling, and boil the pasta to just past al dente. I find that pasta salads (especially gluten free pasta salads) have the best cold pasta salad texture when you cook the pasta just past al dente.
- Brush your grill or grill pan with cooking fat of choice and grill the summer squash rounds for a few minutes. I like mine to be crisp tender, but if you want them softer you can grill them for longer.
- Drain the boiled pasta, and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking. Toss the cooked pasta with the veggies and at least half of the pesto sauce. You can add more pesto to your liking.
- Slice the rested chicken and toss into the pasta salad.
Notes
- Change out the veggies to what you have on hand. Asparagus, eggplant, zucchini, and peppers all grill up so well!
