Weeknight Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
an easy weeknight pasta salad with grilled chicken, peppers, green onions, lots of herbs, a balsamic vinaigrette, and parmesan cheese
servings: 4
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 3 red bell peppers, stemmed + halved
- 4 green onions
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- ¾ lb whole grain penne pasta
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup olive oil, plus more as needed
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- ½ cup basil leaves, roughly torn
- grated parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the grill over high heat. Coat the chicken, red peppers, and green onions in olive oil and season well with salt and black pepper. Grill the chicken and red peppers, covered, for about 6 minutes per side (or until slightly charred and cooked through) and the green onions for about 3 minutes per side.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in the pasta and cook according to the package’s instructions.
- Transfer everything from the grill to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the chicken against the grain, roughly chop the peppers, and slice the green onions.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the balsamic vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and garlic. Whisk to combine. Slowly drizzle in the ½ cup of olive oil, whisking continuously. Stir in the parsley. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the bowl of vinaigrette. Let sit for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken, peppers, green onions, and basil. Toss to combine. Taste and season more if needed.
- Serve the pasta salad warm with lots of parmesan cheese and black pepper over top.
Notes
This pasta salad works great for leftovers and can also be eaten cold!