Vineyard Chicken and Pasta Salad
A perfectly light, fresh dinner, this vineyard chicken and pasta salad is crazy delicious! So many tasty ingredients and that dressing…yum!
I’m a huge fan of main dish salads for dinner…as long as they are hearty enough to really constitute a full meal. (Many a dinner salad has lied to me in the past and left me disappointed and hungry.)
This chicken and pasta salad definitely checks that box! Not only is it hearty, it’s also super simple and quick to throw together!

Salad + Dressing
This vineyard salad consists of these layers:
- spring greens
- pasta (your life, your choice of shape!)
- cooked chicken (rotisserie or a tasty grilled chicken)
- grapes
- green onions or chives
- toasted pine nuts or sunflower seeds
- fresh basil
Grapes, you ask? In a salad? Why, yes. The juicy pop of grapes is delightfully delicious with the other crunchy, flavorful salad ingredients.
And once the whole salad is drizzled with the bright vinaigrette, it becomes one of those simple, tasty meals that I could eat every day for the rest of forever.
A Couple of Tips
- Chop the spring greens or whatever lettuce/greens you use. Don’t leave the lettuce or spinach pieces large and unwieldy. Run a knife through the greens until they form a delicious confetti bed for everything else to build upon.
- Consider adding bacon. Quite honestly, it’s my one regret. I thought about adding it. Then didn’t. Then regretted it. Bacon would be fabulous in this salad.
- Eyeball most of the ingredients. While I give measurements down in the recipe, the ingredients for this salad can really become a “more or less” situation depending on the overall vibe you want.
- Don’t forget the crunch. I know pine nuts are exorbitantly expensive right now, so if you want to sub them out for something else, by all means, do. But don’t leave the crunchy bits off completely. The salad needs that contrasting texture with the other layered ingredients! I keep a precious bag of pine nuts in the freezer and sometimes use them just on my portion. Shhh. Let it be our secret.
A Salad for All Seasons
This salad makes a wonderful light meal for the warm summer months. But the ingredients adapt well to all seasons.
And if you want to feel like a total rock star, grab a block of Parmesan or Asiago cheese and your vegetable peeler and grate shards of cheese for the top of the salad.
Restaurant quality right there. And you can take all the credit.
What to Serve with This:
- Easy No-Knead Peasant Bread
- Herb Butter
- Fresh fruit
One Year Ago: Double Chocolate S’Mores Cookies
Two Years Ago: Pink Tropical Raspberry Sorbet
Three Years Ago: Fluffy Baked Pancakes
Four Years Ago: Grilled Hawaiian Chicken
Five Years Ago: No-Bake Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake
Six Years Ago: Fresh Strawberry Cobbler
Seven Years Ago: Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs with Root Beer BBQ Sauce
Eight Years Ago: Thin and Chewy Butterfinger Cookies
Nine Years Ago: Berries on a Cloud {Best Dessert of the Summer!}
Ten Years Ago: Black Bottom Pudding Pie
Vineyard Chicken and Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- 12 ounces bow tie or other favorite shape pasta
- 4 to 6 cups chopped spring greens or baby spinach
- 2 to 3 cups cooked, chopped chicken (see note)
- 1 cup green or red grapes (or a combo), halved
- 3 to 4 green onions or bunch of chives, finely chopped
- ½ cup toasted pine nuts or sunflower seeds
- ½ cup shaved or grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese
- ¼ to ½ cup torn or chopped fresh basil
Dressing:
- ½ cup oil (see note)
- ⅓ cup unsweetened rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- Pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in lightly salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and set aside to cool (toss every once in a while so it doesn't stick together).
- Whisk or blend all the dressing ingredients together until well-combined.
- Assemble the salad by placing the chopped greens in a serving bowl. Top with pasta, chicken, grapes, green onions (or chives), pine nuts (or sunflower seeds), cheese, and fresh basil.
- Drizzle dressing over the salad and lightly toss until combined. Serve immediately.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: inspired by a recipe sent to me by a reader, Heather J. (thanks, Heather!)
42 Comments on “Vineyard Chicken and Pasta Salad”
So so good Mel! Definitely a keeper!
Holy cow, this was good! So much better than I imagined (and I was expecting good things). The “peeled” cheese was a very nice touch.
Dumb question, but what do you think about using a cheese tortellini for the pasta? Possibly increasing the dressing if needed. I just have some I need to use and wondered if it would work.
This was a hit at dinner tonight, kids going back for seconds and thirds. Added the recommended bacon. Yum yum yum thank you!
Took this to a picnic and it was the star of the show! My new favorite salad, thank you Mel!!!
So glad to hear that!
Loved this!!
Thanks, Kami!
I have made this salad twice this week (teenagers in the house). You were right, it is a meal. Don’t forget the bacon!
I’m glad it’s been such a hit for you and your teenagers, Shireen! Thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know!
So good! Great flavor combinations. That dressing is just awesome. I laid all ingredients out separately to assemble what each person preferred. I put half the dressing on the pasta and let it soak in anx served the test on the side. Ised butter lettuce. Thanks!
Thanks for including your variations and how you served it, Debra!
This salad was amazing. Made it the night you posted it. It really is such an easy dinner for a hot summer night. Thank you for another salad in my arsenal!
Thank YOU for letting me know!
Hiding pine nuts in the freezer and only putting them on your portion?? That is totally something I do and it was incredibly validating and made me feel slightly less frugal and selfish. (Also with real maple syrup, and this amazing olive oil gifted to us by my husband’s boss!) Why waste it on people who won’t appreciate the difference, right?
And this salad looks delicious! I just added it to this week’s menu!
Haha, I’m glad I’m not the only one that does that!!
SO good. Requesting this for my birthday dinner next year.
You and me both! 🙂
We made this for dinner last night and it was a hit, per usual with your recipes!! Everybody loved it and no one complained about salad as the main course! Total hit! Thanks for another delicious recipe, Mel!
I love it when that happens, Angie! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
We each made our own individual salads instead of mixing it together. It was so yummy, the perfect summer meal!
Ok, I LIKE that idea. A lot.
Amazingly good salad! Bacon was in fact a great addition. My son suggested adding dried cranberries which we plan to try next time we make it, which is looking like two days from now 🙂 Thank you Mel!
Hiding pine nuts in the freezer and only putting them on your portion?? That is totally something I do and it was incredibly validating and made me feel slightly less frugal and selfish. (Also with real maple syrup, and this amazing olive oil gifted to us by my husband’s boss!) Why waste it on people who won’t appreciate the difference, right?
And this salad looks delicious! I just added it to this week’s menu!
Oops, sorry Becky! Didn’t mean to reply to you!
Your son is a smart guy! This would be delicious with both craisins and bacon!
Do you think craisins and pecans would work?
I have basil and lettuce in the garden that I’m looking to use so this will be a perfect recipe
Absolutely! Both of these would be delicious!
Yummy! Made it with rotisserie chicken. Easy week night dinner.
Awesome, Kelly! I usually use a rotisserie for this, too.
What a great recipe! I accidently used red wine vinegar instead of rice and it worked out. I had leftover chicken from your chicken gyro recipe, which was perfect. Thanks for another great recipe!!
I’m so happy you loved it (and thanks for making it so fast and checking back in with a review!)
I saw the note about the oil. I never do well on making these salads that amazing. Please tell me which oil you used.
I usually use canola oil or avocado oil. 🙂
When do you add the pasta? Looks like a great salad. We have enjoyed many of your recipes.
Thanks, Sheri! Add the pasta right on top of the chopped greens (just fixed the recipe – thanks for the heads up!)
In the photos, did you use cascatelli shaped pasta?
I can’t remember the name of it (sorry!), but I picked it up at Trader Joe’s.
It looks like cascatelli (available at trader joes.). Check out the sporkfull podcast. Dan designed this shape and took us along for the ride.
Another yummy looking recipe! Just wanted to pop into your comments and tell you that looking for recipes on your website is a regular occurrence at our house… thanks so much! Enjoy your sense of humour too! 🙂
Thank you so much, Sus! 🙂
Aaahhhh you used Cascatelli!! It’s my new favourite after listening to the podcast series about the invention of it.
Looking forward to trying this recipe.