Dill chicken pasta salad is a wonderfully refreshing summer dish! It’s packed full of tender chicken, juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, salty feta, and fresh herbs, then tossed with a zesty homemade dressing. It’s so easy to make that you can have it on the table in 30 minutes! Serve this pasta salad at potlucks, BBQs, picnics or a quick weeknight dinner. You’re going to love it!
Dill is a staple in Scandinavian cuisine, adding a burst of flavor to traditional dishes. Its vibrant green color and tangy freshness gives gravlax, herring salad, and creamy potato salads an extra kick, and is a key ingredient in soups and sauces. It’s also an important ingredient in this dill chicken pasta salad!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Pasta: I like to use fusilli or rotini because the corkscrews catch and hold a lot of the herbs and dressing, but penne, bowtie, or farfalle are also good options.
- Chicken: Great with leftover chicken rotisserie chicken, grilled, baked, poached, roasted and then sliced or shredded into bite-sized pieces.
- Tomatoes: I like grape or cherry tomatoes. Super sweet fresh cherry tomatoes from the garden are the best! But store-bought tomatoes work just as well.
- Cucumbers: I love using Persian or English cucumbers because you don’t have to peel or seed them! These varieties have thin peels that are totally edible. Of course, you can use regular cucumbers too. They’re just as delicious!
- Fresh herbs: Fresh herbs are key here. They add a vibrant and fresh herby flavor that really elevates the dish. You can use dried herbs as a substitute, but it won’t bring the same fresh herbiness to the salad.
A full list of ingredients with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Variations
There are endless variations that you can make to this salad. It’s already delicious as it is in the recipe, but if you’re feeling adventurous, here are some suggestions to customize it according to your taste and preferences.
- Add some salty briny flavor by adding capers, artichoke hearts or olives.
- Try different cheeses like goat cheese, cotija cheese, or parmesan.
- Change up the protein. Try shrimp, salmon, chickpeas, tofu, or even bacon.
- Use other veggies like bell peppers, celery, or carrots.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
Step by Step Instructions
- To make the dressing, combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, prepared horseradish, honey, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, or measuring cup. Whisk until well combined. I like to use a measuring cup because it makes it easier to pour the dressing over the salad.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a pot of boiling salted water, according to the package directions. Drain, rinse with cool water and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the cooked chicken, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, feta cheese, dill and parsley to the pasta.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until well combined. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Optional – let the salad stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving, giving the dressing a chance to soak into the pasta and the for the flavors to meld. Garnish with extra dill and feta cheese, if desired.
Expert Tips
- Use a jar to make the dressing: A simple hack for making a vinaigrette is to put all the ingredients into a small glass jar, secure the lid and shake vigorously until everything is combined. Easy!
- Use cooked chicken: Speed up this recipe by using cooked chicken. Try using rotisserie chicken, leftovers, or packaged precooked chicken. An added bonus of this recipe is that it helps you utilize leftover chicken!
- Rinse the pasta: This serves two purposes. First, it stops the cooking process and cools the pasta. Second, rinsing removes starch from the surface and help prevent it from sticking together. Just give it a quick rinse though. You don’t want the pasta to be too cold before dressing.
- Dress while the pasta is still warm: When the pasta is still warm (not hot) it will absorb more of the dressing making the salad much more flavorful.
- Add more dressing: If the pasta salad gets a little dry after sitting, just add some more olive oil or dressing to jazz it up!
How to Serve
This salad is ideal when served at room temperature. If pasta salad is served freezing from the fridge, the texture is firmer, and the flavor is much more subdued. When served at room temperature the pasta loosens and the flavors expand. Just make sure not to leave it out for more than a couple of hours to avoid any food safety issues.
Storage
Store this pasta salad in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. If it starts to dry out just add some more olive oil or dressing to the salad.
FAQs
This recipe is not gluten-free, however you can make it gluten-free by using gluten-free pasta instead of regular pasta.
Yes! You can make this salad vegetarian by omitting or replacing the chicken with a non-meat protein like tofu, chickpeas, or tempeh. And, to make it vegan, replace the feta with your favorite dairy-free cheese.
I don’t recommend freezing pasta salad. Freezing will change the texture of the pasta and vegetables and the herbs would lose their freshness.
Yes, you can make this salad the day before, which would give it time for the flavors to meld. I suggest setting aside about 1/4 of the dressing to mix in right before serving. Give the salad a good toss to redistribute any chicken or vegetables that may have sunk to the bottom.
I love using fusilli or rotini, but any sturdy pasta will do, like penne, bowtie, or farfalle. I wouldn’t use long pasta like spaghetti or linguini.
I wouldn’t recommend using dried herbs, but of course you can use them if you don’t have access to fresh herbs. The salad may lose some of its bright and vibrant herbiness when using dried herbs.
Easy Dill Chicken Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp prepared horseradish
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp honey
- salt and pepper to taste
For the salad:
- 1 lb fusilli or rotini pasta cooked according to package directions, drained and rinsed
- 1½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken tenders or breasts cooked, and shredded or chopped
- 2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 cups cucumbers, sliced and halved
- ¼ cup red onion, diced
- ¼ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the dressing:
- Combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, prepared horseradish, honey, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, or measuring cup. Whisk until well combined.
Make the pasta salad:
- Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling salted water, according to the package directions.
- Drain, rinse with cool water and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the cooked chicken, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, feta cheese, dill and parsley to the pasta.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until well combined.
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Optional – let the salad stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving, giving the dressing a chance to soak into the pasta and the for the flavors to meld. Garnish with extra dill and feta cheese, if desired.
Veronica
I love these flavors in this recipe! Can’t wait to try it.
Kristy @kristyskitchn
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it!