Chicken, Cherry & Poppy Seed Pasta Salad
If you’re looking for a tasty, seasonal and simple summer meal idea, look no further than this pasta salad! This might be our family’s favorite meal at the moment. Our two-year-old can’t get enough and I love that you can meal prep this on a Sunday and have it for lunches or dinners all week long. We’re highlighting rainbow chard from the farm, chicken from our neighbors, and local cherries to make up the bulk of this meal. The whole dish is tossed in a creamy greek yogurt poppy seed dressing and is simply divine. Feel free to swap ingredients to make use of what’s local to you. This is a forgiving recipe so go wild!
I hope you and your family love this dish as much as we do. I think this tastes best if you remove it from the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving. Give it a good toss and enjoy!
Chicken, Cherry & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Serves: 6
Pasta- 8 ounces pasta (we use a sprouted whole wheat pasta but any pasta will work)
- 1 pound cooked chicken breast, shredded
- 1 1/2 cup chopped and pitted cherries
- 1/2 of a bunch of Swiss chard, leaves very thinly sliced and stems roughly chopped (you want about 1 cup of chard leaves and 1/2 cup of stems)
- 1 cup whole milk plain greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
- salt to taste
Preparation
- Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cool water. Set aside.
- In a large bowl add the shredded chicken, cherries, chard and reserved pasta. Toss to combine.
- Use an immersion blender or regular blender to combine all the ingredients for the dressing. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.
- Drizzle the pasta with the dressing and toss until evenly coated. Taste test and adjust anything if need be. Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled.
Notes
This pasta keeps in the fridge for 5 days. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before serving for optimal flavor. This recipe is lightly adapted from Eating Bird Food.
Sounds amazing! Do you think it would be possible to sub maple syrup for the honey so I can share this with my 10 month old?
Absolutely!
Delicious! My kind of recipe. Thank you Andrea!
This looks delicious! I have a lot of blackberries right now. Do you think I could swap them in place of the cherrries?
This looks delicious! I have a lot of blackberries right now. Do you think I could swap them in place of the cherries?
Absolutely! They’ll be delicious!
Delicious. Made it w/o pasta (doubled chicken amt) and added toasted pecans!
Yum! Love your version!
Could I use kale instead of chard? I have tons th use! This looks like a perfect summer dinner
Absolutely!