Miss Raven's Kitchen

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Not all pasta salads need mayo! Peppery arugula, tender chicken, and perfectly cooked orecchiette get tossed in a tangy dressing that pulls everything together without weighing it down. It’s the kind of dish that works just as well for meal prep, picnics, or a simple lunch that transports you to your favorite local park on a sunny spring day. Balanced, bold, and easy to throw together, this is a pasta salad you’ll come back to all season long.

Table of Contents:

1. Table of Contents:
2. Why You’ll Love This Recipe
3. Ingredients for Arugula & Chicken Pasta Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette
4. Tips & FAQs
5. Recipe:
6. Check out these other great recipes!

I think I finally found the pasta salad that captures the moment you realize it’s spring. Something light yet hearty, and can be enjoyed outside on your patio, listening to the birds chirp. This pasta salad might honestly be on repeat in my house for a while. It’s a perfect meal prep recipe, so I can easily make this my lunch for a few days and then make even more to have for the next week! You can bring this to potlucks, picnics, or to your girlfriend’s house with a nice, crisp, dry white wine for a girls-only lunch date. This is so incredibly easy to make and only requires a handful of ingredients; nothing too complicated! You already have pasta, chicken, and arugula. It’s already a great salad, right? IT GETS BETTER! Add in some white beans, fresh herbs, red onions, and mix it all in a Dijon-based vinaigrette, and you have the best pasta salad to have ever graced your kitchen.

The BEST pasta salad is more than mayo. It’s a salad that has an out-of-this-world dressing that ties everything together! You almost always see a pasta salad at your barbecue on Memorial Day, and typically that salad includes a ton of mayo and almost no vegetables at all, unless you count celery and carrots as all of the vegetables you need for a pasta salad. Don’t get me wrong, I love a classic pasta salad with that creamy mayo dressing, but sometimes, it’s nice to enjoy pasta without a heavy sauce.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Arugula. Chicken. Pasta. That’s already a “yes, please!” from me. This salad is a meal within itself. It’s great for meal prep, and it makes enough for lunch the whole week. The orecchiette acts as a little pocket to scoop the dressing and the ingredients with it. Juicy chicken, arugula, and Dijon mustard are such a great pairing. It even makes a great sandwich! You get pepper from the arugula and tang from the Dijon mustard, then the creaminess of the white beans gives you complete satisfaction. Add the crunch of sliced almonds, and you have a complete salad. A proper salad, in fact. This checks all of the boxes: a carb, a green, a protein, a crunch, and a dressing to tie everything together. Personally, I always want more from a pasta salad, and this hits hard. Now, excuse me while I make this forever and ever.

Ingredients for Arugula & Chicken Pasta Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette

• Short-Cut Pasta: I like the orecchiette here. I felt it was the perfect pasta shape for this. It acts like a little pocket to pick up the chicken and beans. Of course, you can use medium-sized shells or farfalle, or you can get a little adventurous with cavatappi, fusilli, or mezzi rigatoni.
• Arugula: I like baby arugula for this. It’s harvested early, so the leaves are tender and milder in taste. You can use regular adult arugula if you would like. You can even switch it out for kale. It’ll pair just as well!
• Chicken Breast: Searing it first, then baking it, results in a juicier chicken. Feel free to swap for boneless and skinless chicken thighs, but you might need about a quarter pound more.
• Cannelini Beans: White beans are creamy in texture and on the milder side in taste. It works extremely well with the entire salad. You can use great northern or butter beans for this, but keep in mind the size difference. Butter beans are bigger, and the great northern beans are smaller. If you are making this vegan, add one more can of beans in place of the chicken.
• Red Onion: Honestly, a salad is not a salad without an onion in it. That’s just my opinion.
• Tarragon & Parsley: Fresh herbs are added here for some freshness. I mean, it’s spring, right? Herbs are in full bloom! Plus, tarragon and Dijon mustard are a match made in heaven.
• Sliced Almonds: The crunchy element to the salad! Feel free to swap for cashews or walnuts.
• Dijon Mustard, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, White Wine Vinegar, Salt, Pepper, Honey: The easiest yet utterly delicious dressing to make. Ever. It’s made with typical pantry ingredients, so that’s one less thing to buy at the store!

Tips & FAQs

• Storage: The salad can be stored mixed up to 3 days, but keep in mind that the arugula will wilt when it sits. If stored separately, the salad can be stored up to 4 days. The dressing can be stored for up to a week.
  • Make Ahead: You can mix the salad ingredients except for the arugula ahead of time. Only mix in half of the dressing so the pasta has enough time to soak in the dressing and become even more flavorful the next day. When you’re ready to serve, mix in the arugula and the remainder of the dressing.
• What to Serve This With: This is a meal on its own, but it’s a great accompaniment to some roasted vegetables, a fruit platter, or a nice glass of refreshing lemonade.
• Can I serve this warm? Absolutely. Warm it up for a few seconds, then serve, or mix while everything is warm. It’ll feel like a more dinner-style pasta salad.
• Variations:
  • Add more vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, roasted red peppers, or avocado.
  • Add a cheese such as shaved parmesan, crumbled feta, or pearl-sized mozzarella.
  • Use medium-sized shells or farfalle instead of orecchiette. If you want to use a different shape, then use cavatappi, fusilli, or even mezzi rigatoni (shorter rigatoni noodles).
  • Swap the arugula out for kale or spinach.
• Wine Pairings:
  • A good Sauvignon Blanc is your best choice here. It pairs beautifully with the peppery arugula and tangy Dijon mustard. It keeps the dish lively without overpowering it.
  • Your next best choice is a Pinot Grigio. It’s clean, light, and refreshing. This wine is an easy, crowd-pleasing option that won’t compete with flavors in the salad.
  • If you prefer a red wine, then a light Pinot Noir is best. You can serve it slightly chilled. The soft tannins complement the chicken and arugula without feeling too heavy for a vinaigrette-based pasta salad.

Recipe:

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