Spring time in NC means moving away from soups and chili (my fave!) and toward cold meals. This presents a unique challenge for really active folks/athletes. When working with athletes we see often that this time of year there is a move toward greens based salads, which are typically low in carbohydrate, the key macronutrient providing energy for our working brain and muscles. This pasta salad is perfect to provide the 4 “key” components of a complete meal – carbohydrates, protein, fat, and color (veggies). It can be made gluten free, vegan, or vegetarian with easy swaps I’ve listed below.
Vegetarian/vegan: remove the chicken and add tofu or add chickpeas, white beans, lentils, or hemp seeds to the salad for protein
Gluten free: simply sub a gluten free pasta in! I recommend using the Barilla brand or another simple white pasta that has both rice and corn components. That creates the most optimal texture.
Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 2 bell peppers, diced
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 3/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 3 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, grilled or baked
- 1/3 cup italian salad dressing (or more to taste) I use Wishbone brand
- 1 box penne pasta (gluten free if needed)
Instructions
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Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste and grill or bake to an internal temp of 165 degrees F. Dice and place in a large bowl.
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Meanwhile, cook the pasta as directed on the package.
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While the pasta and chicken are cooking, dice the bell peppers, cucumber, and grape tomatoes and place in a large bowl.
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Once the pasta is done, drain it, rinse with cold water, and add to the large bowl with the chicken and veggies.
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Add the Italian dressing to the bowl and mix to coat the mixture. Add more if needed to desired taste.
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Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*if you’d like to prepare this dish vegetarian or vegan, simply add your protein of choice to the mixture when you add the pasta and mix!
Try this recipe? Tag us @raynorstrengthandnutrition or @lizraynor_rd! Let us know in the comments how it goes!
