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This Pesto Chicken, Corn, and Avocado Bacon Pasta Salad is the perfect quick fix salad. It’s almost no-cook and comes together in minutes. Grilled pesto chicken tossed together with a creamy, lemony parmesan dressing, fresh romaine lettuce, grilled corn, crispy bacon, and creamy avocado. This pasta is simple to toss together, super flavorful, filling, and pretty healthy too. Enjoy this for dinner and save the leftovers for lunch. Or serve this up at your next backyard dinner with friends.
I told you I was really going to lean into Memorial Day recipes this week and I wasn’t kidding! It might be dark and dreary here, but I’m not letting that stop me from sharing new summery recipes.
Like many of you, for me, Memorial Day marks the unofficial start to summer. It’s finally that time of year for low-key, lazy days, and backyard dinners with friends and family.
With last summer being so uneventful, I feel like everyone is on the same page this summer…live it up and really embrace backyard entertaining and picnics at the park. It’s exciting, right? I really missed summer entertaining and couldn’t be more excited to share some new recipes with you guys that are easy and delicious!
So with that, I’ll stop rambling and move on to this pasta!
The inspiration
Summertime as a kid meant simple dinners at our house. My dad would do a lot of grilled chicken and burgers, but his specialty, and my personal favorite, was his pasta salad.
He would do it up so simply with broccoli, peppers, basil, big chunks of cheddar cheese, lots of olive oil, and hot pasta. He’d toss everything together and the cheese would melt over the pasta. It was SO GOOD. I still, to this day use his trick of tossing hot pasta with cubes of cheddar. Hot pasta equals melty cheese, which equals extra delicious pasta. Trust me on this. I know this may not be the usual way to make a pasta salad, but it’s good!
I took Dad’s pesto grilled chicken and pasta salad and combined them together to make this delicious hybrid. It’s not a simple as my dad’s pasta, but both are equally delicious.
The details on this pesto chicken pasta
I like to start with the croutons. Every salad is made better with crunchy croutons, even a pasta salad. I love making mine with torn ciabatta or sourdough bread and flaky sea salt. They’re so easy to make, I simply crisp them up in the oven. If you can find the time, homemade vs store-bought breadcrumbs are definitely worth a little extra effort.
Now on to the chicken. I kept it easy, yet still flavorful, by simply tossing the chicken with basil pesto. Using pesto is my go-to way to add delicious flavor, yet still keep the recipe as easy as can be. And with all the fresh basil we’ve been currently growing, I’m loving making basil pesto.
I decided to throw the chicken on the grill. Grilled chicken adds that summer flare, and I love the flavor and char the chicken gets from the grill. That said, if you don’t love grilling, you can easily cook the chicken up in a skillet.
On to that creamy parmesan dressing…
This is truly one of my favorite dressings. It’s a combination of creamy tahini (sesame seed paste) or mayo. For this pasta, I used avocado oil mayo, but tahini is great too. Then I whisk in Dijon mustard and add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and plenty of lemon. The mayo or tahini adds creaminess, while the parmesan adds plenty of flavor. I even make this dressing right in the bottom of my salad bowl to save on dishes.
As soon as you drain the pasta, toss it with the dressing while the pasta is still steaming. Then toss in the croutons, lettuce, grilled corn, bacon, and avocado.
You can eat this warm or at room temperature, but me being the hot food lover that I am, I like this best while it’s still a little warm.
Also, though I do love this warm, the longer the pasta sits, the more flavor it develops, so this is also perfect for making ahead. My only recommendation is to wait to add the avocado so that it doesn’t get brown.
It’s as quick and easy as that. What I love most about this pasta recipe is that it really does use some of summer’s best ingredients. It might be early for corn, but we have three months ahead to make and enjoy this pasta!
Looking for other summer salad recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Pasta Salad
Pesto Chicken Caesar Salad with Tomatoes and Burrata
Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken and Avocado Bacon Salad
Lastly, if you make this Pesto Chicken, Corn, and Avocado Bacon Pasta Salad, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Pesto Chicken, Corn, and Avocado Bacon Pasta Salad
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 559 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite size chunks
- 1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons basil pesto, homemade or store-bought
- red pepper flakes, kosher salt, and black pepper
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup tahini or avocado oil mayo
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan
- 1 pound short cut pasta
- 1 cup cubed cheddar cheese (or parmesan)
- 2 cups croutons (see notes)
- 3 cups shredded romaine lettuce
- 4 ears grilled or steamed corn
- 6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
- 1 avocado, diced
Instructions
- 1. In a bowl, combine the chicken, 1/2 cup pesto, red pepper flakes, and a large pinch of salt. Set your grill, grill pan, or skillet to medium-high heat. Grill the chicken until lightly charred and cooked through, turning halfway through cooking, about 10 to 12 minutes. 2. Meanwhile, make the dressing. In a large salad bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, tahini or mayo, dijon, Worcestershire, parmesan, and a pinch each of red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. 3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta to al dente, according to package directions. Drain. Add the hot pasta, cheddar, and 2 tablespoons pesto and toss vigorously to combine. Add the chicken, croutons, lettuce, corn, and bacon, tossing to combine. 4. Top the pasta with avocado. Season with freshly cracked pepper and salt. Serve warm or cold.
Notes
Homemade Croutons: Preheat the oven to 425° F. Toss together 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 cups cubed bread, and a pinch of salt. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until toasted.
I’m preparing this for dinner but wish the instructions were a little clearer. I just cut up the chicken into bite sized pieces but it looks like I should have done that after grilling? And the recipe doesn’t say when to add the dressing? Sorry – maybe I am slow but this is a little confusing. But I LOVE everything I make from your website and cookbooks!
Hey Beth,
I grilled my chicken and then cut it into bite size pieces. The dressing is already in the salad bowl that you are tossing the pasta into in step 3. I hope this clears things up for you! xTieghan
I loved this! Served it to several people and they all raved about it too! I’m having leftovers tonight and can’t wait! Thanks!!
Hey Beth,
Awesome! So so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xxTieghan
I made this to take camping a couple weeks ago and it was delicious. I skipped the lettuce and croutons and added avocado before serving. I used Mayo for my dressing. It really traveled well! Makes a good camping/picnic meal.
Hey Caitlin,
Love to hear this! Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! xTieghan
I made this with tahini vs mayo and I loved it. My husband on the other hand, did not. He’s not a big fan of tahini but because I enjoyed it so much, I will make it again with Mayo and parmesan amd cross my fingers.
Hey Kristina,
Love to hear this! Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Delicious but took forever to put together for a pasta salad. I should have gotten all my ingredients ready earlier in the day!
Hey Donna,
Love to hear this! Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! xTieghan
who used mayo and who used tahini?
I used tahini. I will try again soon with Mayo.
Hey Mary,
You can use either. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Oh my goodness. We made this tonight, smoking the chicken and corn on the smoker. It was SO tasty. Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Katie,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed. Have the best week:) xTieghan
Just made this recipe tonight for dinner and loved it. A bit involved, but worth it (I didn’t have the bacon or corn cooked before I started so that’s as just a little extra work at the time). Makes a TON so definitely take that into consideration. Would be great for a large group or party.
Hey Kelsey,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed. Have the best week:) xTieghan
Umm WOW! That’s about all I can say, just WOW- SO GOOD!
Hi Kate,
Wonderful! That’s so great to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have a great Friday:) xTieghan
Very good. The dressing is top notch and could go in a lit of recipes. I wikk make this again.
Hey Tom,
Wonderful! That’s so great to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have a great Friday:) xTieghan
Hi! I’m excited to make this tonight, but wanted to cut down on some of the prep. Do you think it would be okay if I use a rotisserie chicken and canned white corn?
-Thanks!
Hey Erica,
Sure, those would both be fine to use. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Yum! What a delicious salad that is perfect for summer. I love pretty much everything about it, but don’t “need” the croutons (I never love croutons in my salad)…or the lettuce lol. I’ll keep the lettuce to keep it healthy, because the dressing is so good anyway it makes even lettuce edible. Another good swap or addition would be fresh basil leaves, which I see in the photo, but wasn’t listed in the ingredients!
This recipe is also really easy or really involved depending on what you have on hand. It’s easy to multi-task, but did take more time when grilling the corn, boiling the pasta, making the croutons, cooking the chicken, cooking the bacon, and making the dressing. You could easily do these steps earlier in the week though as meal prepping! (Grilled corn is essential FYI.) I bought pesto, but that too would be an easy meal-prep option (and probably better because store-bought pesto is bleh.) All in all, not surprised that this is such a delicious salad! Tieghan always has my absolute favorite salads that I am excited to eat! (Which is rare, because I hate salad usually.)
Well done, and please continue your master salads! Maybe write a full cookbook on your amazing salads. (:
Hey Emma,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! Thanks so much for your kind message and sharing what worked best for you. ☀️xTieghan
I added some cherry tomatoes and some chili crunch at the end and it gave it such an amazing punch!
Hey Becky,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! ☀️xTieghan
Delicious recipe! I loved the salad dressing, definitely a new favorite. However I took off one star due to all the prep work and cooking. Definitely not a 25 minute meal, cooking pasta, marinating chicken, then grilling it and grilling corn, cooking bacon, putting the salad dressing together- it’s a lot of dishes and a time consuming meal. With all that said, the meal was a hit, I’m saving it in my recipe book.
Hey Tina,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! Sorry this took you longer than expected. ☀️xTieghan
Really delicious, but definitely took more like 2 hours to pull it together.
Hey Tara,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! Sorry this took you longer than expected. ☀️xTieghan
Lots of prep, lots of dishes, but OMG this was so good! My husband is rather picky and not to willing to try new dishes. This was a hit that had him going back for seconds and asking me to make it again. Thank you!!
Hey Meg,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! ☀️xTieghan