Lemon Pepper Pasta Salad
We love a good pasta salad recipe, especially in the summer. Combining the classic flavors of lemon pepper chicken with chilled pasta, bright veggies, savory cheese, and a killer lemon pepper dressing, this Lemon Pepper Pasta Salad recipe is a winner!
Ingredients in the Lemon Pepper Pasta Salad
To make this Lemon Pepper Pasta Salad, you need to make a lemon pepper dressing and prepare the ingredients for the pasta salad itself. The lemon pepper dressing is savory, tart, and peppery, with just a subtle hint of sweetness. This dressing gets tossed with cooked pasta noodles, lemon pepper roasted chicken and asparagus, thinly sliced red onion, Manchego cheese, and fresh parsley. It’s a great option for a potluck too, because you can make it ahead of time (in fact, it tastes best that way).
Lemon Pepper Dressing
- Olive oil – we like the flavor of olive oil in this dressing, but you can use a different, neutral oil if you’d prefer.
- Lemon juice and zest – lemon zest and fresh lemon juice add a nice bright lemony flavor to this dressing.
- Spicy brown mustard – this adds flavor to the dressing and acts as an emulsifier.
- Honey – this brings balance to the dressing.
- Salt and cracked black pepper – everyone has different preferences, so use your desired amount.
Chicken & Pasta
- Chicken – we like to use chicken breasts here, but you could also use chicken thighs.
- Asparagus – the asparagus goes so well with the lemon pepper.
- Pasta – you can use whatever kind of pasta you like. We like to use cavatappi (also called cellentani) with this.
- lemon pepper seasoning – for that classic lemon pepper flavor.
- Manchego – we love using a mild manchego here for milky saltiness.
- Red onion – this adds some nice sharpness and color to the pasta.
- Parsley – we love using fresh herbs whenever we can.
How to Make this Lemon Pepper Pasta Salad
To make the dressing for the lemon pepper pasta salad, add the ingredients to a mason jar and cover it with a lid. Shake the jar until the dressing is fully combined.
To make the lemon pepper chicken, first preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easier clean-up later. Lightly coat each chicken breast with some olive oil, then evenly distribute the lemon pepper seasoning onto both sides of each chicken breast so that they’re fully covered. Bake the chicken for about 25 minutes, flipping each chicken breast over halfway, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F. Keep the oven on, then remove the chicken from the sheet tray and let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting into bite-sized pieces.
To make the asparagus, add it to the sheet tray previously used by the chicken and toss it with olive oil and 2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until asparagus is soft but not mushy.
Cook the pasta in boiling water 1 minute longer than package directions state (pasta salad is best with well-done pasta). Drain and rinse under cold water.
To assemble the lemon pepper pasta salad, first toss the pasta with 1 tbsp olive oil. Mix in the asparagus, onion, Manchego, chicken, parsley, and dressing. Cover the pasta bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and place in the fridge to cool at least an hour so the flavors can blend. Toss the pasta salad again when ready to serve.
Tips for Making the Best Pasta Salad:
Lemon Pepper Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Dressing
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice, from 2 lemons
- 2 lemons, zested
- 1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
- 1 ½ tbsp honey
- 1 tsp black pepper, freshly cracked
- 1 tsp sea salt
Chicken & Pasta
- 1 ½ pound chicken breast, 2 large chicken breasts
- 12 oz asparagus, trimmed & chopped into 1 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 pound pasta, cellentani/cavatappi, or your choice
- 5 tsp lemon pepper seasoning, divided
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 ½ cups Manchego cheese, cubed
- ¼ red onion, sliced thin
- 3 tbsp parsley, chopped
Instructions
Dressing
- Add the dressing ingredients to a mason jar and cover it with a lid.½ cup olive oil, ¼ cup lemon juice, 2 lemons, 1 tbsp spicy brown mustard, 1 ½ tbsp honey, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp sea salt
- Shake until combined.
Chicken & Pasta
- Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Lightly coat each chicken breast with olive oil (about 1 tbsp total).1 ½ pound chicken breast
- Evenly distribute 3 tsp of lemon pepper seasoning onto both sides of each chicken breast so that they’re fully covered.
- Cook the chicken on a baking sheet for about 25 minutes, flipping over halfway, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Remove the cooked chicken from the sheet tray (keep the oven on) and let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the asparagus to the baking sheet previously used by the chicken and toss it with 1 tbsp olive oil and 2 tsp of lemon pepper seasoning. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until asparagus is soft but not mushy.12 oz asparagus
- Cook the pasta in boiling water 1 minute longer than package directions state (pasta salad is best with well-done pasta because you’ll serve it cold). Drain and rinse under cold water.1 pound pasta
- Toss the pasta with 1 tbsp olive oil, then mix in the asparagus, onion, Manchego, chicken, parsley, and dressing.1 ½ cups Manchego cheese, ¼ red onion, 3 tbsp parsley
- Cover the pasta bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to cool at least an hour so the flavors can blend.
- Toss the pasta salad again when ready to serve.
