We love a good pasta salad, especially one that doesn’t feel heavy or one-note. This Lemon Pepper Pasta Salad has juicy chicken, perfectly cooked pasta, crunchy vegetables, and plenty of salty cheese, all tossed in a punchy lemon pepper dressing. It’s fresh, it’s flavorful, and it somehow disappears very quickly whenever we make it.

Pull Up A Chair

Rachel: We love pasta salads, especially when they’re full of fresh flavors and varying textures. This one is super bright and easy to make. It’s a great spring or summer recipe.

Emily: This pasta salad isn’t trying too hard. It’s just simple and really good. It lets the lemon pepper spice blend shine. Plus, the mangecho cheese in this is excellent.

Overhead photo of the serving bowl filled with pasta salad.

Why You’ll Love This Pasta Salad

A mouthwatering dressing. The lemon pepper dressing is savory, tart, and peppery, with just a subtle hint of sweetness. It’s well balanced, simple, and easy to make.
Mayonnaise free. The dressing is made with lemon juice, olive oil, honey, and a little mustard for a mayo- and egg-free sauce.
Bright flavors. We love the double citrus punch of fresh lemon and lemon pepper seasoning. Parsley, red onions, and asparagus add even more brightness.
Easy to put together. This recipe doesn’t require any fancy techniques or unique ingredients. You can make everything and assemble the salad ahead of time, then let it rest until you want to eat it.
Great for summer. We love dishes that you can bring to your summer parties and potlucks outside! Because this can be made ahead of time and there’s no need to reheat it, it’s a great option for sunny outdoor gatherings.

Ingredients in the Lemon Pepper Pasta Salad

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 – it’s important to season the dressing as it will be used to coat the noodles and the other pasta salad ingredients.

Jar filled with lemon dressing for the lemon pepper pasta salad. Two lemon halves rest next to the jar.

Chicken and 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.

Large bowl filled with cooked pasta noodles, red onions, lemon pepper chicken, asparagus, and parsley.

How to Make this Lemon Pepper Pasta Salad

Make the lemon pepper chicken. Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easier clean-up. Coat each chicken breast with a little olive oil and lemon pepper seasoning. Bake for 25 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.

While the chicken is baking, cook the pasta in boiling water about 1 to 2 minutes longer than the package directions state. When pasta cools, the starches make the noodles become more solid. , It’s important to cook the noodles longer so that they remain soft even after the pasta salad has cooled to room or fridge temperature. To stop the cooking process and cool them down, drain and rinse the pasta under cold water, then toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil so the noodles don’t stick together.

Make the asparagus. Once the chicken has been removed from the oven, add the asparagus to the same sheet tray and toss it with olive oil and 2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the asparagus is soft but not mushy.

While the asparagus roasts, make the dressing. Add the ingredients to a mason jar and cover it with a lid, then shake the jar to combine.

Assemble the pasta salad. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, then add it to the pasta with the veggies, cheese, parsley, and dressing and gently mix to combine. Cover the pasta bowl and set it aside to cool to room temperature so the flavors can blend. You can also place it in the fridge to chill (if chilling, bring it back to room temperature before serving). Toss the pasta salad again when ready to serve.

Our Tips for Lemon Pepper Pasta Salad

Rachel and Emily from Cooking with Conks, standing side-by-side in green and yellow aprons.

Use the time wisely. While the chicken bakes in the oven, cook the pasta on the stove. Once the chicken is done, remove it from the oven and roast the asparagus on the same sheet tray while you make the dressing.

Cook the pasta a little extra. Pasta salad is best when you cook the pasta 1 to 2 minutes longer than the package directions state. This is because pasta firms and toughens up when it chills or sits at room temperature. Cooking it a little longer ensures that it’ll be soft (but not mushy) when you serve it.
Rinse the pasta in cold water after cooking. When eating most hot pasta dishes, this isn’t something you’d do. However, for pasta salad, rinsing the noodles stops their cooking, gets rid of extra starch, and cools them down. We like to toss the noodles in olive oil right away to keep them from sticking together too. (Rinsing the noodles under cold water also helps speed up the cooling process so that you can enjoy this salad sooner!)
Let the pasta salad cool before serving. Although it may be tempting to eat it right away, this pasta salad, like most others, is best at room temperature or even chilled. This gives the flavors time to blend together.