PASTA SALAD WITH FRUIT AND CHICKEN

Pasta Salad with Fruit and Chicken image

This pasta salad with fruit and chicken has a sour cream, buttermilk, lemon, and poppy seed dressing. Great way to make use of leftover rotisserie chicken. Serve on a bed of mixed spring greens with crumbed feta or blue cheese and a crusty hot dinner roll. Sprinkle with any kind of toasted nuts or even candied nuts. Could also use the small crunchy Chinese noodles found in a can. This just adds extra texture to the salad.

Provided by Joan Dredge

Categories Salad 100+ Pasta Salad Recipes Macaroni Salad Recipes

Time 3h10m

Yield 8

Number Of Ingredients 21

Ingredients

¾ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
⅓ cup buttermilk
2 lemons, juiced
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
4 packets sugar substitute (such as Equal®)
½ teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Salad:
1 ½ cups elbow macaroni
1 (15 ounce) can pineapple tidbits, drained and chopped
1 ½ cups chopped cooked chicken, or to taste
1 ½ cups seedless red grapes
⅓ cup sweetened dried cranberries (such as Ocean Spray® Craisins®)
4 green onions (white and green parts), sliced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 (15 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained and halved

Steps:

Whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, lemon juice, honey, poppy seeds, sugar substitute, dry mustard, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes in a bowl. Refrigerate dressing until flavors are blended, at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain macaroni and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain again and transfer to a large bowl.
Add pineapple, chicken, grapes, dried cranberries, green onions, and celery to the pasta and mix to combine. Add mandarin oranges and toss gently. Add just enough salad dressing to coat the pasta salad without soaking it, reserving remaining dressing for later use. Place pasta salad in the refrigerator to chill for 2 to 3 hours before serving. Add more dressing, if needed.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 382.6 calories, Carbohydrate 54.8 g, Cholesterol 32.9 mg, Fat 15 g, Fiber 3.9 g, Protein 12.1 g, SaturatedFat 4.1 g, Sodium 357.7 mg, Sugar 30.1 g