A high protein pasta salad made with seared thin-sliced chicken breasts, fresh vegetables, bowtie pasta, and a low-calorie lemon yogurt dressing! Thisspicy creamy pasta recipe is exactly the healthy comfort food you need on those hot summer days.
Cook pasta al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water. Toss with olive oil.
1 cup uncooked pasta, 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Cook chicken
While the pasta is cooking, season and cook the chicken.Slice the chicken breasts horizontally into thin halves. Mix chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, lemon juice and salt. Rub the chicken with the spice mix. Keep it aside for 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a non-stick pan and sear the chicken breasts on medium-high heat. Cook covered for 3 to 4 minutes on one side, flip and cook the other side for 3 minutes. (note 2)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Remove from heat and let it cool. Chop into bite-sized pieces.
Spicy yogurt dressing
Blend all the listed ingredients for the dressing and blend until smooth.
1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup mint leaves, 1/4 cup almonds, 1 or 2 green chilies, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt
High protein pasta salad
Mix the vegetables, chicken and pasta in a large salad bowl. Drizzle half of the yogurt dressing and toss everything together.
1/2 cup bell peppers, 1/4 cup celery, 1/4 cup cucumber
Add the remaining dressing and toss again. Garnish with green onions. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve chilled. (note 3)
3 tablespoons green onions
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Notes
Pasta can be replaced with a healthier carb like brown rice.
For low-carb options, just skip the pasta (in that case, use half the quantity of the yogurt dressing). Or replace pasta with cooked quinoa.
The yogurt dressing tastes even better if you roast the garlic and almonds. Dry-roast chopped garlic and almonds in a pan on low flame for 5 minutes and cool before blending.
Cooking the chicken covered will let the chicken "sweat" and makes it tender and juicy. You can also cook chicken using the juicy baked thin-sliced chicken breasts.
Make-ahead option: This pasta salad doesn't keep well. You can leave it in the refrigerator overnight, not any longer. It is not suitable for freezing, either.
Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and consume it the next day.
Vegetarian chicken salad: Substitute the chicken with boiled eggs or cubes of pressed tofu cooked with the same seasoning.