Chicken BLT Pasta Salad

Dressing:

  • 1 recipe Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing

Salad:

  • 1 pkg (13oz/375g) uncooked rotini (regular, whole wheat or gluten-free)
  • 2 cups chopped Romaine hearts or chopped baby spinach
  • 2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
  • 1 cup halved or quartered grape tomatoes or chopped Roma (plum) tomatoes
  • 8 slices nitrate-free bacon, cooked and chopped
  • ¾ cup frozen green peas, thawed
  • ½ cup chopped green onions
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Make the dressing and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.

Cook rotini according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water (to stop the cooking action) and drain again. Transfer rotini to a very large bowl.

Add all remaining salad ingredients to cooked rotini and mix well. Add the prepared dressing (all of it) and mix again, until all ingredients are well coated. Serve immediately.

Makes about 10 generous cups salad

Per cup: 306 calories, 12.3 g total fat (2 g saturated fat), 16.5 g protein, 30.6 g carbohydrate (4.4 g fiber, 3.86g sugars), 76 mg cholesterol, 255 mg sodium

Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing:

  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • ½ cup plain 0% Greek yogurt
  • 1 ½ tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp sugar or liquid honey
  • 2 tsp poppy seeds
  • ½ tsp mustard powder
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper