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Chicken Pasta Salad with Shrimp and Pepperoni

Full of simple and fresh ingredients, this chicken pasta salad with shrimp and pepperoni is the perfect side dish for your next cookout, an easy option for a light weeknight dinner, or a refreshing make-ahead lunch.
Course Dinner, Lunch, Salad
Cuisine American
Keyword chicken pasta salad, cold pasta salad, easy pasta salad, italian pasta salad
Prep Time 30 minutes
Chilling Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings 16 cups total (approximately)
Calories 405kcal
Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

FOR THE SALAD

  • 1 (16 ounce) box rotini pasta
  • 2 cups cooked, diced chicken
  • 1 lb. cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 cup mini pepperoni (or chopped pepperoni)
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 sweet red bell pepper, seeded and diced
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1 cup frozen peas, thawed and drained
  • ½ cup chopped pecans

FOR THE DRESSING

  • 1 ½ cups mayonnaise
  • ½ cup peppercorn Ranch salad dressing
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons dried tarragon (or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons dried dill weed (or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill)
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  • Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to package instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside to cool completely.
  • In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta, chicken, shrimp, pepperoni, onion, red bell pepper, celery, peas, and pecans.
  • In a separate small bowl, prepare the dressing by whisking together the mayonnaise, Ranch dressing, Dijon mustard, vinegar, sugar, tarragon, dill, and garlic powder. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
  • Pour the dressing over the salad; toss gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours, or overnight.
  • Just before serving, give it a stir, add extra mayonnaise if the salad seems dry, and season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.

Notes

  • Use a high-quality mayonnaise for the dressing, since it adds so much flavor to the dish. I prefer Duke's brand mayo.
  • Cook the pasta just until al dente, so that it's not too mushy in the salad.
  • Liberally salt the pasta cooking water, since this is your chance to season the pasta.
  • Rinse the pasta under cold water to stop the cooking process. This also removes some of the starches from the noodles so that they don't stick together in the salad.
  • Use store-bought rotisserie chicken and cooked, peeled, and deveined shrimp to eliminate prep work. You can also use leftover chicken from a previous meal.
  • If you prefer to cook your own chicken at home, boil about 1 lb. of boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs (if you like the dark meat) until cooked through, about 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, chop or pull the chicken. You'll need a total of about 2 cups shredded. I find that 1 lb. of chicken breasts yields about 2 cups of pulled chicken, but there's some flexibility here -- it doesn't need to be exact.
  • If you prefer to cook your own shrimp at home, follow these instructions.
  • Thaw the peas quickly by placing the frozen peas in a colander. When you drain the pasta, pour the hot pasta and water over the peas in the colander. They will thaw almost instantly when the hot pasta hits them!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 405kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 500mg | Potassium: 243mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 392IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg