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BBQ Chicken Pasta Salad

ChickenPastaDiner-Style

Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

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About

Pasta salad is a mainstay of cookouts throughout the land, but no salad has fully embraced the barbecue feeling as much as this BBQ Chicken Pasta Salad! The pasta salad itself isn't just packed with tender pasta, bright cherry tomatoes, and hearty black beans, but it also has a tangy, sweet, and smoky barbecue sauce! With some ranch flavoring for creaminess and contrast and barbecue cooked chicken for extra savory goodness, BBQ Chicken Pasta Salad is like a mini cookout for your taste buds!

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Ingredients

  • 2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, diced into bite-size pieces
  • 1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce, of your choice, divided
  • 1 (16-ounce) package bow tie pasta
  • 1 cup ranch dressing
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 (15-ounce) can sweet corn, drained
  • 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped, plus more, to taste, for topping
  • 1 cup crispy fried onions, for topping

Directions

Step 1 -In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the diced chicken and 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce and cook, while stirring, until the sauce becomes glazy on the chicken and the chicken pieces reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 7-9 minutes.

Step 2 -Transfer the barbecue chicken pieces from the heat and allow them to cool.

Step 3 -In a large pot of salted, boiling water, add the pasta and cook it to al dente, according to the package directions.

Step 4 -Drain the pasta and rinse it under cold water.

Step 5 -In a large mixing bowl, add the barbecue chicken pieces, the pasta, the remaining barbecue sauce, the ranch dressing, the tomatoes, the corn, the beans, and 1/4 cup of the cilantro and toss gently to combine.

Step 6 -Cover the bowl and refrigerate the pasta salad for at least 2 hours.

Step 7 -Serve topped with the crispy fried onions and the extra cilantro.

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