Mango and Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad

This Fourth of July, try this fresh and easy recipe for Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad filled with juicy mango, fennel, and sweet caramelized onions. The perfect BBQ side dish!

A plate full of mango and grilled chicken pasta salad.

With 4th of July just around the corner, I had to share this new pasta salad I made tonight that was too good to keep to myself!

The caramelized onions and fennel take this salad to a whole new level.It really gives a nice flavor, don’t be afraid of the fennel. When it is sautéed it has a very mild taste and gives the dish a little something extra. As I was finishing up the pasta, I noticed I had some mangos in the fridge, so tossed them in and talk about a great combo.The sweet and savory flavors really work great in this salad.

Close up of a plate full of mango and grilled chicken pasta salad.

I got all my veggis at that farmers market I was talking about in a previous post, so this salad was really inexpensive.I seriously got 4 mangos for $1 and bell peppers for .30 cents each.Love it!

And if you don’t feel like grilling your own chicken, grab a bag of Tyson precooked/grilled chicken in the freezer section of your grocer or Costco. That’s actually what I used tonight and it was just fine. No one will ever know!

Close up of mango and grilled chicken pasta salad.

Hope everyone has a great 4th!We’re heading to Anthem tomorrow night for their big Firework Bash.I need to get one of those personal mister fans, it’s going to be a hot one!

A plate of mango and grilled chicken pasta salad.

Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad with Caramelized Onion, Fennel and Mango

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ Cup onion, finely chopped
½ lb campanelle pasta noodles
¼ Cup finely chopped fennel (if you don’t have it, just use additional onion)
2 Cups grilled chicken breast, cubed
1 red or orange bell pepper, diced
1 ½ Cups quartered zucchini
3 Cups broccoli florets
2 mangos, peeled and cubed
½ bottle Kraft Tuscan House Italian Dressing or Zesty Italian, 16 fl oz size
Couple pinches kosher salt

1. Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions and fennel for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to low and cook until golden. Let cool for 10 minutes. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and place into a large bowl with the onions/fennel. Toss in rest of ingredients, gently stirring to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

4 servings

__________________

Thanks so much to Susan from She’s Becoming Dough Messtic blog for the Arte y Pico Award! I love my food bloggin’ friends!!

A plate full of mango and grilled chicken pasta salad.

Mango and Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad

A fresh and easy recipe for Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad filled with juicy mango, fennel, and sweet caramelized onions. The perfect BBQ side dish!
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4
Calories: 634kcal
Author: Jenny
Print Pin

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup onion finely chopped
  • 1/2 lb campanelle pasta
  • 1/4 cup fennel finely chopped (if you don’t have fennel, just use additional onion)
  • 2 cups grilled chicken breast cubed
  • 1 red bell pepper or orange, diced
  • 1 1/2 cups zucchini quartered
  • 3 cups broccoli florets
  • 2 mangos peeled and cubed
  • 8 oz Italian dressing (½ bottle Kraft Tuscan House Italian Dressing or Zesty Italian, 16 fl oz size)
  • Couple pinches Kosher salt

Instructions

  • Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions and fennel for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to low and cook until golden. Let cool for 10 minutes.
  • Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and place into a large bowl with the onions/fennel. Toss in rest of ingredients, gently stirring to coat. 
  • Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 634kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 650mg | Potassium: 979mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 2612IU | Vitamin C: 147mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 3mg
Keywords: bbq side dishes, easy pasta salad, summer pasta salad

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27 Responses
  1. Sadie

    This salad was phenomenal. It is my new favorite. The mango in it really does something! LOve, love, love it and I can’t wait to post the recipe on my blog.

  2. Tracy

    I’m making this tonight. I’m just unsure about how many Chicken Breasts to grill. Do you think 2 would be enough?

  3. Tracy

    I’m trying this tonight. But I’m a little unsure about how much Chicken to grill. Do you think 2 Chick Breasts would be enough?

  4. Christy and Pete

    This is on my list for our upcoming bbq! Sounds great! Quick question:
    Do you blanch the broccoli or put all veggies in raw?

  5. Project Couture Vintage

    Is there a reason why you didn’t bring some to our 4th of July party??? Looks SO good!

  6. RecipeGirl

    Pasta salad w/ caramelized onions and mango sounds delish to me!! Hope you had a happy 4th!

  7. Emiline

    What a delicious-sounding salad!

    Hope you have a great 4th! I have one of those fans, but I never remember to use it.

  8. Kevin

    That pasta salad looks good! Nice combination of flavours. I have been wanting to use fennel more often.

  9. Jenny

    Hi Kimberly,
    I hope you enjoy!

    Hi Bunny,
    I do love those farmer’s markets. Wish there was one closer to home though!

    Thanks Jeena!

    Hi HoneyB,
    I’ll have to stay tuned to see your patriotic pie!!

    Thanks Rita!

    Hi Pricilla,
    Hope you all like the cookies, some people have said there’s turn out flat, try refrigerating your dough before baking them.

    Hi Anonymous,
    Thanks for visiting my blog. You must have saw the Build A Better Burger Competition huh? Thanks for your comment!

  10. ~Priscilla~

    wow, that looks great! my little sister saw your oreo cookies and wants me to make them, i can’t resist her.:) i love pasta sald. double wow to 115 degrees??!! that has to be hot! you would definetly need a fan mister! 🙂

  11. Clumbsy Cookie

    This salad is so colorfull and good looking that even a sald-hater will eat it! Have fun with the fireworks!

  12. HoneyB

    This looks delicious to me! I made a patriotic pie for a family dinner tonight and will be blogging about that later!

    Thanks for the comment on my blog….those cookies were awesome and I definitely recommend them!

  13. Jeena

    Your pasta salad looks really good Jenny. You have sold the combination of ingredients to me for sure, you make it sound so tasty. 🙂

    I could not believe how much the mangoes and peppers cost! Lucky you!

  14. Kimberly

    Mmmm! This looks tasty! I was just trying to decide what to make for a luncheon…maybe this is it! :)Thanks for sharing!

  15. Jenny

    Thanks Lore! I am beginning to love fennel. Before I thought it would just taste like black licorice which I hate! It has really added to many recipes I’ve done.

    Thanks Stacey!

    Hi Prudy,
    I think pasta salad is a must for just about every gathering in the summer, it’s so good! It has been 115+ this week, so I am preparing to sweat just a little tonight! Anything over 100 is just miserable! At least we don’t have the humidity huh?!

  16. Prudy

    I just made some pasta salad last night, too. I love the stuff and yours looks fab. Have a great fourth with your family. I’d get that mister fan if I were you. It’s so dang hot here, too. We should be at 110 today. Are you hotter than that? I think you guys are usually about five degrees hotter.

  17. Lore

    These campanelle noodles are sooo cute and what a great use of fennel! Love these playful colours..they activate my taste buds that’s for sure 😉
    I’m glad you didn’t keep the recipe all to yourself, thanks for sharing!

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