Lunch

Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad

Name: Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients: 170 g Chicken breast; 180 g Cooked pasta; 100 g Cherry tomatoes; 25 g Rocket; 15 g Pesto; A squeeze Lemon

Cold pasta with chicken, cherry tomatoes and a scraped-back amount of pesto. 48 g of protein.

Calories: 583kcal
Protein: 52g
Fat: 13g
Carbs: 62g

Per serving, makes 1. Published 29 August 2026.

Allergens

Gluten
Milk
Tree nuts

Flagged for the cashews most supermarket jars use alongside pine nuts. A pesto made only with pine nuts carries milk alone.

Flags follow UK labelling rules and come from the ingredients as listed, not from any particular brand. Check the packet before cooking for somebody with an allergy.

Recipe in pictures

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Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad, plated and ready to serve. — The finished recipe. Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad

Ingredients 1 to 6 for chicken pesto pasta salad arranged separately on a dark worktop. — Ingredients 1 to 6. 170 g Chicken breast (Weighed raw.). 180 g Cooked pasta. 100 g Cherry tomatoes. 25 g Rocket. 15 g Pesto (Pesto is 45% fat. Fifteen grams is a teaspoon and a half, and it is the single biggest lever on this dish.). A squeeze Lemon

Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad, preparation step 1: Loosen the pesto with the lemon juice and a spoonful of the pasta water so it coats rather than clumps. — Step 1. Loosen the pesto with the lemon juice and a spoonful of the pasta water so it coats rather than clumps.

The finished chicken pesto pasta salad. — Step 2. Toss the cold pasta, sliced chicken and halved tomatoes through it, and fold the rocket in at the end.

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Ingredients

Chicken breast170 g
Weighed raw.
Cooked pasta180 g
Cherry tomatoes100 g
Rocket25 g
Pesto15 g
Pesto is 45% fat. Fifteen grams is a teaspoon and a half, and it is the single biggest lever on this dish.
LemonA squeeze

Method

Loosen the pesto with the lemon juice and a spoonful of the pasta water so it coats rather than clumps.
Toss the cold pasta, sliced chicken and halved tomatoes through it, and fold the rocket in at the end.

Worth knowing

Loosening the pesto is what lets fifteen grams cover a whole bowl. Straight from the jar it sits in three places.

Other lunch recipes that share ingredients with this one, or every lunch between 450 and 600 calories a serving.

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Macros are calculated from the weights listed above using standard food composition values, and will shift with your own brands and measuring. Weigh what you can. This is a recipe, not dietary advice. The full health disclaimer is below.