Simple Southern Three Bean Pasta Salad with Chicken
Inside: Pasta salad meets three bean salad in this colorful mashup bathed in a sweet vinaigrette. Perfect for summer potlucks, Memorial Day, July 4th, or any hot day you need a cool and complete meal!
We’re smack dab in the most miserable time in August where every day for the foreseeable future is over 100 degrees. I just escaped the heat to Utah for a few days where I had the most amazing pasta salad that I’ve been craving ever since. But because going back to that restaurant in Utah just for a salad is a tad inconvenient, I decided to whip up a pasta salad inspired by what I liked most about that delicious dish!
It was a pasta salad, but what stood out to me were the kidney beans and sweet vinaigrette that reminded me of the flavor of the classic Southern three bean salad recipe. So marrying those two hot weather favorites seemed like such a natural. And even better, with all of the beans, chicken, and pasta, it’s a complete summer meal!
Ingredients for this Three Bean Pasta Salad Recipe.
For the Salad:
- 2-3 Boneless Chicken Breats (or 6-10 chicken tenderloins)
- 12 oz Package of Tri Color Rotini Pasta
- 15 oz Can of Red Kidney Beans
- 14.5 oz Can of Cut Green Beans
- 15 oz Can of Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)
- 1/2 Cup of Chopped Red Onion
For the Dressing:
- 3/4 Cup of White Granulated Sugar
- 3/4 Cup of Red Wine Vinegar
- 3/4 Cup of Olive Oil
- 1 tsp of Salt
- 1 tsp of Black Pepper
- 2-3 Dashes of Tabasco or 1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
SH&H Tip: If you want to mellow out the strong aftertaste of raw onion, soak the cut red onion in a bowl of cold or ice water for 10-15 minutes, then drain it before adding to the salad. The sulfur compounds that make that powerful punch will leach out into the water from the cut onion surfaces.
How to Make This Easy Three Bean Pasta Salad with Chicken.
Once you have all the ingredients prepped, this simple recipe takes less than five minutes to throw together—most of the time goes into the chilling!
Make the Pasta Salad Mixture.
1. Season the chicken as desired and cook on the stovetop in a small amount of oil, butter, or other fat. Cut into bite-sized pieces.
SH&H Tip: This dish goes together even faster if you make it with leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken.
2. Heat a large pot of water and cook the pasta according to the package directions.
3. While the pasta is cooking, drain and rinse the canned beans and chop the red onion.
4. Add the drained cooked pasta, the rinsed beans, the cooked cut chicken, and the chopped onion to a large bowl and combine.
Make the Vinaigrette Dressing.
This simple vinaigrette was inspired by that restaurant pasta salad, and is slightly different than the traditional 3-bean salad dressing with the substitution of red wine vinegar and omission of the mustard.
1. Slightly warm the red wine vinegar and olive oil in a small saucepan (do not simmer or boil). Stir in the sugar until dissolved.
2. Remove from heat and add the salt, pepper, and hot sauce or red pepper.
Dress the Pasta Salad.
1. Pour the dressing over the pasta mixture and combine.
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.
Options and Substitutions.
- Experiment with different beans. Add or substitute black beans, pinto beans, or other favorites.
- Change up the pasta. Any short noodle types of pasta will work. The inspiration pasta salad had an interesting mix of rotini and bowtie pasta.
- Add vegetables. That salad also had small bits of broccoli and carrot, upping the nutrition value..
- Omit the chicken. This also makes the perfect side dish and vegetarian option because it’s still packed with protein.
- Add the other staples usually included in good pasta salad—cherry tomatoes, black olives, and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese or feta cheese.
Printable Recipe:
Simple Southern Three Bean Pasta Salad with Chicken
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 2-3 Boneless Chicken Breasts or 6-10 chicken tenderloins
- 12 oz. Package Tri Color Rotini Pasta
- 15 oz Can Red Kidney Beans
- 14.5 oz Can Cut Green Beans
- 15 oz Can Chickpeas Garbanzo Beans
- 1/2 Cup Chopped Red Onion
For the Dressing:
- 3/4 Cup White Granulated Sugar
- 3/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 3/4 Cup Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 2-3 Dashes of Tabasco or 1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
Instructions
- Season the chicken as desired and cook on the stovetop in a small amount of oil, butter, or other fat. Cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Cook pasta according to the package instructions.
- While the pasta is cooking, drain and rinse the canned beans and chop the red onion.
- Add the drained cooked pasta, the rinsed beans, the cooked cut chicken, and the chopped onion to a large mixing bowl and combine.
- Make the dressing. Slightly warm the red wine vinegar and olive oil in a small saucepan (do not simmer or boil). Stir in the sugar until dissolved.
- Remove from heat and add the salt, pepper, and hot sauce or red pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the pasta mixture and combine.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.
Just in case you’re wondering what the restaurant that inspired me to make this three bean pasta salad was, the name was Hug-Hes Cafe, and it’s one of their signature dishes. They have several locations in Utah so if you’re in the area, I highly recommend stopping there because everything we had was delicious!
What’s your favorite cold salad during these hot summer days? Share your ideas with us in the comments!
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