Tangy barbecue sauce and tender chicken are joined with sweet corn and crisp bell pepper, and onion in this outrageously delicious and easy Barbecue Chicken Pasta Salad. This one’s great for gatherings and cookouts, but is also perfect for dinner or lunch on the go!
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Maximum flavor, minimum effort
Barbecue chicken pasta salad is one of those dishes that is as easy, or as time-consuming, as you want it to be, but no matter which way you make it, it’s a definite hit!
You can make this one super simple by using a store-bought rotisserie chicken and bottled barbecue sauce. Conversely, you can make it 100% homemade by making your own rotisserie chicken and homemade barbecue sauce. The choice is yours, and while I do love the homemade version, I am telling you that no one will know if you took those shortcuts.
I usually serve my barbecue chicken pasta salad for summer gatherings because the flavors are perfect for the season, but it is so good that you can really make it all year long. It goes especially well alongside grilled chicken thighs, burgers, and marinated London broil, but is substantial enough to be enjoyed on its own.
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Chicken. As I mentioned above, you can use a store-bought or homemade rotisserie chicken. You can also opt to use chicken breasts and poach them as I do in my New York deli chicken salad recipe.
- Barbecue sauce. You can either use the homemade barbecue sauce that I use for my barbecue oven ribs or any store-bought brand you’d like.
- Pasta. I like to use rotini for this pasta salad, but you can also use penne.
- Corn. Frozen corn works great in this recipe, but you can also use fresh corn off the cob.
- Veggies. I love the crunch, color, and flavor the red bell pepper, green onion, and red onion adds to this dish.
- The brine. I’m using a combination of white vinegar, water, sugar, a neutral oil (like avocado oil), sea salt, and white pepper. The brine adds tremendous flavor and is key to making a pasta salad taste as if it came from a New York deli. You’ll see I employ a brine in most of my deli recipes.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
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How to make bbq chicken pasta salad
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- In a large bowl combine the vinegar, water, sugar, oil, sea salt, and white pepper and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta to al dente, then drain and run under cold water to cool it off and halt the cooking process. Whisk the brine again, then add the pasta, chicken, onion, bell pepper, and corn and mix well to coat.
- Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight to allow the flavors to absorb. If you don’t have time to wait, you can proceed to the next step.
- The next day, add the barbecue sauce, mayo, and green onion and mix well. Add more mayo or barbecue sauce as needed until the desired consistency is achieved. Taste test and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Top tips
- Don’t skip the brine. While you certainly can skip the brine, the flavors will be so much better if you allow the barbecue chicken salad to sit in the brine overnight.
- Consistency. Everyone likes their pasta salads a little different, so feel free to add as much or as little mayo or barbecue sauce as you’d like.
More pasta salad recipes
Give these other great pasta salad recipes a try!
If you’ve enjoyed this BBQ Chicken Pasta Salad recipe, give it a 5-star rating.
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Loaded Barbecue Chicken Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the brine
- 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Remaining ingredients
- 1/2 pound rotini pasta or any short pasta you like
- 1 1/4 pounds pulled rotisserie chicken
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1 large red bell pepper finely diced
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 1/2 cup barbecue sauce storebought or homemade
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise plus more to achieve a smooth consistency
- 5 green onions sliced
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Instructions
For the brine
- In a large bowl, whisk together all of the brine ingredients and set aside.
For the bbq chicken pasta salad
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta to al dente. Drain the pasta and run under cold water to cool it off and stop the cooking process.
- Whisk the brine again then add the pasta, chicken, onion, bell pepper, and corn. Mix well to coat. At this time it is best to refrigerate overnight so that the flavors absorb.
- The next day, add the bbq sauce, mayo, and green onon and mix well again. Add more mayo and/or barbecue sauce as required to get a creamy consistency. Taste test and season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Notes
- Servings. Makes 8 moderate-sized servings as a side dish or about 4-6 for a full meal.
- Brine. The key to getting great flavor is the brine. If you can wait let the pasta sit in the brine overnight before mixing with bbq sauce and mayo.
- Extra BBQ sauce and mayo. Feel free to mix in more barbecue sauce or mayo if needed. Leftovers might need a bit more mayo.
- Leftovers. Barbecue chicken pasta salad can be saved for up to 3 days and tastes even better after a few days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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