Name: Pasta Salad with Leftover Chicken
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 0.5 pcs green pepper; 2 pcs spring onion; 0.25 pcs cucumber; 1 pcs apple; 0.5 package fresh spinach; 100 g penne pasta, cold cooked; 200 g pre-cooked chicken; 1 pcs lime or lemon; 0.5 dl olive oil; 4 sprig fresh thyme or other fresh herb

UntrainedChef

Tips from the kitchen

The pasta needs to be cold and dry before it goes in. Wet pasta makes everything watery at the bottom of the bowl. If yours is fresh out of the fridge and a bit clumped, just break it apart with your hands.
Cut the apple last. It browns fast once it's chopped, so do the pepper, cucumber, and spring onion first, then the apple right before you toss everything together.
Squeeze the lime or lemon with your hand held over the bowl so you can catch any seeds. Roll it on the counter first to get more juice out of it.
When you pull the chicken apart, go with the grain of the meat rather than against it. You get better texture and the pieces hold up in the salad instead of turning mushy.
Taste after you toss. The lime and olive oil need a minute to coat everything, so give it a quick mix, wait 30 seconds, then taste before you add salt.

Ways to vary it

Swap the apple for a handful of halved grapes or a few slices of pear if you want something a little less crunchy. The sweetness still works with the lime.
If you have feta in the fridge, crumble some over the top before serving. It adds a salty, creamy element without changing the whole character of the salad.
Fresh thyme is great here, but flat-leaf parsley or fresh basil both work well too. Basil in particular is good if you used lemon instead of lime.

Storage & leftovers

This keeps in the fridge for about a day, maybe two if the apple hasn't gone brown. The spinach wilts and the pasta absorbs the dressing the longer it sits, so it's best eaten the same day. It doesn't freeze well.

What to serve with it

A slice of good bread on the side is enough, or some crackers if you want something crunchy. It works as a standalone lunch without needing anything else.

By Untrained ChefPublished 17 July 2026