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This Balsamic Strawberry Pasta Salad is a whole meal in itself, with tender chicken and pasta, sweet strawberries, and a tangy Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette.

This Balsamic Strawberry Pasta Salad with chicken, pasta, basil, spinach, sweet strawberries, and a tangy Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette.

At any time in my life, if you asked me what my favorite fruit was, it would be strawberries. To this day they are my “clean eating” of choice. However if you’d asked me if I like strawberries with balsamic vinegar I would have looked at you like you were nuts. Strawberries and vinegar?? What kind of alternate universe is that??

This Balsamic Strawberry Pasta Salad with chicken, pasta, basil, spinach, sweet strawberries, and a tangy Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette.

As it turns out, that combination is an amazing one! Like, slap your grandma amazing. The sweet and tart go together like peanut butter and jelly – it’s a perfect flavor combination.

And it’s perfect in this pasta salad as well! I threw a lot of other goodies in there to help amp up this salad, like chicken (Rotisserie chicken is perfect for this), spinach, pasta, basil and my favorite Feta cheese. Add a few walnuts for crunch and this is one delicious meal!

This Balsamic Strawberry Pasta Salad with chicken, pasta, basil, spinach, sweet strawberries, and a tangy Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Everyone knows the secret to a really good pasta salad is the dressing. Pasta salad dressings are usually one of two things – creamy (think mayo, sour cream, etc.) or the oil and vinegar type. This Balsamic Strawberry Pasta Salad falls under the latter. The dressing super simple, with just strawberries, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and a touch of honey for sweetness.

This Balsamic Strawberry Pasta Salad with chicken, pasta, basil, spinach, sweet strawberries, and a tangy Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette.

It’s perfectly fresh and light and perfect for welcoming spring in a few weeks. I can definitely see us making this Balsamic Strawberry Pasta Salad over and over again for lunch, for dinner or even breakfast! It’s hearty, it’s healthy and it tastes amazing. The chicken is totally optional, and I love it with and without.

It’s the Mary Poppins of pasta salads – perfect in every way!

This Balsamic Strawberry Pasta Salad with chicken, pasta, basil, spinach, sweet strawberries, and a tangy Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Recipe
A bowl of pasta salad with strawberries and spinach

Balsamic Strawberry Pasta Salad

4.55 from 11 votes
This Balsamic Strawberry Pasta Salad is a whole meal in itself, with tender chicken and pasta, sweet strawberries, and a tangy Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

Pasta Salad

  • 1 pint strawberries hulled and sliced
  • 2 cups spinach leaves roughly chopped
  • 8 ounces small pasta cooked to package instructions
  • 1 cup diced chicken
  • ¼ cup toasted walnuts
  • 4 ounces crumbled Feta cheese
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Balsamic glaze bottled, optional
  • Fresh basil for garnish; optional

Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

  • ½ pint strawberries hulled and sliced in half
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon honey or more to taste
  • Salt & pepper to taste
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Instructions
 

Dressing:

  • To make the dressing, pulse the strawberries, balsamic vinegar and olive oil in a blender or food processor until smooth. Taste and add honey, salt and pepper as desired. Refrigerated in a tightly sealed container until ready to use.

Salad:

  • Toss strawberries, spinach, pasta, Feta cheese, chicken and walnuts together in a large bowl.
  • Pour on Strawberry Vinaigrette and toss to coat.
  • Garnish salad with fresh basil and drizzle with Balsamic glaze.

Notes

This will keep for a few days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Keyword balsamic strawberry salad, cold pasta salad, pasta salad, strawberry pasta salad

Nutrition

Calories: 476kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 15gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 246mgPotassium: 416mgFiber: 4gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 1042IUVitamin C: 72mgCalcium: 139mgIron: 2mg

Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of "Yellow Bliss Road" is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.

For more delicious pasta salads, try these:

Creamy Chicken Cobb Pasta Salad

 Creamy Chicken Cobb Pasta Salad has all the flavors of the classic Cobb Salad and is a perfect side dish for spring and summer picnics..

Lightened Up Broccoli Pasta Salad

 Lightened Up Creamy Broccoli & Grape Pasta Salad is a Classic Broccoli Salad lightened up with Greek Yogurt and sweetened with honey and grapes - this is the perfect side dish any time of the year

Tropical Chicken Pasta Salad

 Tropical Chicken Pasta Salad with a creamy Greek Yogurt vinaigrette

Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad

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 For all side dishes go HERE, for all salads go HERE and for the Recipe Index go HERE.

This Balsamic Strawberry Pasta Salad with chicken, pasta, basil, spinach, sweet strawberries, and a tangy Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Kristin Maxwell

Kristin Maxwell is the creator and main recipe developer, writer, and photographer of Yellow Bliss Road. A self-taught cook and self-appointed foodie, she specializes in easy, flavorful and approachable recipes for any home cook.

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4.55 from 11 votes (10 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. Stacy says:

    It was a hard No, for my family. I ended up throwing it away. It was flavorless and the dressing didn’t add to the flavor. Sorry, I wanted to like it.

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      Oof, harsh review. I’m sorry you disliked it so much you had to toss it. My family loves it. The flavor of the strawberries with the balsamic is such a great combo, plus the feta and the walnuts all add different flavors. I wonder if perhaps your strawberries weren’t sweet enough or didn’t have enough flavor.

  2. Jack @ BBQ Recipez says:

    What a great salad for summer! Love your photos

  3. Dawn says:

    I added the sunflower seeds and they were great! Added a “bite” to the salad….we enjoyed it!

  4. Dawn says:

    Hi Kristin,
    In the recipe method it includes sunflower seeds but they weren’t in the ingredients list. Would you advise/correct the above.

    1. Kristin says:

      My mistake, I had planned to add them but never did, which is why they aren’t in the ingredients list. Sorry about that – I do think they’d make a great addition though!

      1. Dawn says:

        I did and I loved it!