When I first thought about recreating a pasta salad I considered two things. One being that it had to have a Mediterranean flavor, and two was that it must have black olives. I have a deep love for olives!

My next thoughts were that I wanted to keep it light but still enough to be a complete meal. This is where the addition of chicken came in. What I love about this pasta salad is that it’s really truly whatever you want to make of it. You can get creative and add things you love to this base. Like tomatoes? Cherry tomatoes would be lovely in this if your body can tolerate them. Don’t like onion? Remove those and add in some fresh fennel. The options are really endless.

Plus what is a pasta salad if it’s not almost everything you have in he fridge right? 😉

 

P.S. THIS is the spiralizer I recommend.

 

ZUCCHINI NOODLE “PASTA” SALAD

 

 

 

Ingredients
1 lb chicken thighs or breast cubed
2 sprigs Rosemary chopped
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 large zucchini spiralized with the large blade
1/4 red onion sliced thinly
1 cup Persian cucumbers chopped
1 cup asparagus chopped
1 cup jicama chopped
1 cup sliced black olives
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic for dressing

 

Process
1.) Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a pan on medium heat. Cube the chicken, and combine the chicken with rosemary, garlic powder and sea salt. Once the pan is hot, add in the chicken and let cook for 5 minutes to get nice and crispy.
2.) While the chicken cooks is the perfect time to chop and spiralize all of your veggies! Add them to a big salad bowl.
3.) Once the 5 minutes is up stir chicken and allow to cook on all sides for another 10 minutes. Once finished allow for the chicken to cool completely before adding to the salad or it will cook the veggies!
4.) Add the chicken to the veggies, then add the remaining olive oil and balsamic. Stir to combine, serve or store for later!

 

ENJOY!