Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Pasta
Nothing says summer than a loaded pasta salad. This Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Pasta is the perfect meal too cook outdoors, take to the beach or serve when entertaining.

A healthy pasta dish is just what’s needed after a day at the beach, lounging by the pool or pretty much after any summer activity. This grilled chicken and vegetable pasta is not only a well-balanced meal, but now you can eat your vegetables IN your pasta.
This pasta recipe is a perfect fake-out meal. Even if your picky children and even pickier husbands leave out the grilled vegetables, they won’t even know that you’re feeding them something that’s good for them with this colorful Italian pasta.

The recipe starts with making a marinade/dressing, a double duty item that has delicious light, bright summer flavors. Whole garlic cloves are slowly browned in oil (my quick way of getting that sweet roasted garlic flavor). This not only flavors the oil, but browning the garlic helps bring out it’s natural sweetness.
This method not only cooks the garlic, but because it’s going into an uncooked dressing and I prefer not to have the raw garlic flavor (plus it’s more palatable for children). Fresh lemon zest, juice, fresh basil, the browned garlic and the oil are all blended until smooth.

Chicken breasts are marinated in half the dressing (the rest is reserved for the vegetables and to pour over the finished dish). They are then grilled along with vegetables, mixed with the pasta and everything is tossed with the dressing.

The finished pasta is adorned with chopped fresh basil and lots freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Parmesan cheese is one of the lowest calorie cheeses, so this makes this dish even more of a fake out because who would think that a pasta dish doused in cheese is healthy

If you’ve tried this Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Pasta or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!
You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see daily recipe updates.
Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Pasta

Chicken is marinaded in garlic, lemon and basil which also doubles as a dressing. The chicken is grilled with a selection of vegetables, tossed with pasta and dressed.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice, about 7 lemons
- 6 fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
- 1 tablespoon honey or agave
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Small pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound (454 grams) pasta of your choice (penne, rotini, fusilli)
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 4 medium zucchini, sliced
- 4 yellow bell peppers
- 4 green onions, cleaned
- 4 ounces cherry tomatoes
- 2 lemons, cut in half
- Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
Instructions
- To a small saucepan add the olive oil and garlic cloves.
- Heat over medium low heat until the garlic cloves sizzle and start to turn brown, turn off immediately. Add to a heat-proof bowl and allow to cool.
- Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, basil leaves, cooled garlic, honey or agave, salt and pepper to a food processor or blender and pulse 3 to 4 times. With the processor or blender running, drizzle in the cooled oil until smooth and thickened. Set aside.
- Add half of the marinade to a large ziptop bag or container with a lid, add the chicken breasts and make sure the chicken is covered well. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Lay out the vegetables onto a large cutting board.
- Skewer the tomatoes to make them easy to grill and brush all the vegetables with the marinade, set the rest aside to dress the dish at the end.
- Preheat grill.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and toss with half of marinade. Set aside.
- When the chicken has marinated discard the marinade. Grill the chicken and vegetables until charred and tender. Allow the chicken breasts to rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Grill the tomatoes for a few minutes on 1 side, or they will be mushy.
- Put the whole bell peppers into a bowl with a lid or cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool. Once cooled, the charred skin should peel easily, discard the skin and seeds.
- Slice the chicken, toss the vegetables and tomatoes with the pasta.
- Squeeze the grilled lemon halves over the dish.
- Top with grated parmesan cheese and basil and the rest of the unused marinade.
Nutrition Information
Amount Per Serving Calories 246Saturated Fat 1gCholesterol 48mgSodium 201mgCarbohydrates 19gFiber 3gSugar 8gProtein 19g
31 Comments on “Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Pasta”
The pasta is not on the ingredients list. What kind do you use, and how much?
I’m sorry that ingredient was not showing. I’ve updated the recipe and it should be there now. Let me know if you have any questions.
This looks like a delicious way to use an abundance of summer veggies. I share your sentiments about raw garlic in salad dressing.
Very nice recipe, thanks for sharing this amazing recipe
What a fantastic pasta. I’m loving all those fresh veggies in it!
Thank you so much Cindy, it was pretty tasty ๐
Dear Janette, This looks absolutely marvelous. A perfect summer evening dinner. xo, Catherine
I think so too Catherine. Thank you.
Sounds like a wonderful pasta dish. We have been grilling veggies like crazy over here w/ all this sunny weather. Can’t wait to make this one.
I really did enjoy it and it lasted for days ๐
Love this pasta dish looks amazing! Great flavors, this is a must try! just perfect!
Thank you so much Mira.
I love garden delights pasta- easy to slip in more veggies for the kids. Beautiful dish and great for summer ๐
I know, it’s a great idea. Thank you Veronica.
These look beyond amazing, yum! Fantastic flavors!
What a gorgeous dish! I absolutely love this Janette! Looking forward to trying it!
Love your pasta creation here. Great recipe and flavors. I can imagine how great the grilled cherry tomatoes will taste in this recipe.
I love everything about this recipe! How perfect for the summer! And thanks for the money-saving tips!!!
Thank you so much for stopping by Suzy
Oh my gosh, this looks incredible! I absolutely love the flavors you get from grilling foods! And of course I love any pasta dish that I don’t feel guilty about eating ๐
Me too Kathleen, I may have eaten more than a regular portion ๐
Looks amazing, my kind of summer meal!!
Thank you so much Tara
I am really happy they chose you to post about the pasta. This is a wonderful recipe and I love the take home boxes and recipe cares!!!
You are so sweet Patty, thank you so much ๐
this looks so fresh and healthy! Loving all the veggies!
Thank you Erica ๐
Wonderful dish here, Janette! Thanks for sharing this one with us!
Thank you so much Dan ๐
So in love with your creation here! the grilled chicken platter looks so delicious and hearty.
The Ronzoni pasta is great, I would eat it plain ๐