Ingredients
- 16 ounces short pasta
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
- 1 cup pesto*
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 2 cups grilled chicken, diced
- ½ cup bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup fresh mozzarella balls, halved
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- ¼ cup fresh basil, sliced
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together the mascarpone cheese and pesto until fully combined. Set aside.
- Cook your pasta according to package directions. Make sure you heavily salt the water and cook the pasta for about 1-2 minutes less than the listed time for perfect al dente pasta!
- Drain the pasta and immediately add to the bowl of sauce. [Do NOT rinse the pasta, as the starch will help the sauce cling to the noodles and the residual heat from the pasta will melt the mascarpone a bit making the sauce extra creamy.]
- Gently toss the pasta in the sauce until all the noodles are fully coated.
- Mix in the spinach and stir a few times until it wilts slightly from the heat of the pasta.
- Then stir in the diced chicken, bacon, sliced tomatoes, and mozzarella balls.
- Serve immediately while warm, or let chill in the fridge and serve cold!
- This chicken pesto pasta salad will keep in the fridge for 3 days, but the noodles with soak up the sauce the longer it sits. So after 2-3 days, you might want to add in a little extra pesto!