Guest post from Michelle of The Willing Cook
As I’ve said before, coming up with something original and satisfying for lunch while still remaining food allergy-safe is not always an easy task.
The most common lunch menu in our home is leftovers. It is nice, though, to have other lunch options for those times when leftovers is not an option or you’re tired of the same ol’ thing.
I have come up with a recipe today that I hope will fit that bill for you. My intention in making this dish was for a quick and tasty lunch, but we ended up having it for dinner as well. So, whether you make up a batch to eat for lunch for a few days or have it as a lunch leftover from dinner, it is sure to satisfy.
An added bonus for many of you out there is that while this recipe is safe for food allergy sufferers, it’s also great for everyone else as well. So, give it a try and enjoy!
Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken, diced (I pulled out previously cooked chicken from the freezer and thawed.)
- 8 ounces pasta of choice, gluten-free or whole wheat
- 1/4 cup bell pepper, finely diced
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, finely diced (regular tomatoes are fine too)
- 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
- 1 celery rib, finely diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1/2 cup cayenne pepper sauce, like Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
Directions:
- Cook your pasta according to package directions to al dente. Once cooked, rinse with cold water and pour into a large bowl.
- While pasta is cooking, prepare the rest of your ingredients. Dice your cooked chicken and put in bowl with pasta. Use any kind of chicken that works for you, whether grilled, leftover roasted whole chicken, baked, etc.
- Dice your bell pepper, tomatoes, onion, celery, cilantro. Cook the bacon. Pour all these ingredients into the large bowl with the chicken and pasta.
- Season the pasta salad with kosher salt and pepper.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the hot sauce and olive oil. Pour sauce over the pasta salad. Toss gently to combine all the ingredients with the sauce. (If cheese is allowed, add desired amount to top of pasta salad.)
- Refrigerate pasta salad until ready to eat. Serve with fresh fruit. Enjoy!
Would you like more allergy-friendly brown bag lunch ideas? You can find more ideas at The Willing Cook by clicking on Lunch Ideas for School/Work.
Michelle is blessed to stay home with her three children (ages 10, 7, and 4), while her husband works to provide. When she’s not experimenting with allergy-friendly meals, she’s blogging about it at The Willing Cook. Through the Willing Cook, her hope is that you gain peace of mind in your kitchen (and your pocket book) and are able to serve those you love who suffer with food allergies.
Dawn says
Looks delicious! Have you prepared this ahead of time and froze the meal? I’m wondering if it still be ok after thawing out and then eat cold or re-heat?
Erin says
This is amazing! I am a huge Buffalo fan, but I was skeptical because it seems like a strange concoction: sundried tomatoes with Buffalo sauce? A cold oil-and-hot sauce dressing? Bell peppers? No seasonings beyond salt and pepper? But it is awesome! This will be in regular rotation for us. The only thing I did differently is skipping salt and pepper and adding onion and garlic powder to the sauce.
Jen says
I think this would be amazing with crumbled blue cheese! Thankfully, we don’t have food allergies. It looks awesome. Thanks!
Anne-Marie says
Is this super spicy? Or just zingy? The recipe looks delicious but I just wanted to check on that : )
Rebecca says
Oh how I wish it were allergy free… I am fatally allergic to celery and this would kill me in about 15 minutes. Easy enough to leave the celery out though because other than that, it looks great!
Crystal says
Wow! I never have heard of someone who is fatally allergic to celery! Is that the only thing you’re allergic to? If so, that’s crazy!
Rebecca says
Yeah and it’s a total family thing… My grandmother, my great grandmother and my great uncle have all had it. So far it seems I am the last one in the family to have it.. It’s a true pain living here in the south where it seems people put celery in everything.
Len says
Having a child with severe life threatening food allergies I’m always looking for new recipes to try with him but you have to be very careful the pasta that works best for us is Quinoa pasta that is wheat free and has a great taste. Also I always suggest that parents check the label for foods that may have been processed in a facility with nuts or dairy products. One can never be too sure.
Michelle @ Willing Cook says
Len,
You are very right. I’ve always heard/used the acronym R.E.A.L. – Read Every and All Labels. That is, read every single label every single time because you never know when the ingredients might change. The gluten-free pasta that I used for this dish was Trader Joe’s Brown Rice Pasta and it worked great, better than a lot of the gf pastas we have tried.
Michelle
J.B. says
I am really excited about this. I have an onion and garlic allergy (its an uncommon one, unless your in my family). And with a lot of recipes when you take out the things that have garlic or onions in them, there isn’t any flavor left however this looks like it will still be amazing. So thank you.
Michelle @ Willing Cook says
I understand the rare allergies. We have a couple and I’ve helped others that have them. You can certainly leave the onion out of this recipe without any problem. Make sure you check the ingredients of the hot sauce to make sure it doesn’t contain garlic or onion. And make sure to check multiple brands as the ingredients do differ. I hope this works out well for you and you are able to enjoy it!
jamie says
Yay, love allergy-free inspiration! Thank you!
Michelle @ Willing Cook says
Jamie,
Thank you! I hope you enjoy this recipe!
Michelle
Diane says
I’m sensitive to a preservative in bacon, any substitute ideas?
Michelle @ Willing Cook says
Diane, Are you allowed to have nitrate/nitrite free bacon? You can certainly leave the bacon out or use something else like small chunks of ham. This recipe is a “throw in whatever sounds good” type. Hope that helps 🙂
Diane says
Thank you, I can eat nitrate/nitrite free but have a hard time finding it! Thanks for the suggestion (I also probably balk at the price when I do see it 🙂 )
Michelle @ Willing Cook says
Sometimes you can find the Hormel brand on sale for $3.50/lb. If you live near a Trader Joe’s, they have Bacon Ends & Pieces that are free of all the stuff for a very reasonable price.
Michelle @ Willing Cook says
Thanks for sharing my allergy-friendly lunch recipe! An updated note about the pasta salad: It is amazing on Day 2 with a drizzle of olive oil. In fact, we liked it even more the next day. Day 3 is good too 🙂 Enjoy everyone!!