Taziki’s Friday Pasta Salad

Greek Chicken Pasta Salad – the recipe for Taziki’s Friday Pasta – homemade vinaigrette tossed with penne pasta, chicken, feta, tomatoes, and fresh basil – tastes great warm or cold. Great for a potluck. Can make a day ahead – the flavors get better as it sits. This is seriously delicious!

Greek Chicken Pasta Salad  - recipe for Taziki's Friday Pasta - homemade vinaigrette tossed with penne pasta, chicken, feta, tomatoes and fresh basil - good warm or cold. Great for a potluck. Can make a day ahead - the flavors get better as it sits. This is seriously delicious!

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Copycat Taziki’s Pasta Salad

This dish is referred to as “Friday Pasta” around Birmingham. It is a local favorite. It is so popular that Taziki’s actually had to start serving the pasta all weekend. Several years ago the recipe was published in the newspaper. I snagged a copy of it in case I ever wanted to make it.

For whatever reason, I only recently tried Taziki’s Friday Signature Pasta. We went to a birthday party and they served this cold/room temperature. Taziki’s serves this pasta warm over lettuce in the restaurant. We both agreed that we preferred the pasta cold/room temperature and without the lettuce.

I decided to finally try my hand at making Friday Pasta at home. The recipe calls for cooked chicken, so I marinated the chicken in our Greek Chicken Marinade and grilled it. I whipped up the vinaigrette (great on its own) and tossed up the pasta salad in the morning and let it hang out in the fridge all day. We ate this for dinner two nights in a row. It actually gets better as it sits in the fridge.

How to Make Taziki’s Friday Pasta

This pasta salad is easy to make with only a few simple ingredients. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add penne pasta and cook according to the package instructions for al dente. Drain pasta and set aside.

Place thyme, shallot, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, and Dijon mustard in a blender. Pulse a few times. Slowly blend in olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a large bowl, combine pasta, chopped chicken, crumbled feta cheese, tomatoes, and fresh basil. Pour dressing over pasta mixture. Toss to fully coat chicken pasta mixture.

Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions

  • You can serve this dish warm or cold.
  • Taziki’s serves their Signature Pasta over lettuce.
  • You can make this Greek ChickenPasta Salada ahead of time and refrigerate it until ready to serve.
  • Can use any cooked chicken for the chicken in this recipe. Rotisserie chicken would work great.
    • Omit the chicken to serve this as a side dish.
  • You can use gluten-free pasta for a glue
  • Variations/Additions:
    • cucumbers
    • kalamata olives
    • red onions
    • red peppers
    • chickpeas
    • fresh dill
    • garlic
    • shrimp
  • This makes a lot of pasta salad. It is great for a crowd! Feel free to cut the recipe in half if you don’t need as much food.
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Greek Chicken Pasta Salad  - recipe for Taziki's Friday Pasta - homemade vinaigrette tossed with penne pasta, chicken, feta, tomatoes and fresh basil - good warm or cold. Great for a potluck. Can make a day ahead - the flavors get better as it sits. This is seriously delicious!

What to Serve with Greek Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is a favorite at our house. We make this at least once a month. It is great for brunch, baby showers, potlucks, and a make-ahead lunch or dinner. This dish already brings a burst of Mediterranean flavors with its vinegarette, juicy tomatoes, and tender pasta. To complement those vibrant flavors, I highly recommend serving it with a refreshing side salad. My go-to choice is a crisp Greek salad with ripe cucumbers, ripe cherry tomatoes, tangy feta cheese, Kalamata olives, and a zesty lemon-oregano dressing. Add some crusty bread and Greek Tzatziki for a meal that will have your family and friends coming back for seconds!

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bowl of taziki's special pasta

Taziki’s Signature Pasta – Greek Chicken Pasta Salad

Yield: 10 people
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Greek Chicken Pasta Salad  – the recipe for Taziki's Signature Pasta – homemade vinaigrette tossed with penne pasta, chicken, feta, tomatoes, and fresh basil – tastes great warm or cold. Great for a potluck. Can make a day ahead – the flavors get better as it sits. This is seriously delicious!

Equipment:

Ingredients:

Homemade Greek Vinaigrette

  • 3 Tbsp fresh thyme
  • 1 Tbsp shallot minced
  • ½ cup balsamic vinegar
  • Juice from one lemon
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • cups olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Pasta Salad

  • pounds penne pasta
  • 6-8 boneless skinless chicken breasts, grilled and cubed
  • 3 cups feta cheese, crumbled
  • 6 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • 1 handful fresh basil, chopped

Instructions:

  • Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
  • Place thyme, shallot, balsamic vinegar, lemon, sugar, and Dijon mustard in blender. Pulse a few times. Slowly blend in olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • In a large bowl, combine pasta, chopped chicken, feta, tomatoes and fresh basil. Pour dressing over pasta mixture. Toss to fully coat chicken pasta mixture.
  • Serve warm or cold.

Notes:

You can serve this dish warm or cold.
Taziki’s serves their Signature Pasta over lettuce.
You can make this Greek Chicken Pasta Salad ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Can use any cooked chicken for the chicken in this recipe. Rotisserie chicken would work great.
This makes a lot of pasta salad. It is great for a crowd! Feel free to cut the recipe in half if you don’t need as much food.

Steph

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Pin this recipe to your favorite board now to remember it later!

Pin This Recipe
Greek Chicken Pasta Salad  - recipe for Taziki's Friday Pasta - homemade vinaigrette tossed with penne pasta, chicken, feta, tomatoes and fresh basil - good warm or cold. Great for a potluck. Can make a day ahead - the flavors get better as it sits. This is seriously delicious!

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Comments

  1. Thank you so much for this! We moved away from Birmingham and I have been craving Friday pasta recently.

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