California Grilled Chicken Vegetable Pasta

Loaded with tons of smoky grilled veggies and chicken, this California-style grilled chicken vegetable pasta is an awesome way to use up all that summer produce!

We’re celebrating summer how it’s meant to be today! With the most colorful Cali-style pasta bowls you will ever lay eyes on.

These bowls really do have it all and even more. There’s smoky grilled chicken, a mess of tender grilled summer vegetables, tons of pasta, a little creamy homemade guacamole, and don’t even get me started on all the toppings options.

Summer eating at its absolute finest! We’re going all in on the summer eats today.

These bowls are a staple in our house during the summertime for a few reasons with the main ones being A) it uses up so much incredible summer produce B) it’s easy to customize your own bowl C) they’re ready in under an hour and won’t heat up your kitchen too much.

I mean, can you even argue with all that colorful goodness??

These Pasta Bowls feature…

• Juicy grilled chicken breasts
• Tender grilled zucchini, sweet pepper, and cherry tomatoes
• A base of tender pasta
• Tons of toppings including homemade guacamole, fresh mozzarella, sweet corn, and more

Making the Pasta Bowls

(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)

Ingredients You Will Need

• Avocado
• Lime juice
• Chicken breasts
• Olive oil
• Sweet pepper
• Zucchini
• Cherry tomatoes
• Garlic
• Pasta
• Shredded lettuce or sprouts
• Mozzarella
• Sweet corn
• Basil

Choosing Your Chicken

I recommend using boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. This lean cut of chicken is fast to cook up on the grill and turns out super tender and juicy every time.

If you don’t have thighs on hand, boneless skinless chicken thighs will work great instead, however, you may need to adjust the cook time slightly. Always use a kitchen thermometer to test the internal temperature of meat and cook until meat reaches 165F.

Tips for Perfect Pasta Bowls

1. Prep toppings before grilling – ideally, you want all your toppings ready to go before grilling so you can assemble the bowls immediately afterwards so everything stays warm.
2. Cut vegetables in uniform size – take care when slicing your vegetables so they end up the same size and cook evenly.
3. Grill vegetables in a grill basket – this will keep the vegetables from falling through the grill grates. You can also use a sheet of tin foil.

Recipe Variations

Try these ideas for a different twist on this pasta.

• Add a dressing – try drizzling bowls with Italian dressing, green goddess dressing, or Greek dressing.
• Skip the meat – omit the chicken for vegetarian-friendly bowls.
• Use different veggies – try mushrooms, asparagus, green beans, or summer squash.
• Use a different base – try replacing the pasta with steamed quinoa, rice, or zucchini noodles.

Stovetop and Oven Instructions

Don’t have a grill? You can make this recipe on the stovetop or in the oven instead!

Stovetop: Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet (or brush over a large cast iron grill pan) Once pan is hot, add chicken and sear on both sides until chicken registers 165F. Repeat cooking with vegetables until tender. Note: if your chicken breasts are a bit on the thick side, I recommend searing chicken on both sides, then finish cooking in a 400F oven 5-10 minutes.

Oven: Arrange chicken and vegetables in a single layer on a greased sheet pan. Bake at 400F 20-25 minutes until chicken registers 165F.

This is just pure summer goodness, folks! The grilled chicken and veggies are so simple, but they seriously take this pasta to the next level with all that wonderful smoky flavor.

And the toppings? As always, the more you can pile in your bowl the happier you’ll be.

Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.

Watch this pasta made step-by-step on Google web stories.

More summery pasta dishes to try next!

• Summer Roasted Vegetable Pasta
• Basil Pesto Ravioli with Grilled Vegetables
• Pesto Zucchini Orzo

This post was updated with new recipe tips and photos on 5/2/24.