Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is the perfect cold summer pasta salad that you can enjoy as a complete meal or side dish. Simply combine chopped chicken, juicy tomatoes, sweet red onion, crispy bacon, shredded cheese, and creamy ranch dressing.
If you cold pasta salads, like this BLT Pasta Salad, then you’re going to want to stick around for this Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad! Loaded with lean chicken, fresh salad ingredients, and creamy ranch dressing, this chilled chicken bacon ranch pasta salad is a healthy option to add to your meal rotations. Enjoy it as a side dish or main meal.
🌟 WHY I LOVE THIS CHICKEN BACON RANCH PASTA SALAD
This chicken bacon ranch salad dressing comes together in just 18 minutes with the rest of the time dedicated to marinating in the fridge while you get on with your day.
Elements of this pasta salad can be cooked ahead of time, such as the chicken and bacon, making the assembling even easier!
The balance of protein, carbs, and veggies in this chicken bacon ranch pasta salad means that you can enjoy this chilled salad as a hearty main meal, not just as a side salad.
🍽 KEY INGREDIENTS
Chicken – Cooked and chopped. If you have cooked your chicken specifically for this pasta salad, make sure that it has cooled completely before adding it to the other salad ingredients.
Rotini pasta – Cook only until al dente.
Other salad add-ins – I include cooked and roughly chopped bacon, halved cherry tomatoes, chopped red onion, and freshly shredded cheese.
Ranch dressing – This can be a high-quality store-bought ranch dressing or homemade dressing.
Swaps
Chicken – You can cook your chicken from scratch for this pasta salad or use rotisserie chicken for added convenience. Turkey is another great option for this bacon ranch pasta salad recipe.
Pasta – Feel free to use another type of short-cut pasta for this recipe. Bow tie pasta, penne, small shells, or elbow macaroni are other commonly used pasta types in cold pasta salads.
Salad ingredients – Add sweet corn, creamy avocado, green peas, cucumber, bell peppers, seeds, and nuts as possible add-ins.
🥣 EQUIPMENT
A large pot, colander, a cutting board and knife, cheese grater, a large mixing bowl, and a wooden spoon.
🔪 HOW TO MAKE
You won’t find an easier pasta salad to make! Simply prepare the salad ingredients, combine them in a mixing bowl, toss in the dressing, and chill to serve. As simple as this Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is, I’ve still laid out my step-by-step process so that there’s no second guessing.
Preparations
Chop the cooked and cooled chicken, halve the tomatoes, chop the onion and cooked bacon, and shred the cheese.
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta and rise it thoroughly under cold water. Set it aside.
Step 2
Combine the chopped chicken, bacon, tomatoes, onion, and shredded cheese in a large mixing bowl.
Step 3
Add the pasta to the bowl of ingredients and toss.
Step 4
Add the cup of ranch salad dressing to the pasta salad and toss to fully coat all of the pasta ingredients. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the assembled pasta salad in the fridge for at least 2 hours for the flavors to meld together.
💭 COOKING TIPS
Follow the pasta package directions for the time needed to cook it. I usually shave off about 2 minutes for al dente pasta.
I run the freshly boiled pasta under cold water to stop the cooking process so that the pasta doesn’t soften beyond al dente.
If you are rushed for time you can chill this chicken bacon ranch pasta salad for a minimum of 30 minutes, but I highly recommend chilling it for 2 hours for the best flavor.
🥗 WHAT TO SERVE WITH CHICKEN BACON RANCH PASTA SALAD
SIDE DISHES
This Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad can be enjoyed as a complete meal with a serving of homemade Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread, breadsticks, soft pull-apart rolls, or Instant Pot Corn on the Cob.
MEATY MAINS
This chilled pasta salad is also perfect as a delicious side to Instant Pot Ribs, pulled pork, hamburgers, and grilled meat.
🙋 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Running cooked pasta under cold water stops the cooking process so that the pasta doesn’t continue to cook and turns softer than what you intended it to be for your salad.
This chicken bacon ranch pasta salad is a cold pasta salad. It’s important to allow cooked salad components, such as the chicken, bacon, and pasta, to fully cool before adding to the fresh salad ingredients and dressing.
Absolutely! The entire pasta salad can be assembled and stored in the fridge 1-2 days before serving. You could also prepare and store the salad components separately in the fridge, such as the red onion, tomatoes, chopped chicken, and salad dressing.
STORING AND ♨️ REHEATING
FRIDGE
Store leftover chicken bacon ranch pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Leftovers are to be served chilled, not heated.
I don’t recommend that you store this pasta salad in the freezer.
🍳 MORE PASTA SALAD RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
👪 SERVING SIZE
This Chicken Bacon Pasta Salad recipe makes 4 servings. The recipe can easily be doubled when serving a larger crowd.
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📋 RECIPE
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is the perfect cold summer pasta salad that you can enjoy as a complete meal or side dish. Simply combine chopped chicken, juicy tomatoes, sweet red onion, crispy bacon, shredded cheese, and creamy ranch dressing.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (chicken should be cold for preparing the salad)
- About 10 ounces rotini pasta
- ½ lb. bacon, cooked and roughly chopped
- 8 ounces shredded cheese
- ½ to 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ of a small red onion, chopped
- 1 cup ranch dressing (homemade or high quality store bought)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Add rotini pasta and salt the water, boil until just past al dente.
- Drain the pasta and rinse under cold water thoroughly.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked chicken, pasta, and back, plus shredded cheese, tomatoes, and onion. Toss together.
- Drizzle dressing over the salad, and toss again to coat.
- Chill for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator for flavors to marinade.