Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

Behind This Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe

Long-time readers of the blog will know that I love anything and everything chicken bacon ranch flavored. Think blackened chicken bacon ranch sliders, cheddar bacon ranch chicken and potatoes, and even chicken bacon ranch dill pizza.

But I also love a good salad with crisp veggies and pasta. So, I figured – why not combine all 3?

There are lots of chicken bacon ranch pasta recipes out there, but I intentionally wanted to make something that could A) be served cold and B) contained a few more veggies.

This chicken bacon ranch pasta salad is made with diced chicken, crispy bacon, and creamy ranch dressing but it’s also loaded with crunchy romaine lettuce and croutons to bring in a real salad element. It really has a blend of great texture and flavors, while being filling enough to enjoy for a meal and shareable enough for potlucks and picnics.

Tips from My Kitchen

• Cook the chicken in bacon fat. I like to cook the bacon first and leave some fat in the pan. This automatically adds even more flavor to the chicken.
• Rinse the pasta. To stop the pasta from continuing to cook and to ensure it doesn’t all stick together, rinse it with cool water after draining. This also helps cool it down before adding the other ingredients.
• Wait to add the lettuce & croutons. No one likes soggy lettuce and croutons are meant to be crunchy, so I definitely recommend waiting to add those until just before serving. The rest of the salad can be assembled and refrigerated ahead of time.
• Season to your preference. I use two seasonings in this chicken bacon ranch pasta salad – poultry seasoning on the chicken and then Salad Supreme Perfect Pinch as a topping over the whole salad. Feel free to use your favorite and/or skip the Salad Supreme. I use about 8 to 10 shakes but you can add more or less as desired.

Key Ingredients

This salad combines classic chicken bacon ranch ingredients with those you’d expect in a pasta salad. The exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

• Chicken – I used chicken tenderloins. Chicken breasts would also work.
• Pasta – I like to use a short, textured pasta like fusili or rotini. Using high protein pasta is a great way to make this salad even more filling.
• Bacon – Adds saltiness and a savory crunch.
• Cheddar – Shredded or cubed cheddar adds a little decadence and pairs so well with the bacon, chicken and ranch.
• Green Onions – Add a light onion flavor without being too overpowering.
• Ranch Dressing – If you are using store-bought dressing, just grab your favorite. Litehouse is mine and it’s found in the produce/salad area. The recipe card has a list of ingredients for my low fat homemade greek yogurt ranch dressing.
• Poultry seasoning – I used Weber Kick’n Chicken. Feel free to use your favorite brand of poultry seasoning or even just Italian seasoning.
• Salad Supreme Perfect Pinch – This is one of my favorite ways to amp up the flavor in salads like this one.
• Croutons – I like to roughly chop them up so they are in smaller pieces to mix in with the other ingredients and more comfortable to chew in a bite.

Make it Your Own

This chicken bacon ranch pasta salad is incredibly versatile and there are lots of ways to customize it. Here are some ideas:

• Use protein pasta. There are lots of different options of high protein pasta out there now, such as chickpea pasta. Feel free to try one of them in this recipe to make it even more filling.
• Add more veggies. Bell peppers, peas, tomato, cucumbers, celery, and avocado all make great additions to this salad. I would just recommend adding the avocado with the lettuce and croutons to prevent any browning.
• Try rotisserie chicken. To cut down on prep, you can substitute the chicken in the recipe with rotisserie chicken.
• Use homemade ranch. I love to use my Greek yogurt ranch dressing on this salad. So much so that I’ve included the recipe below. It just adds so much great flavor and keeps the salad light and filling.

Make-Ahead Meal Prep

This chicken bacon ranch pasta salad makes a terrific work lunch! But there are a few pro tips to prevent your croutons and romaine lettuce from getting soggy.

Here are my suggestions:

• Don’t add the romaine lettuce until you’re ready to eat. I like to pack my romaine in a snack sized zip top bag.
• Add extra dressing in a condiment cup so you have a little extra for the added romaine and to rehydrate the pasta that will absorb the dressing as it sits.
• Pack the croutons in a condiment cup or ziptop bag and add those right before serving.

Even if you aren’t dividing this salad into individual lunches, I would recommend keeping the lettuce and croutons separate from the rest of the salad in the fridge.

I hope you enjoyed this holiday side dish recipe for this Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad! I look forward to your questions and feedback below.

Please be sure to tag me @BadBatchBaking using hashtag #badbatchbaking if you made this recipe and I will feature you on my story! Plus, I LOVE to see your baking accomplishments.