This Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is a delicious summer pasta salad featuring succulent chicken, crispy bacon, veggies and creamy ranch dressing!
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is packed with summer flavors. Plus it’s so simple to make, ideal for a meal or side dish. You can make it for lunch, or have it as delicious side dish at your next BBQ.
How To Make This Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad – Step By Step
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process and wash away excess starch.
In a large bowl, mix the pasta, chicken, bacon, red pepper, green onion, cheese, and dill, then add the ranch dressing and mix well.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
An Easy Pasta Salad
A hearty chicken bacon ranch pasta salad that’s a cinch to whip up, a godsend when you’re after a substantial side or lovely lunch. You can use pre cooked chicken and store bought ranch. Just a quick chop of the veggies and you’re done!
Can I Eat This Pasta Salad Hot?
While this recipe is absolutely delicious cold, you can certainly microwave the bowl and serve it warm for dinner too. This recipe is not only for the bbq and summer. Pop some cheddar cheese on top, it will melt and help meld all the flavors together!
Can I Freeze Pasta Salad?
You can choose to either freeze the pasta separate from the other ingredients and dressings, or you can also choose to freeze it all mixed up in a single container. Your pasta salad can last about a week in your freezer.
Ideally freeze the pasta salad without the dressing, and mix in the dressing when ready to serve.
Top Tips For This Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
- For a truly standout pasta salad, stick with dried pasta instead of fresh. It can be served chilled or at room temperature, and holds up well when tossed with dressing and other ingredients.
- For a well-cooked pasta salad, plan to cook the pasta until just past al dente. Adding an extra minute or so of cook time will keep the pasta soft while it cools.
- You can use rotisserie chicken, if you want to make it extra quick.
Adjust to your needs
This makes a very large bowl of pasta salad, perfect for a pot luck or family gathering. It would be easy to scale the recipe down for smaller meals. Use the sliding scale in the recipe card to decide how many servings you’d like!
Check Out These Other Delicious Pasta Dishes
- Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Soup
- Chicken Parmesan Stuffed Shelled
- Chicken Tortellini Soup recipe
- Creamy Chicken Piccata
Have you tried this Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta salad? Feel free to leave a star rating and I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 10 oz dry pasta farfalle, rotini, or penne
- 2 Cups cooked chicken breast diced (approximately 2 6 oz chicken breasts)
- 1 Cup cooked bacon diced (approximately 8 slices)
- 1 Cup red pepper diced
- ½ Cup green onion sliced
- 4 oz cheddar cheese diced small
- ¼ Cup fresh dill chopped
- 1 Cup ranch dressing
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process and wash away excess starch.
- In a large bowl, mix the pasta, chicken, bacon, red pepper, green onion, cheese, and dill.
- Add the ranch dressing and mix well.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Peggy V says
I saw the picture and it looked delicious. Made it today without the green onion. My husband ate 3 bowls for lunch!! A keeper for sure.
Becky Hardin says
Sounds like a success!