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Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is a delightful combination of tender chicken, crispy bacon, and al dente pasta, tossed in a creamy ranch dressing. This flavorful salad is a crowd-pleaser, perfect for picnics, potlucks, or a satisfying lunch.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
- Cool and Refreshing – Pasta salad just screams summer! It’s the perfect dinner on a hot summer day with very little cooking required, and no need to turn on the oven.
- Versatile – You can use any kind of chicken you like, from Poached Chicken to rotisserie, and even chicken strips! Same goes for the veggies; stick with the peas and tomatoes, or things like cucumbers, olives, carrots, or avocado.
- Family Friendly – Chicken+Bacon+Ranch is definitely a popular flavor combo with kids and adults alike! I use that combo in lots of recipes, like Chicken Bacon Ranch Sliders and Slow Cooker Crack Chicken Sandwiches.
Ingredients
- Pasta – Use a bite-sized pasta, like rotini, farfalle (butterfly), macaroni, or shells.
- Chicken – dice or shredded chicken from a rotisserie, or for fun and added texture I like to use breaded chicken tenders.
- Peas – Frozen and completely thawed.
- Tomatoes – Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, or grape tomatoes.
- Bacon – One of my favorite cooking methods is in the Oven or Air Fryer. Cook it nice and crispy, then dice into bite-sized pieces.
- Ranch Dressing – Use any brand that you love, or try my homemade ranch dressing.
- Mayonnaise and Sour Cream – Part of the dressing to make it a little thicker and to take down the ranch a notch so it’s not too overwhelming.
How To Make Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
See recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions and set aside to cool.
- Whisk the Ranch dressing, mayo, and sour cream together for the dressing. If you prefer you can swap the mayo or sour cream for Greek yogurt.
- In a large bowl, toss the chicken, bacon, peas, and tomatoes together. Pour on the dressing and toss to coat.
Make Ahead and Storage
You can combine the salad ingredients without the dressing up to a day in advance. However, if you plan to use breaded chicken strips, save those for adding the day of to preserve the texture.
The dressing can also be prepped a day in advance and stored separately. Dress the salad no more than a couple of hours before serving.
Store leftovers in a covered container for up to 3-4 days. The pasta may absorb some of the dressing, so add a couple of tablespoons of Ranch to rehydrate when serving leftovers.
Helpful Tips
- Reserve some bacon crumbles – or make extra – to garnish the salad. Chives also make a nice garnish.
- Rinse the pasta to remove the excess starch or cool quickly.
- Optional, but delicious – chop and add some fresh herbs like dill or parsley.
More Pasta Salad Recipes
- Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
- Classic Macaroni Salad
- Creamy Taco Pasta Salad
- Lightened Up Broccoli Pasta Salad
- Balsamic Strawberry Pasta Salad
Bacon Ranch Chicken Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups small dry pasta cooked to al dente
- 2 cups diced or shredded chicken
- 1 cup frozen peas cooked
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 6 slices bacon cooked and diced
- 1/2 cup bottled ranch dressing
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Cook the pasta to al dente and allow to cool. Add chicken, bacon, peas and tomatoes and toss to combine.
- Combine Ranch dressing, sour cream and mayonnaise into a small bowl. Add salt and pepper and stir until combined.
- Pour dressing mixture over pasta mixture and gently stir to coat.
- Top with bacon crumbles for garnish, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
For more delicious pasta salads, be sure to check these out:
Can you freeze this casserole?
Hi Karie, This isn’t a casserole, it’s a pasta salad. So, no, I don’t recommend freezing.
Good recipe and super easy. I will make this again! We ate it all up.
Thanks for the awesome feedback Pamela!
Hi Kristin, I have made this before but I tried it again with steamed shrimp. As a Marylander I love shrimp steamed in Old Bay seasoning. The seasoning added extra zip to the bacon and ranch dressing. I used rotini and it was fantastic!
Oh, that sounds delicious!!
how many does this serve?
It would depend on whether you are serving this as a main course, or with a party spread. As a main dish it would serve about 6, or even up to 8.
Do you use real mayo or Miracle Whip
Always real mayo! 😉
What brand of Ranch dressing do you use?
I use Hidden Valley religiously. It’s our favorite!
what could i substitute for green peas
You could just leave them out, or use maybe some celery for crunch?
Made this for an office potluck, it was a hit! Multiple people asked for the recipe! Noted, I made my own ranch instead of using bottled ranch as I personally cannot stand the bottled stuff. To me, it also seemed a little too peppery but not enough to really impact the yumminess. I doubled the recipe, and probably about 10 people had a decent helping of it (but with a potluck, there are lots of other foods so this was not a main dish size helpings). Worked out great! I got everything ready the night before, threw it all together before serving, and it lasted staying out for a few hours. Unfortunately, no leftovers to know if it would be as good the next day!
Thanks for sharing your feedback Elyn! So glad to hear it was enjoyed by all!
I made this for the first time this weekend and I will make it again. Yum!
I really enjoyed this. Thanks for the recipe .
how many people does this serve?
I’d say a good six servings, but it depends on the serving size.
I am cooking this an entree for a soup kitchen, serving 25. Would quadrupling be enough?
As a main dish? Maybe…but for a soup kitchen I’d ere on the side of caution and make more.
Would this sit well overnight?
Yes, it’s great the next day!