Loaded with chicken, pasta, bacon, and veggies this dish is tossed in an easy ranch mayo dressing for the perfect bite. While our favorite Italian pasta salad is often served as a side, this hearty dish eats like a meal!
A Pasta Salad Entree
This pasta salad turns a favorite side dish into a main dish with lots of great additions like chicken! Only 3 simple steps and 20 minutes of prep time. Chicken pasta salad is an easy way to stretch leftover chicken breasts or leftover roast chicken! Serve as a main dish or as a side (and it makes great lunches throughout the week). Best served cold, it’s a refreshing dish on a hot summer day.
What Goes in Pasta Salad
When making a cold pasta salad you can add in as many or as few ingredients as you’d like.
Pasta – Use rigatoni, penne, shells, or rotini pasta. Really, any medium pasta shape will work. Chicken – Leftover diced cooked chicken or shredded chicken is perfect in this recipe. You can also bake chicken breast or use rotisserie chicken. Veggies – Opt for a variety of colors and textures to make this chicken pasta salad both pretty and flavorful. Try bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, or avocado. Flavor – Cubes of cheddar, green onions, bacon, and a quick and creamy dressing add lots of flavor.
Chicken Pasta Salad Dressing
For the tastiest pasta salad dressing, we love the super quick homemade ranch-style dressing in the notes. It’s rich and creamy with lots of fresh herb flavor. Creamy: mayonnaise, sour cream, and milk. Swap the sour cream for greek Yogurt to lighten it up a bit! Flavorful: a packet of ranch dressing mix (or try homemade ranch seasoning) & fresh herbs.
Variations
Swap chicken for leftover turkey or ham. Use your favorite cheeses like fresh mozzarella, pepper jack, or feta cheese. Sprinkle with herbs such as fresh basil, parsley, and dill. Other additions to try include sliced olives (black or green), a splash of lemon juice, or red onion
How to Make Chicken Pasta Salad
Chicken ranch pasta salad comes together quickly once the veggies are prepped and the cheese is shredded. Just follow these steps: If you’d like to make the dressing from scratch, skip the ranch packet and add the following to the mayonnaise/sour cream mixture:
½ teaspoon each garlic powder and onion powder 1 ½ teaspoons each fresh dill and parsley salt & pepper
Before serving, sprinkle with fresh chopped green onion and extra bacon and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Storing Leftovers
Like most cold pasta salad recipes, this chicken bacon ranch pasta salad holds in the refrigerator for 3-4 days making it perfect for lunches. The pasta will soak up the dressing as it sits (adding more flavor throughout!). Be sure to dress the salad generously so it isn’t dry. If needed, add a little bit of extra milk, mayonnaise, or sour cream before serving! This dish doesn’t freeze well.
Favorite Pasta Salad Recipes
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