This Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is the perfect summer pasta salad featuring grilled chicken, crispy bacon, veggies and creamy ranch dressing!
NEVER MISS A POST! FOLLOW ME ON:
FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER
Happy summer, friends! Well, I suppose it’s not technically summer just yet, but where I live the weather has been so lovely and we’ve been spending lots of time in the sunshine!! The kids are finished school for the summer and we’ve already attended several barbecues – and it’s not even the end of June yet!
I don’t know about you, but when summer rolls around I look for any reason at all not to turn my oven on. We don’t have air conditioning in our house and since we live in the mountains we don’t really need it, but sometimes the heat of the day gets to be a little much with the sun streaming in our windows all day and the last thing I need is my oven adding even more heat to the mix.
And another thing about summer – it makes me SO lazy in the kitchen. Suddenly, I’m leaving all my bread-and-soup-making-from-scratch ways behind me and I’m whipping up all the no bake desserts and simple salads. And with all the fresh produce available in the summer time, who could blame me?
Pin this recipe on Pinterest!
This Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad contains all my favorite summer flavors, and it is SO easy to make for a simple summer meal or side dish. I make this for my family as a main dish for lunch, but it’s also great as a side dish for a big summer party or barbecue. And if you’re not into store-bought Ranch dressing from a bottle, just throw together this healthier homemade version from my favourite potato salad recipe, or try The Pioneer Woman’s homemade Ranch dressing for a not-so-light option. Both are truly delicious and will work great with this salad!
LOOKING FOR MORE EASY WEEKNIGHT MEAL IDEAS?
Get my Quick and Easy 4-Week Meal Plan Guide!
I hope you like this delicious Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad recipe! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favorite side dish to take to summer barbecues?
NEVER MISS A POST! FOLLOW ME ON:
FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER
Kitchen products I recommend:
Looking for even more delicious pasta recipes? You’ll LOVE these!!
- Easy Classic Macaroni Salad
- Easy Classic Pasta Salad
- Easy Classic Italian Pasta Salad
- Rainbow Vegetable Pasta Salad with Creamy Italian Herb Dressing
- Strawberry Spinach Pasta Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
- Quick and Easy Greek Pasta Salad
- Butternut Squash Pasta Salad
Recipe Video
Watch the video below to see exactly how I make this great meal. You can find more delicious recipe videos on my YouTube channel.
LOOKING FOR MORE EASY WEEKNIGHT MEAL IDEAS?
Get my Quick and Easy 4-Week Meal Plan Guide!
If you made this, share a photo!
Are you trying this recipe? Use the comment form below to share your take; now with support for image uploads and comment voting!
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Recipe: Ingredients
- 350 grams cooked pasta (my favourite to use is one box of Barilla brand Farfalle pasta)
- 2 cups cooked or grilled chicken (rotisserie chicken works well in a pinch!)
- 1 cucumber (cut into chunks)
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (plus extra for garnish)
- 1 cup chopped cooked bacon (plus extra for garnish)
- 3/4 cup homemade or store-bought Ranch dressing
- chopped parsley for garnish
Recipe: Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions and rinse under cool water.
- Add the pasta to a large bowl, along with the chicken, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, shredded cheese, bacon, and ranch dressing.
- Toss everything together well to coat and sprinkle some additional cheese, bacon, and chopped parsley on top for garnish.
- Store the pasta salad in the fridge until ready to serve (up to one day ahead), or serve immediately.
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
This is going to be such a hit this summer! Love how easy it is to make.
Yes, as most of my recipes, easy and delicious!☺️
This recipe is perfect for this weather! How refreshing and full of flavors!
Thanks Jade!🙂
I never say No to a pasta salad! I love trying new recipes!
I know, I LOVE pasta salads too😍
What’s not to love about this dish?! I will be making this tonight; looks amazing!
Glad you liked the recipe!
Looks so delish! Love all the flavors going on with this recipe, definitely having this on our table!
I hope you enjoy it 🙂
This is seriously making me hungry! I love this! looks so good!
Thanks!😊
Such a perfect side dish….and I love that it could easily double as a meal!
Thanks Cathy!☺️
This salad is delicious! I used 3 mini English cucumbers because that’s what I had on hand. Set it out for dinner last night and went to get some for myself and it was gone…luckily I tasted as I made it.Thanks for sharing this delicious salad.
We’re so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
This looks so delish! I showed my hubby your recipe and he wants me to make it for his lunches for the week. How well does this keep? I’ll be cooking this on a Saturday and I’ll make enough for 5 days of lunches. Will this recipe keep that long in the fridge?
For best results, according to food safety guidelines, we suggest storing the salad in an airtight container for up to 3 days.