Chicken bacon ranch pasta salad is a creamy, crunchy, and colorful salad that’s a perfect side dish on any table!
This pasta salad has chopped chicken, creamy avocados, tomatoes, green onions, and cubes of cheddar cheese mixed into a creamy dressing.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Crunchy, creamy, savory, and salty, this salad makes a great main dish and is a favorite for summer barbecues and potlucks.
- Skill Level: Easy to whip up for a hearty lunch or a quick dinner.
- Prep Note: Double up on the homemade ranch dressing and have some to use all week on salads and in wraps!
- Time-Saving Tip: Substitute pre-packaged bacon crumbles and a bottle or packet of ranch dressing.
Ingredient Tips for Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
- Pasta: Choose sturdy pasta, like rigatoni, rotini, or penne, that holds up well with the other ingredients and that the dressing can cling to. Cook pasta al dente and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. This keeps the pasta firmer longer.
- Bacon: Cooked bacon, packaged bacon bits, or diced ham add crunch and a smoky, salty flavor. If you’re using packaged bacon crumbles, try crisping them up by heating them in the microwave for 30 seconds.
- Chicken: Got rotisserie or leftover chicken? Those are ideal for making short work of this recipe. Leftover shrimp or salmon are also great options.
- Cheese: Sharp cheddar cheese has the best flavor. Cut it into chunks or shred it to make every bite cheesy.
- Veggies: Colorful green onions, juicy grape tomatoes, and creamy avocados are a good match with the bacon and chicken. Fresh spring peas, chopped celery, asparagus pieces, and diced bell peppers are delish in this dish, too!
- Dressing: Mayonnaise, sour cream, herbs, and a handful of seasonings are all that’s needed for a creamy ranch dressing. For a lighter dressing, try replacing the sour cream with Greek yogurt.
How to Make Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
- Mix: Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside (full recipe below).
- Cook: Boil the pasta, drain, and rinse with cold water.
- Combine: Add all ingredients to a serving bowl and add dressing.
For best results, chill for at least an hour before serving. Then garnish with avocado, extra green onions, and bacon bits.
Storing Pasta Salad
Keep leftover bacon ranch pasta salad in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Stir before serving. Add extra dressing if needed, since the pasta will soak up the dressing as it sits.
More Pasta Salad Favorites
Did you love this Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad? Leave a rating and comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces rigatoni shells, rotini, or penne
- 8 slices bacon
- 2 cups cooked chopped chicken
- 2 green onions thinly sliced, divided
- 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
- ½ cup diced cheddar cheese cut into ¼-inch cubes
- ½ avocado for garnish, optional
Dressing
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons milk or as needed
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives or 1 teaspoon dried
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley or 1 ½ teaspoon dried
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, milk, chives, dill, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to cool. If desired, whisk 1 tablespoon bacon grease into the dressing.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook al dente according to package directions. Drain well and rinse under cold water.
- Set aside 1 tablespoon of green onions and half of the bacon for garnish.
- In a large bowl, combine drained pasta, half of the bacon, chicken, tomatoes, green onions, and cheese. Add dressing to taste (you may not use all of the dressing) and toss well to combine. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.
- Garnish with sliced avocado if using and remaining bacon and green onion.
Notes
- Use rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken.
- For a quick dressing, replace the seasonings and herbs with bottled or packet mix of ranch dressing.
- Leftover pasta salad can be kept in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 4 days. Stir before re-serving. Do not freeze.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Pasta, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Hi Holly. My husband and myself don’t care for avocado. Do you have any suggestions as to what to use otherwise? I love pasta salad and adore your dill pickle pasta salad.
You can just leave the avocado out and it will still be delicious!
hi holly im in australia we only have the bottled ranch salad dressing by paul newman and praise so what do i use also we only have corn flour but not corn meal whats the difference blessings susanne
Hi Susanne,
This recipe has a homemade dressing so you shouldn’t need a bottled dressing. This recipe doesn’t use corn meal.
Enjoy!
Hi making this salad for a picnic on the beach could u tell me how much is a cup
1 cup is 240ml
Great recipes, I would buy your book!
Thanks Brett!
I made this for an engagement party and everyone raved. I made the dressing the day before and then assembled everything the day of. It was so good !! I made extra and it was good the next day, even with the avocado,( I sprinkled lemon before I added it to the salad.) I have already made this again, great to make ahead to have on a busy evening after work. Thank you for the recipe!! It was a hit, and now we are hooked on the ranch dressing. I’ve made it multiple times… So good!!
I’m so glad everyone loved it… I agree, I could eat this dressing with a spoon!
Hi Holly
Is that fresh or dried chives.
Fresh is best but if you don’t have fresh you could certainly substitute dried.
Nice salads. Thank you.
So many lovely salads. Thank you.
Great dish !
Makes a great presentation when ever I will need to take a dish to the many events my large family have.
Looks YUMYUM!. Thanks for the recipe. I needed to pin this.
This looks delicious. Yumming to I remember to make it at one of our cookouts!
I made this today and the dressing is a lot like ranch. I had to make some changes to the recipe to what I had in the fridge. I added green onion and celery. I didn’t have any avocado (I don’t care for it) so I left that out. I added McCormick’s Salad Supreme to the salad and refrigerated it for 4 hours before serving. It was a hit! Very good!
So glad you enjoyed it Michele! The celery would add a great crunch too!
When I cook chicken for salad, I put a whole onion and several garlic cloves in the water, gives it a good flavor! Then, I cook the pasta in the leftover broth for extra flavor.
That’s a great idea! It would add so much flavor!
Thank you for posting this! I love pasta salads, but needed a new one, as the old stand by is getting boring. I will be back, I’ve liked you on Facebook, and sharing with my daughter. Thanks again.
<3 Thank you Susan! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
I will be making for husbands lunch, will the avocado turn brown by the next day?
If you are planning to serve it the next day, you might like to toss the avocado with a little bit of lemon juice before adding it to the salad or even serve it on the side to be added to the salad.
Delicious chicken club pasta salad looks really yumm. thanks for sharing with Hearth and Soul blog hop. pinning
This looks fantastic! I can’t wait to make it soon. Great pictures.
Thank you Margaret! :)
This looks amazing! Visiting from Lil’ Luna – thanks for sharing your recipe and pinning! Have a fantastic weekend!
Thank you for stopping by Cindy!
This is a delicious Chicken Pasta Salad, wish I had some right now. Thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great day!
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
I make this sort of dish often during warm weather but top mine with crushed roasted cashew nuts yum :-)
Yummy! Great addition!
1.) Is that 8oz of pasta before cooking?
2.) How many people will this feed?
Yes, 8oz of pasta before cooking. This makes 6 1-cup servings.