Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

Dish with chicken bacon pasta salad and serving spoon.

5 from 2 votes

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

This simple and delicious Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad recipe is a creamy, flavorful pasta dish you will love. Crispy bacon, juicy chicken, parmesan, tomatoes and more tossed in an easy to whip up Ranch dressing. A great side dish or make it a meal!

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Chill30

Total Time30

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 345kcal

Author: Lorie Yarro

Ingredients

16 oz short pasta uncooked
8-10 slices thick cut bacon cooked and cut/crumbled
2 c chicken, shredded or cubed
10 ounce tomatoes quartered
2-3 T chopped parsley
¼ c thin sliced onion
1 c shredded parmesan
½ teaspoon pepper

For the Ranch Dressing:

½ c mayonnaise
½ c sour cream
⅔ c whole milk plus up to ⅓ c or more as desired
1 packet ranch seasoning
optional: 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley and dill

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. When ready, drain and rinse with cool water to allow to cool off. You can toss in a touch of olive oil if desired and set aside.
Whisk all the dressing ingredients together and adjust the thickness as desired by adding a bit more milk to thin to desired thickness.
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss with about ⅔ of the dressing. Chill for about 30 minutes or until ready to serve. Adjust the amount of dressing, adding more as needed just before serving, and tossing and then garnish with chopped more parsley and extra parmesan.

Notes

Cook your pasta al dente. Don't overcook pasta when making this chicken bacon ranch pasta salad. When making pasta salad in general, overcooked pasta will become mushy. You want the pasta to hold up well. The dressing will hold onto the pasta well.
Don't make the pasta salad too far in advance. You don't want to make this pasta salad any more than 24 hours before you plan on serving it. You risk the veggies getting too soggy and the dressing becoming too absorbed into the pasta. I like making it the morning of the day I plan on serving it if making it ahead of time.
Salt to your liking. I did not add salt to the ingredients list for this recipe. The salt from the bacon, chicken and dressing may be enough. If it's not for you, add to taste once the pasta salad is ready.

Nutrition