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–+ servings
Salad in a bowl topped with sauce, avocado, greens, and green onion flowers.
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5 from 1 vote

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

This fresh and flavorful pasta salad is perfect for any time of year from backyard BBQs to mid-week meals.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Canadian
Servings: 8
Calories: 392kcal
Author: Jacqueline Piper

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Salad

  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 8 slices bacon
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes
  • 2 Persian cucumbers or half an English cucumber
  • 1 avocado sliced
  • 3 green onions sliced
  • ½ cup fresh parsley
  • 8 oz pasta cooked to al dente, drained, and rinsed

For the Dressing

  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
  • ¼ cup milk or more as needed
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 1.5 teaspoon dried dill
  • 1 teaspoon dried chives
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Dressing

  • Mix all of the dressing ingredients, adding only as much milk as needed to achieve a thinner consistency.

For the Salad

  • If cooking the chicken and bacon on a Blackstone grill, preheat it to medium heat and cook them on each side for 4-5 minutes, until cooked.
  • Set the chicken and bacon aside to cool and then chop into bite-sized pieces.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the cooled pasta, cucumber, avocado, tomato, chicken, and bacon.
  • Add half of the dressing and mix well. Add more dressing as needed.
  • Garnish with parsley and green onions. I add chives and chive flowers as a garnish because I grow them.
  • Season to perfect with salt and pepper, and serve.

Video

Notes

The dressing recipe makes about 1 cup of dressing. Use as little or as much as you want. I use about 2/3 of the recipe.
Use pre-cooked chicken to save time. Rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken works great!
Cook the pasta to al dente. It will continue to absorb moisture from the dressing which will soften it slightly.
Rinse the cooked pasta with cold water to stop the cooking process and cool it down quickly.
Save some extra ranch dressing to add just before serving. The pasta will absorb some while it sits in the fridge.
This pasta salad stores well in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 392kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 25g | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 2mg