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Chicken Lunch Side Dishes 30 Minutes or Less Pasta
4.8 from 12 votes

Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad

Jump to RecipeVideoPrintRate
By: Joanna Cismaru •10/8/22 12 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

This Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad is perfect for a BBQ, a picnic or lunch. Loaded with chicken, bacon, tomatoes, olives , all smothered in a creamy ranch, mayo and sour cream dressing. This will be your “go to” pasta salad this summer!

pasta salad in a serving bowl topped with olives
Table of Contents Open
  • The Best Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad
  • Ingredients You’ll Need
    • Dressing
    • Pasta salad
  • How To Make Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad
  • How To Serve
  • Expert Tips
  • Leftovers
  • Try These Other Delicious Pasta Salad Recipes:
  • Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Video
    • Notes
    • Nutrition Information
  • Did You Make This?

The Best Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad

Don’t you feel like summer is going by too quickly? I made a pasta salad for you, my friends, because I feel that a good pasta salad is like the quintessential summer salad that’s perfect for all occasions. I’ll help us hold onto that lovely summertime feeling for just a bit longer!

The reason I love this salad so much is because it’s loaded with chicken and it has one of my favorite all time ingredients, bacon. The other ingredient that I added and love in this salad are the tomatoes because it adds a burst of freshness to the salad. So there you have it, creamy, fresh, bright and balanced, my favorite pasta salad and the only salad I want to have for the rest of the summer.

pasta salad in a bowl with tomatoes topped with pepper

Ingredients You’ll Need

Dressing

  • Mayonnaise – You can use any kind of mayo you’d like, but believe me you want this creamy component.
  • Sour cream – This ingredient will add some nice tang. If you’d like to bulk up the protein you can sub this out for an equal amount of Greek yogurt with a teaspoon of lemon juice added.
  • Ranch dressing – This addition will pack tons of great flavor and pair nicely with the chicken.

Pasta salad

  • Rigati – This is a smaller version of rigatoni. I wanted something with ridges that would soak up all that sauce.
  • Chicken – Cooked and diced up, I like to go to the store and buy a nice rotisserie chicken to chop up but you can also use Roast Chicken leftovers.
  • Bacon – Fried up and chopped into bite sized pieces.
  • Veggies – Celery and cherry tomatoes will add some nice fiber and brightness to our pasta salad.
  • Olives – Black olives sliced up nicely to add some savory tang.

How To Make Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad

  1. Combine the dressing: In a medium size bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
  2. Prepare the pasta: Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain in a colander and rinse it under cold water to stop it from cooking any further. Transfer the pasta to a large bowl
  3. Finish the pasta salad: Add the bacon, chicken breast, celery, black olives and cherry tomatoes then add the prepared dressing. Toss well.
pasta salad in a large bowl with a serving spoon

How To Serve

When I think of this dish, I think of a big meaty entree to munch away alongside it. Anyone else or is that just me? Regardless here are some of my favorite ways to make this into a full blown meal.

  • Perfect Pulled Pork
  • Beer Can Chicken
  • Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs
  • Beef Brisket

Expert Tips

  1. Rinse the pasta, this will take away some of the starch and prevent our pasta salad from becoming a blob.
  2. Keep variety in mind when adding your mix ins, you want something with crunch, something bright and acidic, something nice and creamy, and of course a little bacon.
  3. Cool it before serving, placing it covered in the fridge will allow all those flavors to really get to know each other.

Leftovers

You can only really store this dish in the fridge, so unfortunately freezing ahead of time won’t work. Seal in an airtight container and this dish will keep for 3 – 5 days in the fridge.

Try These Other Delicious Pasta Salad Recipes:

  • Italian Pasta Salad
  • Greek Pasta Salad
  • Taco Pasta Salad
  • Deviled Egg Macaroni Salad
  • Asparagus And Peas Pasta Salad
  • Macaroni Salad
  • Tuna Macaroni Salad
  • Antipasto Salad

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

side view shot of a bowl full of chicken ranch pasta salad
Print
4.75 from 12 votes

Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad

Prep 15 minutes
Cook 15 minutes
Total 30 minutes
Rate Recipe
This Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad is perfect for a BBQ, a picnic or lunch. Loaded with chicken, bacon, tomatoes, olives , all smothered in a creamy ranch, mayo and sour cream dressing. This will be your "go to" pasta salad this summer!
8

Ingredients

For Dressing

  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup ranch dressing
  • 1/4 cup chives (chopped)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)

For Pasta Salad

  • 10 ounce pasta (I used Rigati, which is a smaller version of Rigatoni)
  • 6 slices bacon (chopped and fried)
  • 2 chicken breasts (cooked and diced (about 2 cups), I used all the breast from a Rotisserie chicken )
  • 1 stalk celery (chopped)
  • 1/4 cup black olives (sliced)
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

Instructions 

  • In a medium size bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
  • Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain in a colander and rinse it under cold water to stop it from cooking any further.
  • Transfer the pasta to a large bowl. Add the bacon, chicken breast, celery, black olives and cherry tomatoes then add the prepared dressing. Toss well. 

Video

Notes

I usually chop the bacon into small pieces before frying, I find it easier to fry this way vs frying the whole slices and then chopping it. Also I find it may fry faster this way.
I used chicken breasts but feel free to use dark or white meat in this salad, totally up to you.
I prefer chill this salad for a couple hours before serving. 
You can only really store this dish in the fridge, so unfortunately freezing ahead of time won’t work. Seal in an airtight container and this dish will keep for 3 – 5 days in the fridge.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 559kcal (28%)Carbohydrates: 30g (10%)Protein: 14g (28%)Fat: 42g (65%)Saturated Fat: 9g (56%)Cholesterol: 55mg (18%)Sodium: 762mg (33%)Potassium: 309mg (9%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 3g (3%)Vitamin A: 310IU (6%)Vitamin C: 6.6mg (8%)Calcium: 42mg (4%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
© Author Joanna Cismaru

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.

side view shot of a bowl full of chicken ranch pasta salad

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Joanna Cismaru

Joanna Cismaru

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

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12 Comments
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Emma k
Emma k
Posted: 1 year ago

5 stars
AMAZING!!!

0
Reply
Kim
Kim
Posted: 2 years ago

This pasta salad was best I’ve had in a long time! I will be making many more times! Thanks for sharing your recipe!

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Kim
Posted: 2 years ago

My pleasure!

0
Reply
Ree Martinez
Ree Martinez
Posted: 3 years ago

This is refreshingly good!

0
Reply
sharron penasack
sharron penasack
Posted: 4 years ago

What ranch dressing do you use ? It’s hard to find a good one.

0
Reply
Nicole Beaulieu
Nicole Beaulieu
Reply to  sharron penasack
Posted: 4 years ago

We love Litehouse ranch!

0
Reply
Jeanne L
Jeanne L
Posted: 5 years ago

5 stars
This was a great way to use some leftover chicken. It was tasty and hard to stop eating. The only thing I did differently was add a small cucumber, scallions, and some white onion. I didn’t have any bacon to add but it was still a delicious salad.

0
Reply
Jess
Jess
Posted: 5 years ago

5 stars
Hi Jo! What ranch dressing do you recommend using in this recipe?

0
Reply
Barbara Hollingsworth
Barbara Hollingsworth
Posted: 5 years ago

5 stars
This look so delicious, this is the best of the best salad I have ever had. Will be making this a recipe for my family.

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Barbara Hollingsworth
Posted: 5 years ago

Yay!

0
Reply
Dorothy Dunton
Dorothy Dunton
Posted: 5 years ago

Hi Jo. I have been searching for a creamy pasta salad and you have delivered one. It is sad, but true, that many pasta salads are on the dry side, especially leftover. This one certainly fixes that issue. I have the same issue with potato salad, it must be creamy.

0
Reply
Fenne Kieken
Fenne Kieken
Reply to  Dorothy Dunton
Posted: 5 years ago

So glad you like the Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad as much as we do. Thanks for posting your comment and being a part of our Jo Cooks community.

0
Reply

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Hey there!

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

Read More
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