Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is the perfect summer meal!
I love ranch dressing. Love it! It is my favorite salad dressing. I will eat other salad dressings, but ranch is the one I almost always choose.
I was recently at a restaurant on vacation and because of some health issues I was limited to what I could eat. I ordered a salad and asked for ranch dressing.
When the waitress brought the food, she said they were out of ranch dressing and gave me two other choices. I might have looked at her as if she were crazy. No ranch?!
Yes, I know it was not her fault that they were out of ranch dressing, but I was in the mood for ranch. Oil and vinegar on a salad is just not the same. I took it, but I did not enjoy it nearly as much as I would have with ranch dressing. I do love ranch dressing.
I know not everyone shares my love of ranch, but in my opinion, it is the best.
And I will totally admit that I am picky about the brand of ranch dressing that I like, too. If I am buying it, I buy the name-brand stuff. Off-brand ranch dressing simply isn’t the same. Just saying. 🙂
Those who know my love of ranch dressing and pasta will not be surprised that I combined the two into a delicious pasta salad. Add some bacon and vegetables to the pasta salad, and you pretty much have the perfect summer meal.
Pasta salad is a great summer meal because it can be made ahead of time, and it doesn’t heat up the house to make. It is also great leftover for lunch or dinner the next day.
If you love pasta salad and ranch dressing as much as I do, then this recipe is a must-make!
What type of pasta is best for pasta salad?
For this pasta salad, you can use macaroni, fusilli, penne, or another similar pasta.
Gluten free pasta also works well in this. The pasta salad in the pictures for this recipe are made with gluten free pasta.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is a simple and delicious summer meal.
- 12 ounces macaroni, fusilli, or other shaped pasta (I use gluten free pasta)
- 1 cup ranch dressing
- 2 cups cooked chicken, cut into chunks or shredded
- 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
- 8 slices bacon, cooked and cut into pieces
- 1 cup sliced olives add more or less depending on desired amount
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
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Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and place pasta in a large bowl.
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Add ranch dressing and stir to coat pasta well.
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Add remaining ingredients and stir just until well combined.
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Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
First posted July 2018. Updated June 2025.
Just to change this up a bit, I mashed half an avocado and whisked it into the ranch dressing. It was great.
I agree avocado goes great with this. I have added sliced avocado to mine and it is delicious.
Try using Hidden Valley Ranch’s Bacon Ranch dressing. They now sell this and it is AMAZING. It would go great in this salad.
I need to try that. It would be really good in this pasta salad. Some of the other ranch flavors would probably be good as well! Thanks for the idea.
Love the idea of adding avocado to this. I might switch out the chicken for beans (kidney beans are my favorite) and this could be next week’s lunch for taking to the office. Mmmm! I love ranch dressing also! Thanks!