Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe

This recipe for Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is the perfect flavorful side dish for any summer BBQ get together, or for those hot nights when you don't want to cook! It is even better the next day, so make it the day before and also enjoy easy lunch leftovers with it!

During the hot summer months, warm meals often seem unappealing. Pasta salads are an excellent ways to have a balanced meal that isn't hot, and stands up well to being in a lunchbox or brought to an outing.

One of my family's favorite pasta salads, is this mouth-watering recipe that is loaded with shredded chicken breast (or any kind of chicken meat), crispy bacon pieces, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese tossed into a creamy ranch dressing pasta. A BLT pasta salad with ranch! 

Follow this recipe exactly, or use the ideas below to make better than-ever pasta salads for lunch, dinner, or even the perfect side dish for your summer barbecue or other family gatherings. Consider also serving this yummy Original Texas Caviar Recipe at your next get together too!

 

Pasta Salad Making Basics:

Pasta

Choose noodles that are similar in size and shape to the meat, vegetable, and/or cheese being added to the salad. Quinoa pasta can be used for added protein. Small ravioli or tortellini can be more filling. Rice pasta complements Asian flavors.

Macaroni elbows, shells, corkscrews, and bowties hold up well to dressings. Rainbow or vegetable pasta is best used in recipes using a transparent vinaigrette or bottled salad dressings.

No matter what pasta is settled on, cook it until just al dente and toss it into the dressing while slightly warm. Doing this helps to flavor the pasta, and prevent it from becoming soggy after adding the dressing.

Dressings for your creamy pasta salad

Most people envision a delicious pasta salad made with mayonnaise or jarred salad dressing, but that is only one kind of pasta salad sauce. Each of these recipes makes enough for about one pound of pasta and two to three cups of mix-ins.

Quick and Easy

1 15-18 ounce bottle of your favorite bottled salad dressing, jarred mayo, or jarred salad dressing

Reserve about ½ cup of dressing. Toss the remaining dressing with cooked pasta and mix-ins in a large bowl. Add remaining dressing just before serving

Real Cream-Based Salad Dressing

This salad dressing is creamy and tangy, and can even be used on a cold vegetable salad or to make a creamy slaw.

1 cup whipping cream*
1 cup sugar
1 cup white or cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

In a large mixing bowl whip all of the ingredients together until firm peaks form. Fold in pasta and additions.

*A substitution of 1 ½ cups plain, Greek-style yogurt or sour cream is an option to reduce the fat content. It will be a little thinner than the whipping cream version, and won't whip into firm peaks.

Basic Vinaigrette

You can play with the flavors to match what you're making. Balsamic vinegar for something Italian, rice wine with mandarin orange juice for an Asian-inspired dish, or red wine vinegar for something Greek.

For the base, you can use a light oil salad dressing for something that hides in the background, or extra virgin olive oil for something more prominent on the palate.

2 cups of desired oil
⅔ cups desired vinegar (subbing up to 2 tablespoon of citrus juice)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon ground mustard
1 minced glove of garlic

Whisk together ingredients in a large serving bowl until emulsified. Remove ½ cup of dressing and set aside. Toss pasta salad ingredients until well covered. Add ½ cup of salad dressing to the salad and toss just before serving.

Side Dishes That Go with a Main Dish Pasta Salad

Pasta salads seem like ubiquitous side dishes at barbecues and summer gatherings. However, pasta salad can be served as a main course, particularly when meat and fish are mixed with fresh vegetables, cheese, and pasta.

Knowing what to serve as a side dish can be difficult, but there are a few basic sides, depending on the type of pasta salad you are serving, that will leave you and your guests satisfied.

Grilled Corn

Remove the first few leaves on the corncobs and soak the cobs in a pot of cold water for 20 minutes. Brush the corn kernels with a small amount of olive oil or butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Put the corncobs on a grill preheated to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook the corncobs for 15 minutes, rotating every five minutes. Allow the corn to cool for five minutes before peeling the corn and serving it with butter or any seasonings that complement the pasta salad.

Baked Asparagus with Whole Grain Mustard

Baked asparagus with whole grain mustard can be served as a complimentary side dish to chicken- and meat-based pasta salads. To make the asparagus, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Break the woody ends off the asparagus spears and put the spears in a baking dish large enough to lay them all out flat. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on the asparagus and sprinkle sea salt and freshly ground black pepper over the asparagus.

Brush a tablespoon of mustard over the asparagus and bake for 12 minutes. Remove the asparagus and stir. Serve right away or cool in the refrigerator to serve the asparagus cold.

Baked Bosc Pears with Goat Cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice a Bosc pear in half and remove the center area of each half with a spoon.

Fill the hole with goat cheese and put the stuffed pears in a baking dish. Sprinkle the pears with sea salt and freshly ground pepper before drizzling each half with a small amount of honey.

Bake the pears in the oven for 15 minutes. Serve right away while still hot.

How to Freeze Pasta Salad

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, you can safely store food in a freezer that has a constant internal temperature at or below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. While some items, such as eggs and canned foods, cannot be frozen, most others, such as pasta salad, can be as long as you use the proper container.

Storing your food and leftovers in a freezer can help them last longer and stretch your grocery budget.

Things You'll Need

Permanent marker
Freezer storage bag or use your Vaccuum Sealer Machine and the bags for it

Instructions for Freezing Pasta Salad:

1. Label the outside of a freezer storage bag with a permanent marker, noting the type of pasta salad and the date.
2. Place the pasta salad into the freezer storage bag.
3. Remove the excess air from the bag by pressing it down without smashing the pasta salad, and seal it.
4. Place the bag in your freezer.

Tips & Warnings

It is common for the color of frozen food to change over time. This is generally an indication of freezer burn and is not a sign that the food is unsafe for consumption.

Frozen foods are best consumed within six months of freezing. Be sure the bag your pasta salad is in is made for freezer storage to help prevent freezer burn.

Pasta salad that has been set at room temperature for more than two hours should be discarded immediately and not frozen. Freezing food does not destroy bacteria and will not make spoiled food safe for consumption.

HOW TO MAKE Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad:

Servings: 4-6 (Notes: Double or triple this chicken bacon ranch pasta salad recipe if feeding a crowd.)

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Rest in Refrigerator before serving: 1 hour or more

Equipment needed to make Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad:

You will need the following items to make this easy pasta salad recipe:

Medium or large pot
Cutting board
Chef Knife
Medium bowl
Wooden Spoon

Ingredients needed to make Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad:

8 oz medium shells pasta
½ cup ranch dressing
1 cup cooked chicken, shredded (you can also use leftover chicken)
1 cup lettuce, shredded
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2.5 oz package of bacon pieces

Directions:

Step 1:

• Fill a medium or large pot halfway with water, bring to a boil, then add noodles and cook until al dente, about 8-10 minutes. Drain water, and rinse under cold water.

Step 2:

• While the noodles are cooking, shred your lettuce, if it isn’t already shredded, and cut your tomatoes in half.

Step 3:

• Add the cooked noodles and ranch dressing to a bowl, and stir well to coat the noodles.

Step 4:

• Add the chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, and crisp bacon, and gently toss together.

Step 5:

• Cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour, or until ready to serve.

Pasta salads can be prepared a day in advance, and stored in the fridge. Keep all leftovers of extra chicken bacon pasta salad covered and refrigerated.

Transport in a lunchbox or to the function with cold packs to keep cool and prevent bacteria from forming. Most of all, have fun experimenting with these ideas to make multiple pasta salads for lunch or dinner this summer.

Other Variations for Pasta Salads:

Mix-Ins and simple ingredients:  Deciding what is going to be in the cold pasta salad recipe should be the first step. These ideas are guidelines to help make a good pasta salad for lunch. From these lists, pick two to three cups worth of mix-ins to add to one pound of cooked pasta.

Hearty Vegetable: blanched cauliflower, blanched broccoli, blanched carrots, black olives, kidney beans, crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese. Complimentary flavors: dill, parsley, garlic, cream dressings.

Greek pasta salad: cooked ground lamb, chickpeas, Feta cheese, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, blanched grape leaves, spinach, red onion, marinated peppers, olives. Complimentary flavors: oregano, mint, dill, crushed red pepper, garlic, lemon juice and/or red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, or Greek yogurt.

Italian pasta salad: pepperoni or salami, provolone or mozzarella cheese, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, roasted zucchini, eggplant, drained canned cannellini beans. Complimentary flavors: oregano, parsley, basil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil.

Asian pasta salad: blanched bok choy, blanched carrots, water chestnuts, peanuts or cashews, mandarin oranges, baby corn, red pepper strips, snow peas, fried tofu, fried wonton strips, chow mein noodles. Complimentary flavors: cilantro (Chinese parsley), garlic powder or fresh garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, green onions, and red pepper flakes.

Mexican pasta salad: black beans (drained, canned), avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, queso fresco, scrambled eggs, meat or cooked sausage, corn, onions. Complimentary flavors: oregano, cumin, chili powder, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, salsa. Or check out this Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad Recipe!

Indian pasta salad: tomatoes, cucumber, chilies, cooked chickpeas or lentils, onion, radishes, guava, papaya, and mango. Complimentary flavors: lemon or lime juice, curry powder, garam masala, cilantro, cumin, garlic.

Ham and Eggs: cubed ham, hard-boiled eggs, onions, celery, blanched carrots, and green peas. Complimentary flavors: cream dressings, parsley, garlic, chives, and dill.

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