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Every summer, I am all about cold pasta salads for dinner. I serve one at least once a week while it was warm out. There are so many reasons why I love cold pasta salads – they are so versatile, they are super stolen moments friendly and my whole family loves them!
I tend to rotate my cold pasta salad dinners between meat-free options and chicken based salads, plus I throw in a taco salad here and there for good measure. I’ve found that once I get a basic sauce down and get the thumbs up from my family, it becomes super easy to take that sauce and mix it up, creating many new meals and tastes from the same basic sauce.
This recipe is one of those. I tend to use the sauce and meat combination together all the time, but I mix up the veggies and other add-ins. And we’ve yet to eat one meal from those basics that we haven’t all loved.
Ranch Chicken & Bacon Pasta Salad
- 1 c. mayonnaise (lowfat or fat-free work just fine for this)
- 1 c. Ranch salad dressing
- 2 c. veggies of choice (I used peas this time. Tomatoes, peppers, olives, green onions and cucumbers, or any combination thereof, are also great options.)
- 1/2 lb. shredded or diced fully cooked chicken
- 1/2 lb. diced and cooked bacon
- 1 lb. pasta of your choice, cooked and rinsed with cold water
- 1 c. shredded cheese
- Salt and pepper, to taste
1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and Ranch dressing. Add the veggies, chicken and bacon. Stir to combine.
2. Add the chilled pasta and toss to coat. Stir in the shredded cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
It’s really as simple as that. The mayo/ranch combo mixed with the chicken and bacon is a surefire winner no matter what else you put with it. Experiment and have fun!
I make something close to this, but without bacon — what a great idea!
I just absolutely love your blog. I have tried many of your recipes and have a stack of more to try. Thanks for your hard work and dedication. I check you out everyday!
Can’t wait to make this. Thanks!
Mmmm. Sounds so easy and delicious!
Can’t wait to try this!
I made this tonight, and OH MY WORD! Simply delicious and perfect for company. I love the crunch of the bacon in there! I ended up using canned peas and mushrooms for the veggies. I will be making this again, and again, and again. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I am all over this like white on rice!
I’ve made this twice and I loved it. It’s the only pasta salad I’ve ever tried that I’ve actually liked.
This sounds really good. I’m not sure that I can get by with serving it as the main dish, though. I may leave out the chicken and use it as a side.
Made this for a church dinner tonight and almost didn’t have to wash the bowl, it had been scraped so clean!
Will definitely be making this again!
This sounds delicious!! I can’t wait to try it!
I just made this and it was AMAZING! It wasn’t too heavy either, with all of the ranch and mayo. The amount of noodles you use really makes up for it all. Loved it!
My favorite kind of Salad is none other Potato Salad. it really taste yummy.**’
I made this last night and it was a hit!! Fresh carrots and peas…we BBQ’d the chicken and bacon. It was so yummy! Hubby took the left overs for lunch today and I was a bit upset! Thanks for sharing!!!
i like potato salad and also mixed fruit salads. they are tasty and so yummy:.*
russian salads are kind of addictive, my mom always make those russian salad at home-`-
i eat every kind of salad, but my favorite is of course fruit salad and chicken salad ‘,’
I think I just happen to be told relating to this issue from work 2 days back with a buddy, but at that time this didn’t caugh my personal attention.
Just tried this recipe with onions, peas and tomatoes as the veggies and prosciutto instead of bacon. MMMMM DEELISH. This is a great way to use pasta if you have made too much the day before! Thanks!
I am making this tonight!! Cant wait. Looks sooooo yummy