Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad with Homemade Dill Pickle Ranch
This quick and delicious pasta salad is perfect for summer BBQs, meal prep or an easy lunch. It's loaded with crispy bacon, cheddar cheese and the best homemade ranch.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 343kcal
Equipment
- 1 large sauté pan or skillet with a lid
- 1 large bowl
Ingredients
Pasta Salad
- 2 cups dry pasta of choice such as fusilli, bowties or penne (I use protein pasta; see Note 1)
- 7-8 strips bacon (I use chicken bacon but any kind works)
- 1 lb chicken breast or 2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried dill
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- Cooking spray or 2 tsp avocado oil
- ¾ cup low fat cheddar cheese, cubed or shredded (regular cheddar works too)
- 1 bunch green onions, green parts only, thinly sliced
Dill Pickle Ranch Dressing
- 1 cup Greek yogurt (I use fat free; see Note 2)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried dill
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- ¼-½ cup dill pickle juice, to taste (see Note 3)
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
Pasta Salad
- Preheat oven to 375℉ and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
- Arrange the bacon strips on the baking sheet then bake for 22-25 minutes or until desired crispiness; set aside to cool
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and season with salt; cook the pasta until al dente or fully cooked then drain and set aside to cool
- Season the chicken breast on both sides with the onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley, dried dill, freshly cracked black pepper and salt
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and spray with oil
- Sear the chicken for 1 minute on each side, then cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and cook until cooked through, about 10-12 minutes
- Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes before dicing; chop the cooked and cooled bacon as well
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta, bacon, chicken breast, cheddar cheese and green onions
Dill Pickle Ranch Dressing
- Combine Greek yogurt, onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley, dried dill, freshly cracked black pepper and pickle juice; shake or stir until combined then season with salt to taste
- Pour the dressing over the contents of the bowl and toss until combine
- Serve right away or divide into 4 containers for meal prep
Notes
Note 1: I use Garofolo or Catelli protein pasta to up the protein content in this recipe, but any pasta in any short shape works great here.
Note 2: You can also use a mix of mayonnaise and Greek yogurt for the dressing.
Note 3: Use more or less pickle juice depending how thin you'd like the dressing. Adjust the amount of salt added according to the amount of pickle juice used because it will be salty as well.
Nutrition Facts in the recipe card below are calculated automatically and may be inaccurate. For more accurate nutrition information, refer to the macros below. Macros in the Recipe Notes section are calculated using a Macro Calculation App but will differ slightly based on ingredients used in individual variations. Nutritional information for this recipe is based on one serving.
Macros per serving: 499 cals/55g protein/33g carbs/14g fat
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 343kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 863mg | Potassium: 663mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 179IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 188mg | Iron: 2mg