Chicken Club Pasta Salad

5 from 1 vote

This simple 20-minute Chicken Club Pasta Salad is both easy to make and incredibly delicious! It’s full of juicy chicken, crispy bacon, savory cheddar, and fresh tomatoes and then tossed together with perfectly cooked pasta and creamy addictively good ranch dressing!

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Lunch, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 664kcal

Author: Joanna Cismaru

Ingredients

8 ounces pasta uncooked, such as rigatoni, shells, rotini, penne
12 slices bacon cooked and crumbled up
2 cups chicken cooked and chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
1 cup cheddar cheese cut in ½-inch cubes
2 stalks celery chopped
1 medium green bell pepper chopped
1 cup Ranch dressing

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until the pasta is al-dente. Drain and rinse with cold water.
Add the pasta to a large bowl followed by the rest of the ingredients including the dressing. Toss well until everything is evenly coated.

Notes

Salt your pasta water. Think salty like the sea. This is how you add flavor to the bland noodles. You want the pasta to absorb some of the salt as it cooks.
Don’t overcook the pasta. Pasta used in cold salads really needs to be al dente so it doesn’t get mushy when tossed with other ingredients and dressing.
Rinse the pasta. Don’t forget to rinse the pasta in cold water to stop the cooking process. You never want to add cold vegetables or cheese to hot pasta to make a cold salad. It can both wilt and melt them.
Don’t add salt. First, make the chicken and pasta salad and then season if needed. However, the bacon, cheese, cooked chicken, and ranch all have salt, so the salad likely won’t need any added.
Chicken club pasta salad will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container. Yet, this is a dish that does not freeze well. Yet, it’s not a big deal because it’s even better the next day and makes a fantastic lunch!

Nutrition