Chicken bacon ranch pasta salad
Corkscrew pasta, juicy chicken, crispy bacon and cheddar in a creamy homemade ranch, a cold pasta salad that tastes like your favorite takeout wrap.
- 40 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $2.01 a serving
- 620 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 12 oz rotini
- 6 slices bacon
- 1 lb chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp dried dill weed
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
From your pantry
- 1½ tbsp salt, divided
- 1½ tsp garlic powder, divided
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley flakes
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 620 calories, 35 g protein, 47 g carbs and 32 g fat, and costs about $2.01 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No plain Greek yogurt? Plain yogurt or sour cream works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No shredded cheddar? Cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese or Monterey Jack cheese works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Bring a large pot of water on high, add 1 tablespoon of the salt and cook the rotini for the full time on the box, until tender.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heatTimer: 9 min
and under cold water until cool, then shake it dry.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Meanwhile, lay the bacon in a cold large , turn the heat to medium and cook 8 to 10 minutes until . on paper towels and leave the fat in the pan.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Medium heatTimer: 9 min
Food safety: Cook bacon until it’s crisp and no longer translucent.
the chicken with ½ teaspoon garlic powder and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook it in the bacon fat over medium-high 6 to 8 minutes, now and then, until and 165°F.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 7 min
Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
In a big bowl, the mayonnaise, yogurt, milk, dill, onion powder, parsley, lemon juice, pepper and the rest of the garlic powder and salt to make the ranch.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Dolly’s tip: Homemade ranch tastes fresher than the bottle and skips the stabilizers. It thickens as it chills.Add the pasta, chicken, cheddar, tomatoes and green onions and . the bacon over the top.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Chill at least 30 minutes. It keeps 4 days in the fridge.
Timer: 30 min
Dolly’s tip: The pasta soaks up the ranch overnight. Stir in a splash of milk before you pack it, and send it with an ice pack.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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