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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!
Best Chicken Club Pasta Salad
If you like club sandwiches and ranch dressing you are going to love this Chicken Club Pasta Salad recipe. It’s similar in some ways to my Italian Pasta Salad in that it’s based on simple ingredients with a dose of porky goodness, savory cheese, fresh cherry tomatoes, and a delicious salad dressing. Yet, it’s a tasty masterpiece of its own.
The recipe basically takes all the best parts of a club sandwich, but replaces the bread with pasta and then coats all the ingredients in creamy ranch! It’s super yummy and takes very little effort to prepare. You can easily use leftover chopped chicken and bacon. The only thing that you really have to cook is the pasta.
And it’s a really versatile salad that can be served alone as a main dish or as a side at your next BBQ along with some Homemade Burgers or BBQ Baby Back Ribs. I often like to serve this pasta salad with chicken for a weekend lunch on a hot day and then finish the meal with a nice cold and creamy Strawberry Milkshake.
Why We Love This Chicken Club Pasta Salad
- Quick And Easy! This simple recipe is super easy to whip together in just 20-minutes with some leftover chicken and bacon along with whatever pasta you have on hand and a bit of ranch.
- Classic Club! It’s like a club sandwich turned into a cold pasta salad that is covered in tangy tasty ranch dressing. With all the good stuff like savory bacon, cheddar, fresh tomatoes, and juicy chicken it’s absolutely delicious.
- Ideal Make Ahead! Perfect for potlucks, picnics, and parties! This creamy chicken pasta salad recipe is a crowd pleaser as well as a fantastic make-ahead lunch or dinner option.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Pasta – I used penne but any shape of pasta will work such as rotini, fusilli, farfalle, or rigatoni.
- Bacon – Any type of crispy cooked bacon adds a touch of salt and porky goodness in combination with the ranch dressing.
- Chicken – You will need some already cooked chicken. This ranch pasta salad is a great way to use leftover Baked Chicken Breast or Instant Pot Shredded Chicken. But you can also just boil or bake any chicken you have in your fridge or freezer.
- Cherry Tomatoes – I like to use fresh ripe cherry or grape tomatoes. Yet, any type of tomato diced into bite-size pieces will also work.
- Cheddar Cheese – Club salad would not be complete without cheddar. The recipe calls for cubed but shredded is fine if that’s all you have on hand.
- Celery – Adds a nice crunch to the simple chicken pasta salad.
- Green Bell Pepper – Blends well with the fresh tomato and adds another layer of fresh flavor.
- Ranch Dressing – Any brand of store-bought or homemade ranch dressing will work to coat the chicken and pasta salad.
Cook The Pasta
Like with any pasta salad, the first thing you need to do is cook the noodles! So bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Then add the pasta and cook it according to the package directions or until al dente. This should take about 10 to 12 minutes. Then drain the pasta and rinse it with cold water to both cool it off and stop it from continuing to cook.
Toss Together And Serve
Once the pasta is cooked, put it in a large bowl. Then add all the other ingredients along with the ranch dressing and toss it all together to combine. It’s important to make sure that everything is evenly coated in the ranch so that each and every bite is equally delicious.
And that’s it! You’re done. You can enjoy the chicken club pasta salad right away or put it in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
What Types Of Pasta Can I Use?
Any type of bite-size pasta can be used to make chicken club pasta salad. Some good choices are rotini, fusilli, farfalle, penne, and rigatoni. But it’s totally up to you and even long pasta noodles like spaghetti can be used.
What Is Al Dente Pasta?
Pasta is considered to be “al dente” when it’s cooked but still firm to the bite with a slight chew. So when cooking pasta, I always suggest checking the doneness about 2 minutes before the package directions indicate and then watching it closely.
Can I Make This Recipe Gluten-Free?
Yes! Just use your favorite gluten-free pasta and follow the directions as stated in the recipe. Yet, do remember to read the label on store-bought ranch dressing to ensure that it is gluten-free.
Expert Tips
- 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.
Leftovers
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!
Other Salad Recipes You Can Try
- Avocado Tomato Salad
- Easy Corn Salad
- Easy Panzanella Salad
- Macaroni Salad
- Caprese Salad
- Chicken Orzo Pasta Salad
- Chicken Kiev Pasta
- Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
Chicken Club Pasta Salad
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
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.
Tips & 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!
