This chicken bacon pasta salad is an easy dinner recipe for a meal ready in 15 minutes using pre-cooked grilled chicken. You can add any dressing you like to this pasta salad with Ranch dressing or Italian dressing (what we used). I’ve also made this rotini pasta salad with Caesar dressing for a creamy pasta and it was yummy.
If you’re looking for quick meals when you’re too tired to cook, easy lunch ideas or cold lunch recipes, or even an easy make and take potluck recipe for a party, this is a cheap and easy recipe for a crowd!
How To Make Cold Chicken Bacon Pasta Salad Recipe in 15 Minutes
Ingredients for Chicken Bacon Pasta Salad
To make this quick and easy pasta salad, you’ll need:
- Rotini pasta
- Pre-cooked grilled chicken strips
- Real crumbled bacon
- Red onion
- Bell peppers (colors of choice)
- Cherry tomatoes
- Shave parmesan
- Ranch dressing, Italian dressing or creamy dressing of choice
- Salt
- Pepper
Recipe FAQs & Recipe Tips
Time-Saver Tip: Use Pre-Cooked Chicken
I use Tyson grilled chicken breast strips for this recipe.
(I like to keep a package in the freezer for quick meals like this.)
Just be sure to microwave them (if frozen) and cool before adding them to pasta salad recipe.
Make It Your Own: What Pasta Salad Dressing?
We really like this with Olive Garden Italian dressing for a lighter pasta.
If you’ve never had this salad dressing, it’s really flavorful!
But, you can make this as a chicken bacon pasta salad with Ranch, too (which I know is how many people like it).
Another Recipe Time-Saver Tip: Using Real Bacon Bits
You can use fried crumbled bacon for this recipe, but I like to keep the prepackaged bacon bits from Hormel or Oscar Mayer for no-cook, time-saver recipe tips.
Free Printable Recipe Card for Cold Chicken Bacon Pasta Salad
The one thing I love about this easy recipe is that you can play around with the ingredients and add different vegetables like chopped broccoli or olives, cheese cubes or shredded cheese, or even different meats.
You can even leave chicken out for a vegetarian recipe.
This is also an easy recipe to double for a crowd or triple for large groups.
GET MORE DINNER SALAD RECIPES:
- Mediterranean Greek Pasta Salad With Feta Cheese
- Classic Taco Salad Recipe
- Orzo Pasta Spinach Salad Recipe With Chicken
- Healthy Wheat Berry Bowl Recipe
- Simple Pasta Salad With Pepperoni
- Easy Asparagus Vegetable Salad
RECIPE TIP: Definitely don’t overcook the pasta for this recipe. You want to pull it off of cooking at 7 minutes and then cool with water to stop the cooking.
Cold Chicken Bacon Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 4-6 strips pre-cooked chicken breast* cubed
- 16 ounce Rotini pasta cooked al dente (around 7 minutes)
- 3-4 ounce package pre-cooked bacon crumbles (I use Hormel, do not use hard bacon bits)
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 small red onion diced
- 1 bell pepper diced (color of choice)
- 1 cup Olive Garden Italian dressing (or Ranch, or dressing of choice) + more, if needed
- 1 cup shaved parmesan cheese
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta al dente, according to package directions, about 7 minutes. Drain and rinse with cool water to cool pasta. Add cooled pasta to a large serving bowl.
- To the pasta bowl, add the chicken, bacon crumbles, tomatoes, onion, and bell pepper. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add in 1/2 cup of the shaved parmesan. Stir to mix ingredients.
- Add 1/2 cup of the dressing to the pasta bowl ingredients. Stir to mix completely. Add remaining dressing and stir. If the pasta salad seems dry, add more dressing.
- Top with the remaining shaved parmesan and serve immediately. Serve extra dressing on the side. (SEE MAKE AHEAD TIPS UNDER NOTES BELOW.)
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. After storing, mix and add more dressing before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Note
Nutrition calculations are approximate. If you're following a special diet, please calculate your own nutrition values.
Enjoy the cold chicken bacon salad recipe!
