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Ranch Chicken Salad with Bacon is an easy recipe for rotisserie chicken salad with ranch dressing mix, mayonnaise, celery and bacon. The whole family will love this delicious chicken bacon ranch salad!
Chicken Salad with Ranch Dressing
If you’re looking for different chicken salad recipes, try my easy ranch chicken salad recipe. It’s loaded with classic ranch flavor, and it’s super easy to make. Plus, it has bacon. Bacon. And, it’s low carb. Need I say more?
I usually try to keep chicken salad on the lighter side with my Lemon Chicken Salad with Apples — and a dressing made with lemon juice and Greek yogurt — or my Cranberry Chicken Salad with Apples or Southwest chicken salad.
But this chicken bacon ranch chicken salad is closer to a classic chicken salad recipe or even chicken bacon ranch pasta salad. It’s full of flavor and makes the best chicken salad sandwiches, especially on croissant rolls with fresh greens. My entire family absolutely loves it! I like to make a big batch of this salad for easy lunches or easy dinners, especially in the summer — perfect for meal prep!
Table of Contents
Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients in this easy chicken salad recipe. You should be able to find them in your grocery store if you don’t already have them at home.
- Cooked chicken — I love using rotisserie chicken or leftover rotisserie chicken, but you can use any leftover chicken. You may also be able to pick up cooked chopped chicken from your grocery store. Or, you can bake chicken to use in salad.
- Mayonnaise — forms the base of the salad dressing
- Ranch seasoning mix — dry ranch seasoning mix. If you don’t have ranch dressing mix or ranch dressing packets, you can make homemade ranch dressing or use your favorite brand of ranch. I recommend using half mayo and half salad dressing for the creamy ranch dressing.
- Celery — adds freshness and crunch
- Seasoning — dry parsley flakes, garlic powder, black pepper for extra flavor
- Bacon — chopped cooked bacon
How to Make Bacon Ranch Chicken Salad
First, make the dressing. Add the mayonnaise to a large bowl. Then, stir in the ranch seasoning mix, parsley, garlic powder and pepper. Mix the dressing ingredients until well combined.
Next, add the chopped chicken, chopped celery and bacon. Give the salad ingredients a good stir until everything is well blended.
The salad will be thick, but that’s normal. If it’s too thick for your liking, you can add more mayonnaise or thin the dressing out with a little milk. I do recommend waiting until after the salad chills. You can always adjust the consistency of the dressing then.
Storage
Refrigerate this savory chicken salad in an airtight container or in the mixing bowl covered with plastic wrap until you are ready to serve.It needs a good 2 hours to chill and allow the flavors to blend. Store leftover chicken salad (if there is any) for up to 4 days.
Recipe Tips and Variations
You can make this chicken bacon ranch salad with any type of chicken as long as it’s pre-cooked chicken. I love to pick up a Costco rotisserie chicken, but you can bake chicken breasts or chicken thighs or grill some chicken or even use canned chicken.
If you don’t have ranch dressing mix or ranch dressing packets, you can make homemade ranch dressing or use your favorite brand of ranch. I recommend using half mayo and half salad dressing for the creamy ranch dressing.
Add a green bell pepper, red bell pepper, green onions or red onion for extra crunch. You can add a little onion powder for even more flavor.
I usually serve shredded cheese or sliced cheese for sandwiches on the side, but you can mix cheddar cheese or cheddar blend into the salad for a bacon cheddar ranch chicken salad if you want.
Ranch Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 ½ tbsp ranch dressing mix
- 2 tsp dried parsley flakes
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 3 cups cooked chicken diced
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- ½ cup bacon cooked and chopped
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the mayonnaise and ranch dressing mix with the parsley, garlic powder and black pepper until well combined
- Add the chicken, celery and bacon, and stir until well blended
- Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until ready to serve
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
If you make chicken salad the same day you buy the chicken, it should keep for 3-4 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Yes. You can use ranch dressing instead of the mayo in this recipe. It will probably be a little thinner, though.
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Neat new flavors for regular chicken salad! Had leftover bacon to use up anyway! Love this one! A new favorite!