Get out of a boring lunch rut with this Bacon Ranch Chicken Salad! A classic is amped up with bacon and ranch for a fast and easy meal prep recipe.
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Recipe
This homemade chicken salad is fast, easy, and a great way to use up leftover or rotisserie chicken.
It holds very well and is a perfect recipe to make for meal prep lunches.
Eat it on a sandwich, topped on a salad, with dunkers like crackers, or just with a fork!
Ingredients
Full recipe quantities and instructions can be found at the bottom of this post.
Let’s talk a little about the ingredients you need for this chicken salad recipe!
Chicken – this recipe is a perfect way to use rotisserie chicken or a neutral leftover chicken. It make it even faster, easier, and a great way to not waste leftover food!
Ranch Dressing – there are a LOT of ranch dressings out there, and the flavors can vary a lot. Use one that you like and adjust with more ranch if needed to get a stronger ranch flavor. My personal favorite ranch dressing is the Litehouse Ranch.
Modifications and Substitutions
Make it lighter by using plain Greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise, even if just in part. Greek yogurt has more of a tang than mayonnaise.
Kim’s Tips
Letting the salad chill after mixing is best for it to develop flavors!
The celery is a key way to get a great crisp texture in the chicken salad.
More Chicken Salad Recipes
Chicken Salad Recipes
Bacon Ranch Chicken Salad
Equipment
- Knife
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken chopped, or other leftover, cooled chicken
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 3 Tablespoons ranch dressing
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅓ cup cooked bacon, chopped approximately 1/4 pound
- ¼ cup celery chopped (1-2 ribs)
Instructions
- Make sure your chicken is cooked and cooled. Chop it into large pieces as desired. Set aside. Also make sure your bacon is cooked.2 cups rotisserie chicken
- Make the sauce by combining the mayonnaise, ranch dressing, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder in a large bowl.½ cup mayonnaise, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 3 Tablespoons ranch dressing
- Chop the bacon and celery, and add to the large bowl with the sauce mixture.¼ cup celery, ⅓ cup cooked bacon, chopped
- Add the chopped chicken to the bowl and mix everything together.2 cups rotisserie chicken
- Season to taste with salt, black pepper, or more ranch. Want it spicy? Add some hot sauce or ground red pepper.
- Ideally chill at least 30 minutes for flavors to combine and ingredients to be cold.
