Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad

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The Best Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad in our house is made up of our favorite salad greens mix, diced bacon wrapped chicken, cheese, croutons, and ranch dressing.  This easy chicken salad recipe always goes down well, as it’s packed full of delicious savory flavors.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad

This is my families go-to chicken bacon ranch salad recipe. The night I created this salad for the family, I was looking in the refrigerator, finding 3 chicken breasts and 6 strips of bacon and wondering what I might cook.

Taking inspiration from my Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenderloins recipe, I started there. Then once the chicken and bacon had cooked, I combined with the other ingredients in the refrigerator to make this delicious salad. 

With this chicken salad with ranch dressing recipe, hands on prep time is minimal. Once the chicken and bacon have cooked, it really is more of an assembly job.

This chicken bacon salad recipe is also one of those recipes that is easy to double up if you are feeding a crowd.

How to make Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad:

• Start by slicing each chicken breast in half, making 6 servings.
• Wrap each piece of chicken with a strip of bacon and bake them – see my Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenderloins recipe.
• When the chicken is cooked, dice it up.

• Now set out the bowls and add salad mix to each bowl.
• Next add the shredded cheese, and diced chicken and bacon to the salad mix.
• Finally top the salad with the croutons and drizzle over the ranch dressing, before serving.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad Recipe Ingredients:

• SALAD: I use a pack of salad greens mix as I like the variety of leaves to add crunch and texture to the salad.
• CHICKEN: I used 3 chicken breasts which I cut in half lengthwise before wrapping in bacon.
• BACON: Use any flavor bacon to wrap around the chicken.
• CHEESE: I used a nice shredded sharp cheddar cheese for the flavor, but you can add any shredded cheese that you enjoy eating.
• CROUTONS: Don’t skip the croutons as they add great crunch to the salad. For ease, I use ready prepared croutons.
• DRESSING: I used Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing as that’s a family favorite, but feel free to use your favorite salad dressing.

Flavor variations:

The flavors in this easy chicken and bacon salad can be easily adapted. Here are some suggestions:

• I’ve used chicken breast as that’s what I had in the refrigerator, but this recipe would work equally well with skinless/boneless chicken thighs.
• This recipe is a great way to use up leftover roast chicken too, just shred it up. You can then grill and cut up some bacon separately.
• Use any flavor of bacon to wrap the chicken, regular, smoked, maple cured, will all work in this salad.
• I added a bag of mixed salad leaves, but you can add in any other salad veggies that you and your family enjoy eating, try:
  • Tomatoes
  • Cucumber
  • Celery
  • Black or green olives
• Swap the croutons for cooked and cooled pasta and make a chicken bacon ranch salad pasta dish.

Serving suggestion:

This is a hearty and delicious salad main, so I keep any sides simple. I serve it on its own, or some crusty bread or garlic bread would be ideal.

Recipe hints & tips:

• If prepping ahead, store the salad ingredients in separate containers in the refrigerator and only assemble the salad just before you are ready to serve.
• Don’t dress the salad until you are ready to serve, otherwise the salad leaves will wilt and become soggy.
• Always check salad for seasoning and add a little extra salt if you think it needs it.

FAQs

Don’t miss these additional delicious Salad Recipes here at When Is Dinner:

• Apple & Pear Salad
• BLT Salad
• Healthy Grilled Chicken Salad
• Keto Chinese Chicken Salad
• Snickers Apple Salad

These are a few items I find helpful in my own kitchen when preparing this Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad Recipe: