This Bacon Broccoli and Ranch Salad is a satisfying and flavorful chicken salad. Use ranch dressing instead of mayonnaise to tie together the bold flavors of this chicken bacon ranch salad.
If you are looking for more protein packed lunch options, try this tuna and egg salad recipe or this chopped southwest chicken salad.
meal prep Friendly
High Protein Lunch
Quick Look: Bacon Broccoli and Ranch Chicken Salad
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 5 minutes
- 👩🍳 Cook Time: 25 minutes
- 🕖 Total Time: 30 minutes
- 🥓 Servings: 4 servings
- ⚡️ Calories: 457 calories per serving (based on nutrition panel)
- 🔥 Cooking Method: Bake bacon, poach chicken and mix everything together.
- 🛒 Main Ingredients: bacon, chicken breast, broccoli and ranch
- ⭐️ Difficulty: Fairly easy. Poaching chicken can be tricky, but you can skip this by using rotisserie chicken breast.
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Julie left this 5 star review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “I am a former chicken salad hater but this chicken salad helped change my mind! I hate mayo but love ranch so it’s perfect. I used plain Greek yogurt and ranch seasoning. It turned out so good! Broccoli and bacon are a nice crunch to add texture. Will definitely make again!”
Why You’ll Love this recipe
- Perfect for meal prep – I love making this chicken bacon ranch salad for meal prep. It is so versatile to eat all week long in salads, sandwiches, and wraps
- Easy lunch or dinner – This recipe takes a total time of 30 minutes or less. It is great for quick and easy lunches and dinners. It has protein and veggies to make it a delicious and satiating meal.
- Updated twist on a classic recipe – The ranch adds so much flavor to this recipe. It is a great twist that keeps this chicken salad mayo-free!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts – can’t have a chicken salad without shredded chicken! You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs for a more tender shredded chicken.
- Bacon – I love adding bacon to my chicken salad. It adds extra crunch and flavor that is so tasty. I bake the bacon to make sure it is very crispy before I mix it into the chicken salad.
- Broccoli florets – chop broccoli florets into tiny pieces so they are soft and soak up all of the ranch dressing flavor. My favorite vegetable for this recipe is broccoli, but you can use other chopped veggies like cucumber, celery, bell pepper and even shredded carrots.
- Ranch dressing – You can use homemade ranch dressing or store bought. I like to use Bolthouse Farms ranch or make a quick yogurt ranch dressing.
- Shallot – I love the flavor of the shallot in this chicken salad, but you can use red onion or even chopped pickled red onion for a little tang.
If you’re looking for this same flavor combination, but in a creamy, cheesy dip form try this Bacon Ranch Chicken Cheese Dip.
How to make Bacon Broccoli and Ranch Chicken Salad
Step 1: Bake bacon until crispy – I bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes.
Step 2: Poach chicken breasts in water or chicken broth and then shred.
Step 3: Place shredded chicken in a mixing bowl with chopped broccoli, bacon, shallots and ranch.
Step 4: Toss everything together so that the ranch coats all ingredients. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Mad’s Expert Tips for the Best Bacon Broccoli and Ranch Chicken Salad 🥓🥦
- Cut down on cook time with premade chicken – you can rotisserie chicken breast or canned chicken to cut down on cook time. Some stores even sell pre-shredded chicken breast! You can also grab some pre-cooked bacon bits.
- Pump up the protein with greek yogurt ranch dressing – Mix 1/2 cup of non fat plain greek yogurt with 1 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp vinegar and 2 tbsp ranch seasoning then use that in place of the ranch dress.
- Poach chicken in broth for extra flavor – I like to poach my chicken breasts in chicken broth or chicken bone broth instead of water. This adds a ton of extra flavor to this already amazing chicken salad recipe.
- Try these chicken shredding shortcuts – While the chicken is still warm, you can shred it easily using a hand mixer or a stand mixer. You can also use a food processor, but it will be finely shredded using that. I personally like to use this twist shredder.
I also like to use a yogurt ranch for this buffalo chicken salad recipe.
Storage
Once prepared, store this low carb chicken salad in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Serve cold straight from the fridge with crackers, pretzel thins, extra veggies, on a wrap or on sourdough bread.
Check out these other Chicken Salad Recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
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Recipe
Bacon Broccoli and Ranch Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 5 strips bacon
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 6 oz broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup ranch dressing – thicker dressings work best
- 1/2 a large shallot or one small shallot
Instructions
- Bake bacon until crispy – I like to bake mine at 400F for 15-20 minutes depending on how thick it is
- Fill a pot with water (or chicken broth for more flavor) and place 2 chicken breasts in the pot. Place the pot on the stove and bring liquid to a boil.
- Once boiling cover the pot and simmer covered for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the chicken breasts.
- While the chicken and bacon cook, dice the shallot and chop the broccoli into smaller pieces. I like the broccoli really finely chopped.
- Check the cooked chicken breast for an internal temp of 165F. Then, remove from the pot and allow to cool slightly. Shred the chicken with two forks and add to a large mixing bowl.
- Add chopped bacon, broccoli, shallots and ranch dressing to the bowl with the chicken. Mix it all together so that the ranch dressing coats all of the other ingredients
- Serve immediately or chill before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days
Recipe Notes
- Cut down on cook time with premade chicken – you can rotisserie chicken breast or canned chicken to cut down on cook time. Some stores even sell pre-shredded chicken breast! You can also grab some pre-cooked bacon bits.
- Pump up the protein with greek yogurt ranch dressing – Mix 1/2 cup of non fat plain greek yogurt with 1 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp vinegar and 2 tbsp ranch seasoning then use that in place of the ranch dress.
- Poach chicken in broth for extra flavor – I like to poach my chicken breasts in chicken broth or chicken bone broth instead of water. This adds a ton of extra flavor to this already amazing chicken salad recipe.
- Try these chicken shredding shortcuts – While the chicken is still warm, you can shred it easily using a hand mixer or a stand mixer. You can also use a food processor, but it will be finely shredded using that. I personally like to use this twist shredder.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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