This chicken bacon ranch chopped salad is undoubtedly one of my favorite protein-packed salads to keep in rotation. It’s light and fresh, yet perfectly filling for a stand-alone meal.

A bowl of chicken bacon ranch chopped salad.
Photo: Gayle McLeod

Why You’ll Love This Chicken Bacon Ranch Chopped Salad

I’ve always been fond of hearty chopped salads—they allow me to enjoy all the flavors and textures in one bite! And in this case, that means juicy grilled chicken, crispy bacon, fresh crunchy vegetables, and the best creamy ranch dressing. What I love most about this salad is that the ingredients are nothing out of the ordinary, but the flavor combination has a serious wow factor. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that simple, flavor-packed salads are my jam! Here’s what else you’ll love about this chopped salad recipe:

  • It’s high-protein and fiber-forward. Similar to my Cobb salad or Nicoise salad, this salad packs in lean protein and nutrient-rich veggies for a satisfying, wholesome meal.
  • The ranch dressing is unmatched. I always make my own dressings because they taste so much fresher.
  • It’s easy to prep ahead. I typically cook the chicken and bacon ahead of time. Then, it’s as simple as chopping veggies and assembling the next day!
Ingredients for chicken bacon ranch chopped salad.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad Ingredients

  • Vegetables: There’s a mix of romaine lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and green onion. Pro tip: Try to chop everything in the salad about the same size for consistency.
  • Chicken & Bacon: Although I’m using grilled chicken, you can also make baked chicken breast with the same Italian marinade or shredded chicken from roast chicken.
  • Salad Toppings: The addition of chopped parsley and pine nuts adds fresh flavor and crunch. But you can use any nuts you like and chop them up if they’re on the bigger side.
  • Ranch Dressing: As an alternative to ranch, you can also use Caesar dressing.

Find the printable recipe with measurements below

Making grilled chicken salad.

How To Make Chicken Bacon Ranch Chopped Salad

With all your ingredients chopped and ready to go, add everything to a large mixing bowl, drizzle the ranch dressing, and toss away! This salad makes a hefty 4 to 5 servings. So if you have leftovers, check out my storage tips below.

Storage Tips

This salad will last for 3 to 4 days in the fridge, but will naturally soften from the tomato and cucumber juices. If you want to meal prep this for the week, you can store the ingredients separately in the fridge and toss them together whenever you’re ready to enjoy.

A white bowl of chicken bacon ranch chopped salad.

More Salad Recipes

If you make this chicken bacon ranch chopped salad recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below! Your review will help other readers in the community. And if you’re hungry for more healthy food inspiration and exclusive content, join my free newsletter here.

Chicken bacon ranch chopped salad in a bowl.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Chopped Salad

Author: Lisa Bryan
5 from 5 votes
Read 17 Comments
Serves 5 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
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Description

This chicken bacon ranch chopped salad is the best protein-packed meal to keep in rotation! It's light yet filling, and incredibly delicious. Watch the video below to see how I make this in my kitchen!

Video

Equipment

Ingredients 
 

  • 1 head romaine lettuce, roughly chopped
  • 4 grilled chicken breasts, chopped
  • 1 English cucumber, small diced
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 8 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
  • 4 green onions, sliced
  • ½ cup roughly chopped parsley
  • ½ cup pine nuts
  • 1 cup ranch dressing

Instructions 

  • Combine the ingredients. Add the lettuce, chicken, cucumber, tomatoes, bacon, green onions, parsley, and pine nuts to a large mixing bowl.
    Mixing chicken bacon ranch chopped salad ingredients.
  • Stir with the dressing. Drizzle the dressing on top, then stir to combine.
    Mixing chicken bacon ranch chopped salad in a bowl.

Lisa’s Tips

  • The 4 grilled chicken breasts equals about 4 cups of chopped chicken (I chop it fairly small, about ½-inch to ¾-inch in size). You could also swap in 4 cups of shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken. 
  • Due to the cucumber in this salad, it will get a bit soggy when stored for more than a day in the fridge. If you’d like to meal prep it for the week, I’d recommend swapping the cucumber for chopped bell pepper. Though I happily ate it for several days with a little liquid in the bottom, it was still delicious! 

Nutrition

Calories: 724kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 53g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 21g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.05g | Cholesterol: 153mg | Sodium: 794mg | Potassium: 1197mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 12096IU | Vitamin C: 38mg | Calcium: 115mg | Iron: 5mg
Did you make this recipe?Mention @downshiftology or tag #downshiftology!
Testing the chicken bacon ranch chopped salad.

Behind The Scenes

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw me whip up this recipe and serve it up for a “taste test dinner” with one of my friends. Needless to say, it got two thumbs up and a response of “oh wow, this is really good” followed by a quick trip back into the kitchen for seconds. 😂

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About the author

Lisa Bryan

Lisa is a bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, and YouTuber (with over 2.5 million subscribers) living in sunny Southern California. She started Downshiftology in 2014, and is passionate about making healthy food with fresh, simple and seasonal ingredients.

5 from 5 votes

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17 Comments

  1. Can you please give me recipe for your ranch dressing you use with the chopped chicken salad? Looks delish!

  2. This is my new go to “full meal” salad! If you crave crunchy, cool and creamy deliciousness, packed with a powerful protein punch, you have to try this recipe! I first made the Downshiftology Ranch Dressing recipe – which I couldn’t get over how easy and delicious it was! – in order to the let the flavors marry. I have always been a fan of a chopped salad but this one just hits all the notes for me – the sweet tomatoes paired with the Italian marinated grilled chicken and crunchy and refreshing romaine….yum! But, for me, the hidden gem(s) are the pinenuts in this recipe, they truly add an extra pop of flavor and crunch. My husband also absolutely loved this recipe too! We have officially added this into our dinner rotation!5 stars

    1. Hi Holly – I’m so glad both you and your husband are loving this chicken chopped salad, on top of the creamy ranch dressing! It’s all about the different layers and textures that really makes this salad pop.

  3. I tried this salad over the weekend. I omitted the tomatoes, since I don’t love tomatoes. Since I was meal prepping this for my work lunches I packed some ingredients separate and just combined at work (like the cucumber). I was in a rush, so I didn’t chop the chicken and bacon as finely as I should have. I do think taking the time to cut into smaller pieces would be better. I didn’t love the parsley in it, and probably would omit that in the future and opt for something else. Overall, a great recipe with a little tweaking for personal preferences!5 stars

    1. Hi Christine – Glad you were able to tweak this recipe to your liking for the perfect meal prep lunch salad!

  4. This salad is delicious. I love ranch dressing and this recipe is fantastic. The bacon adds so much to the salad too! I will be making this a lot!!!5 stars

    1. Hi Kathy – Happy to hear you’re loving this chopped salad, along with the homemade ranch dressing! I agree, the crispy bacon is the cherry on top.

  5. Made this salad for lunch today, FABULOUS!! So great for meal prep too! Adding this to my lunch rotation for sure! Thanks Lisa! ☺️5 stars

    1. Glad you enjoyed this salad for lunch today! It really is such a great meal prep salad as well if you prep and store the ingredients separately. Enjoy!

    1. Hi Jane – this is a full meal kinda salad, as it’s very filling with the protein. If you’d like to reduce the calories, you could always use less dressing. Hope you enjoy it!