This is the best pasta salad for the summer time in my opinion. I love when its summer and you have an excuse to have your husband grilling every week, makes my life so much easier! This is a simple but delicious pasta salad recipe to add to your recipe book.

The dressing is the star of the show for this recipe, but it is so easy to make. A mix of barbecue sauce, sour cream, cream cheese, and a ranch seasoning packet is so delicious. I will admit this is not the healthiest recipe you will see on my website but life is about balance right??

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Why You’ll Love This Pasta Salad

Flavor. So many flavors, the red onion adds such a nice bite!
Crowd Friendly. I already know this will be coming with me to all of my summer functions!
Summer in a bowl. This will transport you into summer mode immediately.
Customizable. Use your favorite veggies or toppings!

A bowl of barbecue chicken pasta salad. A bowl of cubed cheese is above it and there are 3 slices of bacon on the side.

How to Make This Pasta Salad

Please see recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe details.

Bacon. I always start all of my recipes that include bacon, by cooking the bacon first. Set cooked bacon aside for topping the pasta salad later!
Dressing. Let’s make the dressing so it can chill in the fridge while we cook the chicken and prep everything else. In a small mixing bowl add in the milk and ranch packet. Whisk this together until smooth. Whisk in the cream cheese, sour cream, and barbecue sauce next. Taste at this point and see if it needs more barbecue sauce etc. I added 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne and some red pepper flakes for spice but this is optional.
Pasta! I used radiatori pasta from Aldi, but any short cut pasta will work for this recipe. Cook per package directions, then drain and place into a bowl. Drizzle with some olive oil to prevent the noodles from sticking while it cools.
Chicken time. I love to grill chicken whenever possible, but you can cook the chicken any way you want. I asked my husband to grill the chicken for me. I just seasoned with salt and pepper, and then right before pulling off of the grill I brushed on a little bit of barbecue sauce on the top of each piece and it was delicious. Set the chicken aside while we assemble the pasta salad!
Chop. Chop all of the veggies, cheese, and parlsey so they are ready to mix into the delicious pasta salad.
Assemble. In a large mixing bowl add in the cooled pasta. Add in the creamy BBQ dressing and mix well so that every noodle is coated. Add in the veggies, cheese, chicken, and top with parsley. I like to top each serving with bacon so that it doesn’t get soggy, but you can totally add it all into the bowl just chop it into bite sized pieces. Enjoy!

Recipe FAQs

Sure! Store in an airtight container and make the day before serving.

No you can just do the barbecue chicken. The bacon does add extra flavor, but if you are trying be frugal feel free to skip.

Recipe Variations

Make it tangy. Try this with a Carolina style BBQ sauce!
Cheese. Swap the colby for your favorite cheese.

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