Chicken, Bacon & Artichoke Pasta Salad
Pasta will always be one of my favorite foods and although I love zoodles and spaghetti squash, sometimes they just don’t cut it. So we love to have gluten free pasta as a special treat in our family. I came up with this pasta salad when my daughter requested it for her lunch. I wanted it to be gluten and dairy free, but still packed with flavor. Naturally I thought of my favorite pizza toppings! Chicken, bacon and artichokes with creamy ranch dressing, fresh tomatoes and spinach, this is a winner.
Gluten free pasta can be really hit or miss when it comes to texture. Our favorite is Banza, it holds its texture well and works perfectly for this cold pasta salad. You can get it at most grocery stores, on Thrive Market or Amazon. The recipe also calls for chicken tenders, but you could use chicken thighs or even a shredded rotisserie chicken to keep it simple. And as for the ranch, our all time favorite is Tessemae’s. It is dairy free but also made with super clean ingredients. I even tried to buy another brand once when I couldn’t find it and my daughter knew right away lol. So it’s safe to say that our love for Tessemae’s runs deep.
This pasta salad was perfect for meal prepped lunches. Here are some of my favorite lunch containers…
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Chicken, Bacon& Artichoke Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 box Gluten Free Pasta I used Banza
- 14 oz Can of Artichokes quartered & drained
- 4 strips Bacon
- 4 Chicken Tenders or chicken thighs
- 1 cup Fresh Spinach
- 1/2 pint Grape Tomatoes halved
- 1 cup Ranch Dressing I used Tessemae's
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a skillet over medium/high heat until crispy. Remove from pan and let cool on paper towels. Remove all but 2TBls of the fat from the pan
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning and then cook in the remaining bacon fat over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes a side (or until cooked through) and the set aside to cool
- Cook the pasta per package instructions, then drain and set aside to cool
- Chop up the bacon and chicken and add to the cooled pasta. Then add the quartered artichokes, halved grape tomatoes, spinach and ranch dressing. Toss to combine and then season with salt and pepper to taste
- Best served after chilled in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes