Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
Chicken bacon ranch salad has juicy baked chicken breasts with a homemade ranch seasoning mix and crispy bacon, on a bed of vegetables served with a creamy homemade ranch dressing. This easy recipe is dairy free and gluten free.
Ingredients
Ranch Seasoning Mix
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- couple cracks of freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt use ¼ teaspoon if using any other kind
Salad
- 1.25 pounds chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 strips oven cooked bacon crumbled
- 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 heaping cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 bell pepper of choice seeds removed and diced
- 1 avocado cubed
- panko bread crumbs to taste use GF if needed or omit
- dairy free dill pickle ranch to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC.
- Make the ranch seasoning mix by whisking all the ingredients in a small bowl until combined. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with the seasoning mix.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet (or another oven-safe skillet) over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cook the seasoned chicken breast on one side for 5 minutes until golden brown, flip the chicken over, and transfer the skillet to the middle rack of the oven. Cook for 13 minutes then remove it from the oven and let it rest for another few minutes before cutting it into small pieces.
- Assemble the salad bowls by adding chopped romaine, cherry tomato halves, diced bell pepper, crumbled bacon, chopped chicken, cubed avocado, and a sprinkle of bread crumbs. Season to taste with homemade ranch.
Notes
See the blog post for helpful tips, storage, and FAQs.