Description
This creamy avocado pasta salad features tender baked chicken, crispy bacon, boiled eggs, and a zesty avocado ranch dressing. Perfectly cooked spiral pasta is tossed with fresh dill, cherry tomatoes, and celery for a refreshing and hearty salad that’s ideal for lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
Scale
Pasta and Seasoning
- 500 g / 1 lb spiral pasta (or other of choice)
- 1 tbsp cooking / kosher salt (for cooking water)
Creamy Avocado Ranch Dressing
- 1 1/3 cups avocado (approximately 1 1/2 medium avocados, mashed)
- 1/2 cup buttermilk (or yogurt mixed with milk as substitute)
- 1/3 cup whole egg mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp lemon juice (or cider vinegar)
- 1 1/2 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/4 tsp cooking salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
Seasoned Chicken
- 2 x 250g/8oz chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (or ordinary paprika)
- 1/2 tsp cooking salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Add-ins
- 250 g / 8 oz streaky bacon
- 6 eggs
- 250 g / 8 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 red onion, very finely sliced
- 1 celery stem, finely sliced (0.5 cm / 1/5 inch thick)
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
Instructions
- Prepare Chicken and Bacon: Preheat oven to 220°C/430°F (200°C fan-forced). Arrange bacon slices on a rack over a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes until deep golden and crispy. Cool, then chop into 1 cm / 1/3 inch pieces. Pound chicken breasts to an even thickness of 1.5 cm / 3/5 inch using baking paper and a meat mallet or rolling pin. Mix smoked paprika, salt, and pepper, then rub half the olive oil and seasoning onto one side of the chicken. Repeat on the other side. Bake chicken for 12 minutes until internal temperature reaches 67°C/153°F. Rest for 5 minutes, then cut into 4 pieces each about 1cm thick.
- Cook Pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon salt. Cook pasta according to package instructions plus 2 minutes extra. Drain pasta, rinse under cold water, and allow to drain well while cooling.
- Boil Eggs: Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Gently lower eggs into water with a slotted spoon and boil for 9 minutes, reducing heat to prevent cracking. Remove eggs with spoon into cold water bath and let sit for 5 minutes. Peel eggs underwater for ease and cut each into quarters.
- Make Dressing: In a container suitable for an immersion blender, combine mashed avocado, buttermilk, mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. Stir in chopped dill and briefly blitz again to mix thoroughly. Adjust salt to taste.
- Toss Salad: In a very large bowl, combine cooled pasta and dressing. Add seasoned chicken, crispy bacon, cherry tomatoes, red onion, celery, and chopped dill. Gently toss everything together to coat evenly. Finally, add quartered eggs and gently toss again to distribute without breaking the eggs. Serve immediately or chilled.
Notes
- You can substitute buttermilk with yogurt mixed with milk if desired.
- Mayonnaise adds richness to the dressing but use sparingly to keep it light.
- Cooking pasta slightly longer than package instructions ensures it’s fully tender when chilled in the salad.
- Peeling eggs under water helps prevent shell fragments.
- If you prefer, substitute smoked paprika with ordinary paprika for seasoning the chicken.
- The salad is best served fresh but can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: avocado pasta salad, creamy avocado dressing, baked chicken salad, bacon pasta salad, healthy pasta salad, avocado ranch dressing
