Fresh, crisp vegetables, creamy dressing, AND chicken and bacon? I never really have to sell this Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad to get someone to try it. With all this and more, it’s no wonder that it is consistently a hit at our table.

I love pasta salads. They’re so versatile, supporting a seemingly endless array of ingredients. And I’m always experimenting with new versions. I was making my bacon pasta salad the other day and on a whim I tossed in some grilled chicken. It turned out soooo good! I knew I had to recreate it as it’s own recipe asap. So, here we are.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

When I was developing this recipe for chicken bacon ranch pasta salad, I couldn’t stop coming back for more. It’s so snackable! Light enough to enjoy in the summertime, but hearty enough to feed a crowd. And what little leftovers we had were just as good for lunch the next day.

Don’t have homemade ranch dressing in the refrigerator? Don’t worry! I’ve included some instructions below on how to make it from scratch. It’s well worth a few minutes to make the dressing yourself. Once you taste the difference from store-bought, you’ll never want to go back.

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This one pot Garlic Butter Pasta is creamy, cozy, and packed with rich flavor from garlic, butter, and freshly grated parmesan. Sometimes the simplest recipes are the ones you come back to over and over again.

It’s the perfect quick dinner, easy side dish, or late-night comfort meal that is ready in just 15 minutes!

In college, I lived on buttery noodles with mozzarella or Parmesan cheese. It was quick, easy, and I wasn’t super into spaghetti sauce, so it was my way of enjoying pasta. It’s perfect for anyone who’s single, in college, has a family, or is an empty nester, so I love that it works for everyone! This garlic butter pasta is an elevated version of my dorm room favorite!

Ingredients You’ll Need For Garlic Butter Pasta

This recipe uses just a handful of pantry staples, but when they come together, the result is silky, flavorful pasta with incredible depth. Freshly grated parmesan makes all the difference here, so don’t skip that step.

• Fresh Parmesan Cheese: Freshly grated for the best melt and flavor. Blending it into a fine texture helps it cling beautifully to the pasta.
• Olive Oil: Sautés the garlic and help toast the pasta slightly for added depth.
• Garlic: Minced fresh garlic gives the dish its signature savory flavor.
• Ditalini Pasta: Small tube-shaped pasta that cooks directly in the broth and absorbs flavor as it softens. Orzo or macaroni works in a pinch.
• Chicken Broth: Cooks the pasta while infusing it with rich, savory flavor.
• Heavy Cream: Adds silkiness and brings everything together into a smooth sauce.
• Unsalted Butter: Stirred in at the end for richness and a glossy finish.
• Salt and Black Pepper: Balance and enhance all the flavors.
• Fresh Parsley: Adds freshness and color right before serving.
• Aglio Seasoning or Red Pepper Flakes: Optional for a little heat and extra depth.

With just a few simple ingredients, this one pot garlic butter pasta transforms into a creamy, garlicky dish. Measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

How to Make This Pasta Dish

This is a true one-pot pasta recipe, meaning the noodles cook right in the broth. That means less cleanup and more flavor infused into every bite.

1. Blend: Add a chunk of Parmesan to a blender and pulse until finely grated, almost powdery. This helps it melt smooth

Rich, creamy Kielbasa Pasta with broccoli has been one of the highlights at our dinner table lately. With such a simple list of ingredients and incredible flavors that come together in no time at all, it’s sure to make multiple appearances at your table, too.

I love to fill out our pasta dishes with plenty of vegetables (see our one-pot jambalaya pasta as an example), so there is almost as much broccoli on display here as there is pasta. Add some hearty sausage and sharp, crumbly cheese on top, and you’ve got a weeknight meal with something for everyone.

Kielbasa Pasta

Many years ago, we had a dinner tradition called “not-eat foods”. Each of my boys was allowed to choose one food which they could skip tasting, if it was part of dinner that night. For several years, my eldest son chose broccoli as his not-eat food.

So when this pasta was a huge hit with ALL of my family, I knew I’d found a new dinner staple. My eldest went back for seconds, and even thirds! It makes me grin to watch my son who normally dislikes broccoli eat every single saucy broccoli bite.

Ingredients and Substitutions

The Pasta –

Consider this Peanut Butter Ramen (a 15 minute recipe) the next obsession because it is crazy delicious and SO EASY! Peanut Butter Ramen is a simple noodle dish packed with peanut butter, sweet chili sauce, and loads of curly ramen. And it’s ready in 15 minutes!

If you are obsessed with our Korean Beef and Noodles, you’ll love this budget-friendly and easy ramen recipe!

It all started with our Chinese Ramen Oriental Salad recipe and now we can’t stop finding new and quick recipes for your busy schedule. By far this is our best ramen recipe to date!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Ready in 15 minutes: Perfect for busy nights when you need something fast and satisfying.

Big flavor, simple ingredients: Pantry staples like peanut butter, soy sauce, and sweet chili sauce come together for an incredible sauce.

Creamy, savory, and slightly sweet: Every bite is rich, balanced, and totally mouth-watering.

Budget-friendly: Made with inexpensive ramen noodles but tastes like takeout.

Easy to customize: Add your favorite protein or veggies to make it your own.

Better than takeout: Quick, fresh, and made right at home.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Ramen Noodles: Quick-cooking noodles that soak up all that rich peanut sauce perfectly.

For the Sauce

• Peanut Butter: The star of the dish…creamy, nutty, and rich.
• Water: Thins the sauce so it coats the noodles smoothly.
• Sweet Chili Sauce: Adds sweetness with a mild kick.
• Soy Sauce: Brings salty, umami depth.
• Olive Oil: Adds richness and helps create a silky sauce.
• White Vinegar: Brightens everything with a little tang.
• Fresh Ginger: Adds warmth and a mild spicy bite.
• Green Onions: Fresh and slightly sharp for contrast.
• Cilantro: Fresh, bright, and slightly citrusy, it adds a pop of flavor and color to finish the dish.
• Salted Roasted Peanuts: Crunchy texture and extra peanut flavor.
• Sesame Seeds: A nutty finishing touch.

How to Make Peanut Butter Ramen

1. Cook the Noodles: Cook the ramen noodles according

I changed one ingredient and ended up making the gooiest Cheesy Summer Zucchini Pasta that might be better than Mac N Cheese!

By the middle of summer, our garden is producing more zucchini than we know what to do with. Our cheesy zucchini pasta recipe is full of caramelized zucchini, toasted pine nuts and the creamiest mozzarella cheese sauce ever!! What’s my secret ingredient?

Secret to A Gooey Cheese Sauce

While I love zucchini bread as much as anyone, sometimes I just want savory ways to use my zucchini, and this is my new favorite!

Tender zucchini and yellow squash are slowly cooked until they’re golden and sweet, then tossed with cavatappi pasta in a creamy whipped cottage cheese sauce! It’s fresh enough for summer but delicious enough to make all year long.

This recipe was inspired by the flavors in our summer zucchini chowder. With garlic, herbs, fresh basil, parmesan, mozzarella, and toasted pine nuts this is an easy pasta dinner that’s perfect for busy weeknights.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Fresh summer vegetables and a handful of simple pantry staples come together to create a pasta that’s rich, creamy, and packed with flavor. Here’s what you’ll need:

Zucchini

• Zucchini and Yellow Squash: Using both green zucchini and yellow squash adds beautiful color and slightly different flavors, but you can use all zucchini if that’s what you have.
• Trader Joe’s Aglio Olio Seasoning: Adds savory flavor with almost no effort. Trader Joe’s Aglio Olio seasoning is our favorite, but any garlic herb blend works well.

Pasta

• Cavatappi Pasta: Those corkscrew shapes catch all the creamy sauce in every bite. Rotini, fusilli, penne, or shells are great substitutes.

Sauce

• Better Than Bouillon Chicken: Adds extra savory flavor to the pasta water,