Reviewed: May 22, 2012

Very "simple", plus it's a great base for whatever add-in's you like or have on hand! I opted to use penne pasta along with black olives. I lightened up the Ranch dressing by using light sour cream, Hellman's light mayo and light buttermilk. I had some leftover bacon that I crumbled and threw in along with some light shredded cheddar cheeese. I just couldn't see using canned chicken so this was a great opportunity to use up some leftover grilled BBQ chicken. I topped this with some chopped green onion and a dash or two of paprika - delicious!

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Reviewer:

Jillian

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Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA

Reviewed: Jul. 4, 2011

The best thing I can say about this recipe is that it doesn't make a lot. Both my husband and I thought it tased odd.

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Reviewer:

nana

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Canon City, Colorado, USA

Reviewed: Jun. 20, 2011

I thought the recipe 'as-is' was too salty. I will use this is a base recipe next time. I will omit the celery and olives, add a chopped onion and maybe a cup of frozen peas, plus use only half the ranch seasoning pack and up the milk to 1/4 cup.

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Reviewer:

mari2mila

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: May 12, 2011

I do not care for olives, so i left them. Do not buy, can chicken chunks,so i cooked and cut my own.It was very good.

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Reviewer:

harris

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: May 9, 2011

This recipe just really didn't work for me. 4 servings didn't seem like enough, so I did double the recipe. I ended up using two cooked chicken breasts and cut those up, because there was no way I was going to use canned chicken. I used lite mayo and sour cream, which I do in all recipes with them. The problem I have is the ranch powder seemed like a lot and it made it really salty. The ranch powder at first seemed over powering but blended in after the paprika. However, I didn't understand the amount of paprika but used about 3/4 suggested. Once it gets into the pasta it turns it an orangy color. It makes it difficult to tell what kind of pasta salad it is. I also thought it was an awful lot of green olives and was uncertain how well the green olives will go over either with anyone who eats it. I refridgerated it as suggested and the green olives were so tart and strong tasting in the salad it made it near inedible. Not sure what I could have done wrong.

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Reviewer:

Baker Bee

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Detroit, Michigan, USA

Living In: Richmond, Virginia, USA

Reviewed: May 9, 2011

I am always looking for a great way to use chicken and this was a hit for my family. I followed the recipe(omitting the celery) to the letter. I will keep this one handy

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Reviewer:

Chef Bohemian

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Sealy, Texas, USA

Living In: Southlake, Texas, USA

Reviewed: Sep. 9, 2010

A quick throw-together. This recipe was ok and I would probably make again for a quick side dish. I skipped the canned chicken and olives because this recipe does not need more saltiness. I substituted thinly sliced carrots which I par boiled with the pasta for the last 2 minutes of boiling. I doubled the recipe but not the ranch dressing and it was fine.

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Reviewer:

RAISIN1

Cooking Level: Expert

Reviewed: Sep. 7, 2010

Was well received but no one really commented on it. I doubled the recipe but only used a packet and a half of the ranch. Definitely needs to be made in advance, flavor was better the next day.

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Reviewer:

Chickentarian

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: Sep. 2, 2010

Nice version of the usual Macaroni Salad - although I used farfalle pasta. I just used bottled ranch dressing and omitted the mayo...also a little of the liquid from the olives added to that special taste.

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