Keto Chicken Salad
This Keto Chicken Salad Recipe is bursting with flavor. It is rich and creamy with cheddar, bacon, and dill. This is the BEST chicken bacon salad you will ever eat. It comes together in minutes as a delicious lunch or summer dinner with less than 2 net carbs per serving.
Over the last few years, the bacon ranch flavor combination has become a favorite of my entire family. They love any dish with those flavors. Throw in some cheddar, too, and you have a real winner.
We love my Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole so much that I needed to come up with a version for the warmer weather in June, July, and August. This low carb chicken salad recipe does the trick. For an easy main dish packed with protein for the summer months, try this chicken bacon ranch salad recipe.
Love this recipe? Try my Blue Cheese Chicken Salad or Lemon Basil Chicken Salad next!
Ingredients
- Cubed Cooked Chicken – Any cooked chicken is fine. I normally use chopped chicken breast but shredded chicken thighs work too.
- Chopped Bacon – Fresh crispy bacon is great but bacon crumbles that come in the pantry section work well.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese – If you don’t have cheddar you can swap in mozzarella cheese or Monterey jack.
- Sour Cream – You can swap in Greek yogurt if you prefer.
- Mayo – Mayonnaise adds fat and creaminess. I normally use avocado oil mayo but any variety will work.
- Seasonings – The combination of dried or fresh dill, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper makes a homemade ranch spice blend.
See quantities in the recipe card.
How to Make Bacon Ranch Chicken Salad
1️⃣ Make the Sauce
Stir the sauce ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2️⃣ Prep the Chicken and Bacon
Chop the bacon and chicken.
3️⃣ Mix Well
Mix those in along with the shredded cheese. That’s it!
Storage
Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It lasts 3 days in the fridge. For a quick lunch during the week, meal prep and make a double batch!
Variations
- Yogurt – If you are looking for a lighter chicken salad use Greek yogurt in place of the mayonnaise or try this Healthy Chicken Salad.
- Crunch – Want to add in some crunch? Add chopped celery, green onions, bell pepper, or red onion. Or nuts such as sliced almonds or chopped pecans or walnuts.
- Avocado – Love ripe avocado? That is great in this too! Or you can even serve it on top of a halved avocado.
- Lettuce Wrap – Serve inside a romaine lettuce wrap for a handheld lunch. Add in some slices of tomatoes or cucumbers to boost the veggies.
- Vegetarian – Swap out the chicken for broccoli florets and leave out the bacon. I use this as the base for my Keto Broccoli Salad! You can also use it as a base for pasta salad.
- Seasoning – You can easily change up the taste of this and replace the ranch spices with my Keto Fajita Seasoning or Smoked Paprika Rub.
Common Questions
Where is the ranch dressing?
I get a lot of questions about my ranch recipes because I do not use bottled ranch dressing or ranch dressing packets. I use a specific blend of herbs and spices to create a ranch flavor from scratch!
What type of chicken do I use for chicken salad?
I love to use grilled chicken marinated in my Ranch Yogurt Marinade for this recipe for double the ranch flavor. But any type of leftover cooked chicken is fine as long as it doesn’t have a contrasting flavor. This is a great way to use up leftover chicken, such as rotisserie chicken. I wouldn’t recommend using leftover chicken with an Asian marinade or spicy Mexican rub. If you use canned chicken breast just make sure to cut back on the salt or it might be too salty.
How many carbs in chicken salad?
This varies A LOT. Many store-bought chicken salads add sugar so if you are buying chicken salad instead of making it always read the label.
My keto chicken salad has 1 carb per serving so it is a great choice in place of higher carb chicken salad recipes and store bought salads!
What do I serve with chicken salad?
Chicken salad is great served with a fork. I tend to just eat it plain but other times I’ll put it inside a low carb tortilla, lettuce leaves, or serve it on top of baby spinach. If you have a low carb bread you like chicken salad sandwiches are delicious too.
You can also serve it on these Cheddar Ranch Keto Biscuits for extra ranch flavor!
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Video
Keto Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 12 oz cooked chicken cubed
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 tsp dried dill
- 1/2 tsp parsley
- 1/8 tsp onion powder
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- pinch salt
- 1/4 cup shredded cheddar
- 1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon
Instructions
- Combine mayo, sour cream, and spices and mix thoroughly.
- Fold in the chicken, bacon, and cheddar.
Notes
Nutrition
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Originally published May 20, 2016, Revised and republished February 26, 2026.
Absolutely delicious!! Thank you for sharing!
Great recipe! I added only chives and black pepper. Yummy!
I loved this! I am going to start making it more regularly! I used rotisserie chicken which I bought from Aldi and it was DELICIOUS! Thank you for sharing your recipes!
where does the ranch come in?
The combination of spices makes a homemade ranch seasoning.