BLT Pasta Salad
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BLT Pasta Salad is your favorite sandwich made new! Bacon, lettuce, and tomato are tossed together with cheese cubes and a creamy ranch inspired dressing that tastes fresh and delicious, perfect for summer potlucks and barbecues!
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I don’t know about you but I’m a sucker for a good pasta salad. They are so easy to change up the flavors, like our Tuscan Pasta Salad, Italian Pasta Salad, or Creamy Chicken Pasta Salad…but I think this BLT pasta salad may just be my favorite (don’t tell the others!)
Why I love this recipe
This recipe takes only 10 minutes to toss together. It is the perfect side dish to take to potlucks (one of my most requested!), and you could easily make it a meal on its own or by adding more protein like chopped chicken breast or ham cubes.
Ingredients
The ingredients for this easy pasta salad are all common and simple, you might even have everything on hand already!
- pasta – we use tri-color rotini but you can use any similar pasta such as penne, bowtie, ziti, elbow, etc.
- bacon – cooked bacon, this is a great way to use up leftovers!
- cheese cubes – I used colby jack but you can choose your favorite or what you have on hand…mozzarella, cheddar, or even pepper jack would be delicious
- romaine lettuce – iceberg would also work fine
- tomatoes – any kind or tomato, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- dressing – the ranch inspired dressing is made with mayonnaise, sour cream, onion and garlic powders, dill, parsley, and salt and pepper
Step by step
This is a very easy recipe and virtually fail-proof. If the kids want to help, have them mix the dressing while you chop the other ingredients.
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Cook the bacon if needed. Crumble or chop after cooling.
- Rinse the lettuce, then chop into bite size pieces. Pat dry if needed.
- Mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, onion and garlic powders, dill, parsley, and salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to coat with the dressing.
- Chill until ready to serve.
Variations
- Add more protein – diced chicken, ham cubes, pulled pork
- Add more veggies – diced bell pepper, chopped onion, chopped avocado, diced cucumber, cooked peas or corn
- Use a different dressing – if you want to use your favorite store-bought dressing try it out! You could also try our homemade Greek dressing or the dressing from our homemade caesar salad as well.
Storage
Because of the lettuce, this salad is best served fresh. If making more than a hour or two ahead of time it would be best to add the lettuce or the dressing just before serving.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Make ahead
You have two options to make this pasta salad ahead of time. You can make it up without the dressing and store the dressing separately, then mix just before serving or you can make it with the dressing and store the lettuce separately, adding it just before serving.
The lettuce will become soggy if left sitting in the dressing so either way prevents that from happening.
Serving suggestions
This is a great pasta salad for any barbecue or simply a easy weeknight side dish. My favorite ways to serve it are with baked barbecue chicken breasts, glazed smoked sausages, or with oven baked burgers.
If you try this recipe please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!
BLT Pasta Salad
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
BLT Pasta Salad is your favorite sandwich made new! Bacon, lettuce, and tomato are tossed together with cheese cubes and a creamy ranch inspired dressing that tastes fresh and delicious, perfect for summer potlucks and barbecues!
Ingredients
- 16 ounce package rotini
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of dill
- 2 teaspoons of parsley
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 1 cup of tomatoes
- 1 cup of chopped romaine Lettuce
- 1 cup of cheese cubes
- 1 cup of chopped cooked bacon (about 12 slices)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Cook the bacon if needed. Crumble or chop after cooling.
- Rinse the lettuce, then chop into bite size pieces. Pat dry if needed.
- Mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, onion and garlic powders, dill, parsley, and salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to coat with the dressing.
- Chill until ready to serve.
Notes
Make Ahead: You have two options to make this pasta salad ahead of time. You can make it up without the dressing and store the dressing separately, then mix just before serving or you can make it with the dressing and store the lettuce separately, adding it just before serving. The lettuce will become soggy if left sitting in the dressing so either way prevents that from happening.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: side
- Method: none
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 430
- Sugar: 4.8 g
- Sodium: 913.1 mg
- Fat: 15.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 52.9 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 18.7 g
- Cholesterol: 41.8 mg
This was a huge hit at our church picnic