Creamy Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

Creamy bacon ranch pasta salad is full of juicy tomatoes, crunchy onions, soft cheese and topped with salty bacon. Add lettuce for extra crunch or choose to leave it out, this delicious flavorful ranch pasta salad is the perfect side dish for a BBQ or a potluck.

 

Why We Love Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

• Flavors of a BLT– All the flavors of a BLT in a creamy pasta salad that’s hard to resist, it’s the best pasta salad! Ranch flavor gets a serious upgrade with this delicious pasta side dish.
• Delicious Side Dish– Using storebought dressing (like Hidden Valley Ranch) speeds up the prep of this delicious salad, pick your favorite creamy ranch dressing.
• Perfect for BBQs and Potlucks– The creamy flavor of this salad goes great as a side, is delicious at a potluck and can be a full meal by itself with grilled chicken breasts, burgers or steak at your summer BBQS.

Ingredients For Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

• cavatappi pasta Or another short shaped pasta
• pound bacon diced small
• Colby Jack cheese diced small
• grape tomatoes cut in half lengthwise
• green onions thinly sliced
• red onion thinly sliced
• ranch dressing You can mix in a little sour cream to thin the dressing or stretch it need be depending on the dressing.
• romaine lettuce (optional) diced, this turns it into a BLT Ranch Pasta salad. The lettuce can wilt though so I recommend adding it right before serving or leaving it out if you are making it ahead for a BBQ or potluck.

How To Make Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

1. Boil a large pot of salted water. Add the dried Cavatappi pasta and cook until al dente, usually 9 minutes but check the package. Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse with cold water. Toss pasta in the colander to drip dry the pasta as much as possible.
2. Dice bacon and add to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the bacon until crispy, about 5-6 minutes. Drain any excess fat from the pan. Line a plate with paper towels and add the bacon. Use the paper towels to soak up any excess grease then set to the side.

3. Dice the Colby Jack Cheese into small cubes then set to the side. Slice the grape tomatoes in half and set to the side.
4. Slice the red onion as thinly as possible. Remove the roots from the green onions and chop thinly the rest of the green onion, both the green and white portions.

5. Pat the pasta dry with paper towels to remove any excess liquid. Add the cooked pasta, Colby jack cheese, tomatoes, scallions, red onion, and ranch into a large mixing bowl and toss to combine.

6. Cover and chill the pasta salad in the fridge for at least 1 hour or until ready to serve.

7. Right before serving add the cooked bacon and optional lettuce. Toss to combine then serve and enjoy!

Substitution and Variation Ideas

This is a pretty flexible recipe that you can vary to your own tastes! Here are a few ideas of what is easily swapped in this recipe.

• Pasta– Any short pasta will work for this recipe including shapes such as macaroni, ziti, Farfalle bowties, penne or fusilli. I recommend using a dried pasta not fresh. I don’t recommend using a long thin pasta such as spaghetti or fettuccine for this pasta salad.
• Cheese– We’ve used colby jack, but any mild-flavored cheese will work. Cheddar, Swiss, Pepper Jack, Edam, Gouda, or even crumbles of blue cheese are delicious in this pasta salad.
• Bacon– Bacon adds a lot of flavor to this pasta salad, so I wouldn’t leave it out unless you have to. You can use just a few slices of bacon or a whole pound to your own taste. Pre-cooked bacon or bacon bits will also work but stick to real bacon bits instead of imitation.
• Onions– White or sweet onion can be swapped for purple onions. Scallions or chives can also be swapped for the green onion. If you don’t like much onion flavor, try adding just the green onions which are milder in flavor. The purple onion can also be diced instead of left in longer thin pieces.
• Ranch dressing- Your favorite storebought ranch dressing works for this recipe but you can also use a homemade ranch dressing (note- this recipe makes about a cup, so you’ll need to at least double the ranch for this recipe.) If you don’t quite have enough dressing you can thin the dressing a little with a few spoonfuls of sour cream or mayonnaise mixed with a 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder and a little salt and pepper. Plain Greek yogurt can also be used.
• Lettuce– We’ve used romaine lettuce, but any more sturdy green leaf lettuce will be delicious. Try Iceberg, field greens or spinach!
• Olives– If you like olives, black olives are also delicious in this salad.

How Long Does Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad Last?

Expect this bacon ranch pasta salad recipe to last for about 3-4 days. Store any extras in a covered airtight container.

You can make this pasta salad the night before but the pasta sometimes absorbs more of the ranch dressing. When I make this pasta salad ahead I add an extra drizzle of ranch dressing or stir in a few spoonfuls of sour cream to make it extra creamy.

Add bacon (to ensure it is crispy) and optional lettuce right before serving and enjoying.