SHARE this easy-to-make Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad – everything’s better with bacon!
Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Pasta salad is always a great option for a picnic, cook-out or any type of summer gathering. What I like about this salad, is that it uses a creamy ranch vs. the usual Italian dressing. While it may be tempting to use a bottled ranch dressing, don’t! This home-made version is very easy to make and worth the few extra minutes. Toss with tri-color pasta, chopped bacon, shredded cheddar, sliced black olives and chopped tomato. Chill and enjoy! Very easy and tasty.
A shout out to my step-daughter Stacey for treating us to this salad at a recent family potluck. It was a big hit! This is the 2nd recipe that Stacey’s contributed recently (along with Lemon Basil Sugar Cookies.) Like any pasta salad, you can customize this recipe by adding other ingredients. But to be honest, I tried a little tweaking and decided I preferred this recipe just as is.
Light Lunch or Worst Dinner Ever?
I paired this pasta salad with an array of cheeses, fruit, sausage, olives and toasted bread. These provisions provided a light lunch for a few days when our friends Donna and Bill visited from St. Louis. As we tucked into our first lunch, Donna shared a cute story about their toddler-aged grandson. After assembling a similar meal for a casual family dinner, her grandson determined he was not impressed. He surveyed the offerings and then proclaimed “is this the worst dinner ever?” Donna said she never laughed so hard! Kids say the darndest things, don’t they?
Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 12 oz. tri-color rotini pasta
- 1/2 c. mayo
- 1/2 c. sour cream
- 1 package 1 oz. dry ranch dressing mix
- 1/2 c. milk
- 8 slices cooked bacon chopped
- 1 large tomato chopped
- 1 can 4.25 oz. sliced black olives, drained
- 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add rotini and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain in strainer. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk together mayo, sour cream, dry ranch mix, garlic powder and milk (it works best to add milk gradually while whisking.)
- Add pasta, cooked chopped bacon, tomatoes, olives and cheese to bowl. Gently toss to combine. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Note – I prefer to let the salad sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before serving so that the dressing gets creamy again. If salad seems dry, stir in a little extra milk before serving. Enjoy!
Looks delicious!