BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad

BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad is a delicious side for sandwiches, burgers, or anything coming off of the grill.

The dressing for the pasta is a mixture of ranch dressing and BBQ sauce which gives the pasta a rich and tangy flavor, but it doesn’t overpower the freshness of the vegetables in the salad. This is a very versatile salad.  I like it because I can use my family’s favorite ranch dressing, our Buttermilk Ranch Dressing, and our favorite BBQ sauce, Sweet Baby Ray’s, to give it the flavors we like the most.  What you add to the salad is just as versatile.  I’ve included in the recipe what I like the best in this salad.  You can substitute the green onions for red onions or chickpeas for the black beans.  You can use baby corn instead of frozen corn, or even better, corn fresh from the garden.  Chopped Roma tomatoes can be used instead of grape tomatoes.  If you aren’t a fan of avocados, they can be replaced by green peppers or artichokes.  So many possibilities!  You can make this BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad a hearty meal on its own by adding some leftover grilled chicken or steak, or by chopping up a Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.

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BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• 1 lb Rotini pasta white or whole wheat
• 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn thawed
• 3 green onions sliced thin
• 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
• 2 avocados
• Lime juice
• 1/2 cup ranch dressing bottled or homemade
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce

Instructions

1. Boil pasta according to package directions. Rinse in cold water until completely cooled.
2. In a large bowl, mix pasta, black beans, corn, and green onions.
3. In a separate small bowl blend the ranch dressing and BBQ sauce together.
4. Coat the pasta mixture with the dressing, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.
5. Just before serving, cut the avocados and sprinkle with lime juice. This will keep the avocados from turning brown.
6. Gently mix the avocados and tomatoes into the pasta and serve.