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BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad is a delicious side for sandwiches, burgers, or anything coming off of the grill.
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A Favorite BBQ Side Dish
The delightfully flavorful BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad recipe is sure to be a hit at your next summer barbecue. The dressing for the pasta is a mixture of ranch dressing and BBQ sauce which gives the pasta a rich and tangy flavor without overpowering 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.
BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad Ingredients
The base recipe for this pasta salad is simple. Once you get the base recipe down, you can go crazy and add whatever ingredients your heart desires. Here’s what you need:
- Rotini pasta- regular or whole wheat
- Black beans – drained and rinsed
- Corn – Frozen, or canned corn will work great. You can also use fresh cooked or grilled corn.
- Green onions
- Grape or cherry tomatoes – you can also use fresh, diced tomatoes
- Avocado
- Fresh lime juice
- Ranch dressing
- BBQ sauce – store bought or homemade BBQ sauce
Make It Your Own
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 onion 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 protein. Try adding some leftover grilled chicken or steak, or some chopped or shredded rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Here are some more add-in ideas:
- Spices: Cumin, garlic, chili powder, or red pepper flakes. These can all be mixed in with the ranch dressing for aded flavor
- Cilantro
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- red bell pepper (or orange or yellow bell pepper)
- Chipotle peppers
- Fire-roasted corn
- Black olives
- Salt and pepper, to taste (if needed)
What Goes Well With BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad?
This versatile side dish can go with so many BBQ dishes! Try it with our Saucy BBQ Hot Dogs, Homemade Hamburgers, or Grilled Balsamic Chicken. Here are some more dishes that will go well with this pasta salad:
Tips for Making BBQ Pasta Salad
- Cook the pasta to al dente as directed on the pasta packaging, or even a minute less. The pasta will continue to cook after it has been drained. Overcooking the pasta will make the pasta too soft and will make it lose some of its creaminess
- Mix the dressing ingredients in a large bowl or blend it in a blender before adding to the pasta
- Store your leftover pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Read Next: 35+ Best BBQ Side Dishes
Questions About BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad
You may have added the dressing before the pasta has cooled completely. Warm pasta will absorb the dressing and it will seem less creamy. You may have also overcooked or undercooked the pasta. It needs to be perfectly al dente.
It is best to let the pasta cool naturally. Before draining the pasta, remove a mug full of the pasta water so you can add it to the cooling pasta if needed to keep it from getting too dry. If you are in a hurry and need cooled pasta, you can drain it under very cold water but keep in mind, you will lose some of the starchy flavor by doing this.
Yes, you can cook the pasta ahead of time, just reserve some of the pasta water so you can toss with with the pasta to keep it from sticking together. Keep the pasta water in the fridge in a jar so you can add it as needed.
More Macaroni and Pasta Salad Recipes
How To Make BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad
BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb Rotini pasta white or whole wheat
- 15 oz 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
- Boil pasta according to package directions to "al dente". Drain well and allow to cool. If you are in a hurry, you can rinse in cold water until completely cooled.
- In a large bowl, mix pasta, black beans, corn, and green onions.
- In a separate small bowl blend the ranch dressing and BBQ sauce together.
- Coat the pasta mixture with the dressing, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.
- Just before serving, cut the avocados and sprinkle with lime juice. This will keep the avocados from turning brown.
- Gently stir the avocados and tomatoes into the pasta and serve.
Notes
- Cook the pasta to al dente as directed on the pasta packaging, or even a minute less. The pasta will continue to cook after it has been drained. Do not overcook the pasta.
- Mix the dressing ingredients in a large bowl or blend it in a blender before adding to the pasta
- Store your leftover pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
This salad is so quick and easy to make! Perfect for a potluck!
Yum! This is great. I made it for a potluck I’m going to do tomorrow. So easy and so yummy.
Love me some BBQ Ranch anything. And this is YUM! Thanks for the fantastic recipe as always.
I’m going to try this on my next get together it would be something different
A great salad. Thank you.