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Bacon ranch pasta salad packs so much flavor into one easy-to-make dish. Perfect for picnics and potlucks!
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This bacon ranch pasta salad comes together faster than you can make one of those boxed “Suddenly Salad” things. This recipe makes a huge bowl and it tastes so much better with fresh ingredients. Why cut corners when it doesn’t even save you time or money? This is one of my favorite salads to bring to neighborhood picnics, church potlucks, summer BBQs, or just a weeknight family dinner.
This salad is hearty enough to serve as a main dish or serve it anytime you’re barbecuing or grilling out. It’s perfect alongside Easy Smoked Ribs, our Grilled Pork Tenderloin, or this Honey Barbecue Chicken recipe.
Ingredients in this Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
The beauty of this creamy bacon ranch pasta salad is you can add or subtract ingredients depending on what you have on hand or what your kids will eat. It is the perfect side dish no matter what.
- Pasta – Get creative with a pasta shape. You can use Cavatappi noodles, macaroni, rotini pasta, penne, bowties, small shells, etc.
- Ranch seasoning mix – Using a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch mix makes for a deliciously creamy ranch dressing.
- Mayonnaise – Miracle Whip if that’s your preference.
- Sour cream – You can use reduced fat if desired.
- Milk – For an extra creamy ranch dressing, use whole milk in this recipe.
- Bacon – Cooked and crumbled or chopped into bite-size pieces. You can also use real bacon bits too.
- Green peas – Frozen green peas, thawed are the best for this recipe.
- Cheddar cheese – Use a block to cut into cubes. Try and make the cheese cubes the same size.
- Carrots – Shred your carrots ahead of time to help save time when making.
- Cherry tomatoes – Cut the tomatoes in half or use grape tomatoes.
Instructions for Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
It doesn’t take long to make this bacon ranch pasta salad recipe! Follow these step-by-step instructions. Make sure to make it ahead of time and cool off the pasta before combining!
- Cook and drain – Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Combine – While noodles are cooking/cooling, in a large bowl combine ranch seasoning, mayo, sour cream, and milk. Whisk until smooth.
- Stir – Stir in bacon, peas, cheese, carrots, and tomatoes into the ranch dressing.
- Mix – Slowly add noodles and stir until noodles are well covered in dressing and all ingredients mixed together.
- Chill – Cover and refrigerate until serving. Add a little milk before serving if needed if it seems too dry (just a tablespoon or so). Stir well before serving.
Additional Ingredients
Now is the time to empty out your produce drawer in the refrigerator! Feel free to add any veggies you like to this salad.
- Peppers – Red, yellow, or orange pepper adds color and flavor.
- Onions – A chopped green onion or a pretty red onion cut is a great addition to the pasta salad.
- Seasonings – Garlic powder and onion powder have that powerful taste.
- Herbs – Chopped fresh dill and chives add an earthy flavor.
- Celery – Slice and chop the celery into small pieces.
- Black olives – Drain a can of black olives and slice them into small pieces.
- Broccoli – A great addition to this bacon ranch pasta salad recipe.
- Protien – For added protein, you can include chopped chicken in this recipe.
Suggestions for Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
- Prepare – Gather all your ingredients for your dressing and salad while the noodles cook and assemble it in just minutes. Pasta salad recipes like this one are super quick to make and feed a crowd!
- Two bowls – Assemble the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Then in a small bowl, you can mix up the dressing mixture.
- Make ahead – Be sure to make this salad ahead of time so that it has time to cool in the fridge. If I plan ahead, I try to make pasta salads the day before because it gives the flavors time to mix together and settle.
- Cold water – Rinse the cooked pasta in cold water to stop the cooking process and give the noodles a chance to get cold enough to toss the rest of the salad ingredients.
- Quick tip – If you are in a time crunch, pop the cooked noodles into the freezer for a few minutes before adding them to the rest of the ingredients. Just make sure the noodles have time to cool completely.
- Cooking bacon – When you cook the bacon, chop it up beforehand and then cook it in little pieces so you don’t have to worry about crumbling it afterward. It speeds up the process a little bit.
“Just wanted to let you know this was a HUGE hit at our fundraiser! We made 8 batches and served close to 250 people. Tons of people asked for the recipie!”
-Beth
Frequently Asked Questions
I actually like to allow the pasta to cool without rinsing, if time permits. Rinsing pasta in cold water actually washes away a lot of the good starch which is what helps the sauce cling to the pasta. However, this is rather time consuming so if you’re in more of a rush, cook your pasta until JUST al dente then give it a quick cold rinse.
Before adding the ingredients to the pasta, make sure it’s completely cold, then add a little bit of olive oil to the pasta to help keep it from absorbing the dressing.
Making a Healthier Version
For a lower-calorie version of this salad, try using Greek yogurt in place of the mayonnaise and sour cream. You can also use low-fat cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream. Another healthy substitution is turkey bacon instead of regular. My son likes turkey bacon more than regular bacon!
More Perfect Pasta Salads
Pasta salads are a perfect summer supper or side dish to grilled chicken, burgers, steak, you name it. Try some of our very favorite recipes!
How to Make Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound cavatappi noodles or macaroni, small shells, bowties.. etc…
- 1 ounce ranch seasoning mix
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ⅓ cup milk
- 8 to 10 slices bacon cooked and crumbled or chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas thawed
- 1 cup cheddar cheese cubed
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved, or grape tomatoes
Instructions
- Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside to cool to room temperature.
- While noodles are cooking/cooling, in a large bowl combine ranch seasoning, mayo, sour cream, and milk. Whisk until smooth.
- Stir in bacon, peas, cheese, carrots, and tomatoes into the ranch dressing.
- Slowly add noodles and stir until noodles are well covered in dressing and all ingredients mixed together.
- Cover and refrigerate until serving.Add a little milk before serving if needed if it seems too dry (just a tablespoon or so). Stir well before serving.
Very good, everyone e loved it!
I could live off salads. This look really good!
Is the 449 calories per serving or total of dish?
That is per serving – hope this helps!
I just made this, and it’s delicious but extremely salty. Any idea on how to remedy that? I think it’s the Ranch dip powder doing it.
Thank you so an otherwise magnificent pasta salad!
To balance the salt you can add more sour cream or mayo. Alternatively, you could use a little bit less of the ranch packet. Whichever works!
I found that a bit of salt brings out the ranch flavor a bit more. But I was using unsalted bacon, so that might have been the difference.
The perfect pasta salad for summertime.
This looks like such a delicious pasta salad – the bacon really gets me!!
This was the perfect side dish with our barbecue cookout last night! It has quickly become a family favorite, indeed!
Thanks so much! So glad you and your family enjoyed it 😀
I am definitely going to take this to my next BBQ!
Thanks! Let us know how you like it!
This pasta salad is the perfect summer salad!
We couldn’t agree more 😉 Gotta have bacon at summer BBQs!
I was so happy to see this recipe in my Facebook newsfeed today. Finally a macaroni sald that does not use vinegar! I dislike the twangy taste the vinegar adds to the salad. Thank you, I’ll be trying this soon.
How many servings does this make? We are making this for 250 people so we are trying to figure how many batches
Thanks
Wow that is a lot of people! It depends on if you are going to have a lot of other different dishes or if this is the main side-dish. If it is the main side dish I would plan on it serving 15-20… if there will be lots of side dishes you are probably safe planning on 30-40 depending on how big of eaters you have
Ok. I figured we needed about 7 batches so I am right along your serving size for multiple dishes. We are serving it so the portion will be controlled. Thanks!
Oh good! Glad to help 🙂 Good luck!
Just wanted to let you know this was a HUGE hit at our fundraiser! We made 8 batches and served close to 250 people. Tons of people asked for the recipie!