Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe - bow tie pasta, bacon, cheddar, tomatoes and peas with creamy Ranch dressing make this salad an easy and delicious side dish!
Summer dinners call for pasta salad. And lots of it! Add bacon and cheddar along with Ranch dressing and you have a flavor combo bound to be a hit! It's a delicious side dish everyone loves! I love making pasta salads because the options are limitless. You can use any pasta, any veggies, meat or no meat, oil and vinegar dressing or creamy dressing. All you really need to do is toss it all together and enjoy.
This Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is easy to make and perfect for summer BBQ dinners and potlucks. It's a version of our favorite BLT Pasta Salad. You have to try it!
Ingredients:
- pasta (I used bow tie)
- bacon
- cherry tomatoes
- cheddar cheese
- green peas
- mayo
- sour cream
- Ranch seasoning mix
- milk
- salt and pepper
- parsley
Instructions:
Pasta salad is one of the easiest side dishes you can make.
- Simply cook pasta until al dente and mix with cherry tomatoes, peas, shredded cheddar and of course crispy bacon.
- Toss it all together with a mayo and sour cream dressing with the dry Ranch seasoning mix. This pasta salad is best served after being chilled for 2 hours.
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You can use any short, bite-size pasta you like: penne, corkscrew, macaroni, shells or bow tie. You can add sliced olives, red onion and even celery for more texture. If you don't have dry Ranch seasoning mix, skip the milk and use ¼ cup of creamy Ranch salad dressing.
Storing:
If you store your pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge, it should last between 3 to 5 days. Place it in the refrigerator within two hours of preparing.
More pasta salad recipes:
If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀
Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe
Ingredients
for salad:
- 2 cups dry bow tie pasta
- 6 slices bacon chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes chopped
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ¾ cup green peas
for dressing:
- ¼ cup mayo
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons dry Ranch seasoning mix
- 4 tablespoons milk
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to instructions on the box. Drain and rinse with cold water. Place in a large salad bowl.
- In a skillet, cook bacon until crispy. Remove onto a paper towel lined plate to drain the grease. Add to pasta.
- Add green peas, tomatoes and cheddar to pasta salad. Toss gently together.
- In a measuring cup, mix together mayo, sour cream, Ranch seasoning, milk, salt and pepper.
- Pour over pasta salad and toss gently to coat.
- Refrigerate salad for 2 hours, then serve.
Emily says
This was delicious! We loved it!! A nice change from the traditional macaroni salad.
C says
Looks delish. Think I'll try subing cauliflower for the pasta for a low carb version
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
I love that idea! Thank you!
Kathy says
This worked great for our 4th get together. Thank you so much!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Yay! That's fantastic! Thank you so much, Kathy!
Dee says
I love how colorful this is! This is a must-make for me!
Demeter says
I can see this disappearing quickly at any potluck or BBQ! Looks fantastic!
carrie says
You can never go wrong with the Ranch & bacon combo! Yum! 🙂
Erin says
This looks heavenly!
Delaney says
This is the perfect summer side dish!
Dorothy says
No summer get together is complete without a great pasta salad! Pasta, bacon, and ranch?? How can you go wrong??
Meghan says
Oh man, this is the PERFECT side dish for summer BBQs!
averie says
What a great simple summer salad that everyone will love!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thank you so much, Averie!