Why This Pasta Salad Always Steals the Show
When it comes to summer barbecues, I always find myself more excited about the side dishes than the mains.
While grilled chicken and burgers are great, it’s the fresh, flavorful salads that really make the meal for me. This bacon ranch pasta salad has become one of my go-to recipes for gatherings – it’s easy to make, full of texture, and always a crowd favorite.
The combination of smoky bacon, sharp cheddar, sweet peas, juicy cherry tomatoes, and creamy ranch dressing mixed with tender rotini is simple, but incredibly satisfying. It’s right up there with my Mexican Pasta Salad and classic Tuna Pasta Salad as a staple for any warm-weather get-together.
Key Ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need to make the perfect pasta salad:
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Pasta: Colorful tri-color rotini is the perfect pasta choice for this recipe! You can also make it with regular rotini or your favorite short pasta shape.
- Ranch Dressing: Mix up a batch of my homemade ranch dressing for the best, freshest flavor. In a pinch, this recipe also works fine with bottled ranch dressing as the sauce, such as Hidden Valley Ranch.
- Bacon: Crispy bacon is key, so I’ll show you how to bake bacon in the oven quickly and easily. You can also cook it in a skillet on the stovetop if that’s easier for you.
- Veggies: Black olives, cherry tomatoes, and thawed frozen peas all pair wonderfully with the ranch dressing. You can leave out any of these that you don’t enjoy.
- Cheese: Bacon and ranch go best with cheddar! For the best flavor, shred cheese from a block rather than buying the pre-shredded stuff.
How To Make Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
1. Preheat the oven, and place the bacon on a sheet pan lined with foil.
2. Bake the bacon for 15 minutes, or until crispy. Chop into small pieces.
3. Cook the pasta.
4. Assemble the Salad: Add cold pasta to a large bowl along with bacon, cheese, and veggies.
5. Pour ranch dressing over the salad.
6. Stir and Chill: Mix well to combine, then cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Tip!
Save time by multi-tasking! You can cook the pasta on the stovetop while the bacon is crisping up in the oven.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Recipe Video
Equipment
- Half sheet pan
- Large mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (228 g) tricolor rotini pasta uncooked
- 8 slices bacon uncooked
- ½ cup (75 g) peas frozen and thawed, or fresh and blanched
- 6 ounces (170 g) cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
- ⅓ cup (55 g) black olives pitted and sliced
- 4 ounces (113 g) shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 cup (240 g) ranch dressing home-made or store-bought
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente, according to package instructions, about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), or 320°F (160°C) for a fan oven. Line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil and lay the bacon slices on the pan.
- Bake the bacon for about 15 minutes or until crispy. Remove and chop into small pieces.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooled pasta, chopped bacon, peas, cherry tomatoes, black olives, cheddar cheese, and parsley.
- Pour the ranch dressing over the ingredients and toss until everything is evenly coated.
- Cover and chill the salad in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Notes:
- Cooking the pasta: Cook to your desired doneness. Rinsing with cold water stops the cooking process and cools it quickly for salad use.
- Chilling: For best flavor, chill the salad for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors meld.
- Optional vegetables: Try adding chopped red bell pepper, diced red onion, or shredded carrots for variety.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 5 days.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Storing Tips
- Once made, you can store bacon ranch dressing pasta salad in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. The exact time will depend on the freshness of your ingredients.
- If the salad seems dry after storing, feel free to stir in a little bit more ranch dressing before serving.
- It’s important to keep this salad cool to avoid any spoilage. A good rule of thumb is not to let creamy salads sit out at room temperature for any longer than 2 hours.
What To Serve With Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Are you looking for more summer BBQ meal ideas?
- For your main dish, make perfectly juicy grilled burgers, or try something a bit more fancy, like my grilled salmon kabobs, huli huli chicken, or marinated and grilled carne asada.
- Try other easy summer sides, like cowboy pasta salad, fruit salad with honey lime dressing, classic creamy broccoli salad, or creamy deviled egg potato salad.
- For dessert, make a no-bake treat! My lemon icebox cake is a favorite, along with no bake Oreo pie, orange jello salad, and no bake cheesecake.
More Summer Salad Recipes
All Pasta Salads →
Recipe FAQs
Why do I need to rinse the pasta?
It’s important to rinse pasta that you’re using for pasta salad under cold running water. This is for a couple of reasons! One, the cold water stops the cooking process so that the pasta doesn’t overcook. Two, water removes starch from the pasta so that it won’t stick together. Finally, rinsing helps to cool the pasta down quickly.
What is the best type of pasta for pasta salad?
I like the color that comes from using tri-color rotini, but any short pasta shape with some texture will work just fine. Try this recipe with medium shells, farfalle, elbows, or fusilli. Curly, twisty pasta shapes like rotini do a great job of holding on to all of the delicious dressing and ingredients.
Can I Make this ahead of time?
Yes! You will want to mix up this salad at least a half hour ahead of time to let the flavors meld in the fridge. If needed, you can make this up to 2 days before you plan to serve it.
Happy summer salad making! I know that this easy recipe will make its way into your pasta salad recipe rotation. Make sure to Pin it so you don’t lose it!
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