BLT Pasta Salad

Inspired by the classic sandwich recipe, you need just 7 ingredients and 20 minutes to add this easy BLT Pasta Salad to your potluck menu. Try it for brown bag lunches and picnics, too.

Recipe ingredients

Ingredient notes

• Bowtie pasta: If desired, swap in another sturdy small- or medium-cut noodle like cavatappi, rotini, orecchiette, malfalda, or radiatore.
• Ranch dressing: Use a cup from a bottle of store-bought salad dressing or make your own homemade ranch dressing by whisking together ½ cup buttermilk, ½ cup mayonnaise, 6 tablespoons sour cream, 1 tablespoon minced red onion, 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill, 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley, 1 minced clove of garlic, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, a pinch of sugar, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). For Bacon-Ranch Dressing, mix in 2 tablespoons of chopped cooked bacon.
• Cooked bacon: For the crispiest results, I suggest baking it on a wire rack-topped sheet pan in the oven (400 degrees for 10-15 minutes). Alternatively, you can fry bacon in a skillet on the stovetop.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Bring 4 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and rinse pasta under cold water until cool. Shake out any excess water.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together ranch dressing, mayonnaise, and red wine vinegar. In a large bowl, toss together pasta, tomatoes, bacon and lettuce. Stir in mayonnaise dressing until thoroughly combined.

3. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning. If you don’t season with sufficiently, this dish might taste bland.

Recipe tips and variations

• Yield: This recipe makes 8 (1-cup) servings (2 quarts total).
• Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
• Make ahead: The dressing can be made the day before and stored covered in the refrigerator. The pasta can be cooked, drained, rinsed, and cooled up to 1 day in advance. The vegetables can be prepped 1 day in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
• Pasta rinsing: It’s important to rinse noodles for pasta salad to ensure they don’t get gummy or stick together when serving chilled or at room temperature. You’ll also see this rinsing technique used in my Italian Pasta Salad, Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad, California Pasta Salad, and Easy Cold Pasta Salad.
• More mix-ins: Get creative with diced cucumbers, cubes of cheese, diced avocado, or your favorite fresh herbs (fresh dill or chives would be amazing here).

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BLT Pasta Salad

By Meggan Hill

Inspired by the classic sandwich recipe, you need just 7 ingredients and 20 minutes to add this easy BLT Pasta Salad to your potluck menu. Try it for brown bag lunches and picnics, too.

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Servings 8 servings (1 cup each)

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Calories 535

5 from 23 votes

ReviewPrint

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 1 pound bowtie pasta (see note 1)
• ▢ Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 cup ranch dressing (see note 2)
• ▢ 1 cup mayonnaise
• ▢ 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ▢ 1 cup grape tomatoes halved, about 7 ounces
• ▢ 4 ounces bacon cooked and crumbled (see note 3)
• ▢ 1 heart romaine lettuce chopped

Instructions 

• Bring 4 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and rinse pasta under cold water until cool. Shake out any excess water.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together ranch dressing, mayonnaise, and red wine vinegar.
• In a large bowl, toss together pasta, tomatoes, bacon and lettuce. Stir in dressing until thoroughly combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning. If you don't season with sufficiently, this dish might taste bland.

Recipe Video

Notes

1. Bowtie pasta: If desired, swap in another sturdy small- or medium-cut noodle like cavatappi, rotini, orecchiette, malfalda, or radiatore.
2. Ranch dressing: Use a cup from a bottle of store-bought salad dressing or make your own homemade ranch dressing by whisking together ½ c. buttermilk, ½ c. mayonnaise, 6 Tbsp. sour cream, 1 Tbsp. minced red onion, 1 Tbsp. minced fresh dill, 1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley, 1 minced clove of garlic, 1 tsp fresh lemon juice, a pinch of sugar, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper). For Bacon-Ranch Dressing, mix in 2 Tbsp. of chopped cooked bacon.
3. Cooked bacon: For the crispiest results, I suggest baking it on a wire rack-topped sheet pan in the oven (400 degrees for 10-15 minutes). Alternatively, you can fry bacon in a skillet on the stovetop.
4. Yield: This recipe makes 8 (1-c.) servings (2 quarts total).
5. Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
6. Make ahead: The dressing can be made the day before and stored covered in the refrigerator. The pasta can be cooked, drained, rinsed, and cooled up to 1 day in advance. The vegetables can be prepped 1 day in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
7. Pasta rinsing: It’s important to rinse noodles for pasta salad to ensure they don’t get gummy or stick together when serving chilled or at room temperature. You’ll also see this rinsing technique used in my Italian Pasta Salad, Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad, California Pasta Salad, and Easy Cold Pasta Salad.
8. More mix-ins: Get creative with diced cucumbers, cubes of cheese, diced avocado, or your favorite fresh herbs (fresh dill or chives would be amazing here).

Nutrition

Serving: 1 cupCalories: 535kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 8gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 21gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 461mgPotassium: 199mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 196IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 1mg

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