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This easy summer pasta salad recipe features the triple threat consisting of bacon, cheddar, and ranch! Bacon Cheddar Ranch Pasta Salad is an unbeatable side dish for your summer BBQ!
I’d like you to know that this is quite possibly one of my favorite pasta salad recipes of all time. If you’ve been around for a bit, this should come as no surprise as I have always loved a good pasta salad recipe, and I have always loved the perfect trio of ingredients — bacon, cheddar and ranch.
Pasta salad isn’t just for summer, let me make that abundantly clear. While pasta salads always shine during the summer months in all different forms, making this any time of year will always be a good idea.
The best things about pasta salads:
Here are a few reasons you need pasta salad in your life.
- versatility: pasta salads can be made with a wide variety of ingredients including vegetables, dressings, cheeses, and protein sources. Change it up and use ingredients you and your family enjoy.
- easy to prepare: the method for making pasta salad is so easy. Cook the pasta, prep the vegetables and other ingredients, make the dressing, toss it all together, chill and enjoy!
- make ahead: most pasta salads taste even better after they have had time to chill in the refrigerator. This makes pasta salad a great make-ahead option for parties, BBQs, potlucks and cookouts.
- nutritional value: depending on the ingredients, pasta salads generally offer a nice balance of carbs, protein, and fat making them a nice nice well balanced option.
Bacon Cheddar Ranch Pasta Salad Ingredients:
Here are a few things to consider when you are making this recipe:
- If you are vegetarian: omit the bacon in this recipe
- If you are gluten-free: choose gluten free pasta
Ingredient swap suggestions:
- cheese: this recipe calls for cheddar cheese. Other options include colby jack, pepper jack, or whatever your favorite cheese is
- green bell pepper: if you do not like peppers, try swapping them for chopped green onions
- fresh herbs: as written, this recipe calls for dried herbs but you can always swap them for fresh if you have them on hand. Fresh dill, parsley and chives would be delicious!
Choosing the best pasta for pasta salad:
I like to use rotini for pasta salads because it’s sturdy, holds its shape well, and doesn’t get mushy when it’s mixed with all of the other ingredients. Wondering what pasta to use for pasta salad? Aside from rotini, here are other good options:
- penne
- bow tie (also known as farfalle)
More pasta salad recipes to try..
I like to think of this pasta salad as the triple threat. What is more unbeatable than bacon, cheddar, AND ranch, all in one fabulously delicious pasta salad?
In addition to this Bacon Cheddar Ranch pasta salad, I’ve got all kinds of delicious pasta salad ideas for you to try:
- Creamy Cheddar Pasta Salad
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
- Creamy Ham and Cheese Pasta Salad
- Antipasto Pasta Salad
If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear from you in the comments or over on Facebook or Instagram. Hearing from you is silly the best!
Enjoy!
*Note: Ranch dressing is NOT an ingredient in this pasta salad, however, all of the seasonings are the same ones used in homemade classic ranch dressing.
Bacon Cheddar Ranch Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1- 12 ounce box rotini or tricolor rotini, cooked according to package directions, and cooled
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup milk plus more if needed
- 6-8 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 ½ cups grape or cherry tomatoes halved or quartered depending on size
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese cubed
- ½ cup green bell pepper diced
- ½ teaspoon dried chives
- ¾ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon dried dill weed
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine mayo, milk, chives, parsley, dill weed, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper.
- In a large bowl, toss together cooled pasta, cheese, green pepper, bacon, and tomatoes.
- Stir in the dressing from step one. Add a little more milk if necessary.
- Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours so that all the flavors can come together.
- Adjust seasonings to taste- you may need a little extra salt and/or pepper.
