BLT Pasta Salad

This BLT Pasta Salad has the BEST combination of bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes tossed in a creamy Ranch dressing with pasta and optional additions like avocado and cheese!

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: Pasta, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 206kcal

Author: Stephanie

Ingredients

1 cup milk any kind
1 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons Ranch seasoning mix
12 strips thick-cut bacon high quality
1 lb. Farfalle pasta
4 cups romaine lettuce washed/chopped/dried
1 pint cherry Tomatoes quartered
1/3 cup Red Onions finely diced
1 tablespoon BBQ Sauce

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Add the milk, sour cream, and Ranch seasoning to a large measurement cup and whisk to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use. It will appear thin at first, but will thicken more in the fridge.
Cook the bacon slowly over low heat until crispy on each side. Set cooked bacon on a paper towel lined plate and chop once cooled.
While the bacon cooks, measure out remaining ingredients and begin boiling salted pasta water. Once a boil is reached, cook pasta to al dente according to package instructions. (Set a timer to avoid overcooking.) Drain once cooked and spread it out on a tray or on parchment paper. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss to coat and let it cool for 5 minutes.
Add the cooled pasta to an extra-large bowl. Add ½ cup Ranch dressing and toss to coat evenly. Add the lettuce, tomatoes, onions, ¾ of the bacon, another ½ cup Ranch dressing, and BBQ sauce. Toss to coat evenly. You will have 1 cup extra dressing that you can use if desired.
Transfer to a clean serving bowl if preferred and top with remaining bacon. You can serve immediately or refrigerate for 3 hours prior to serving. If serving 3 hours later, consider drizzling a little more dressing on top just before serving. (See notes for longer make-ahead method.)

Notes

Pro Tips:

Bacon: I use Oscar Mayer Thick Cut Bacon. High quality makes a big difference.
Dressing: I use Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing and Seasoning Mix, combined with sour cream and milk. I like it better than using bottled dressing for this recipe, but my backup recommendation would be to use 2 cups of Ranch dressing, Marie's is my brand of choice.
I use Sweet Baby Ray's for the BBQ sauce.
Optional Additions to this salad include: Avocado, hard boiled eggs, English cucumbers, cheese, chives, and even corn!

Make-Ahead Method:

This pasta salad can be assembled 3 hours ahead of time. Note: The pasta will absorb some of the dressing during this time, so you may need to add more prior to serving. This recipe leaves you with an extra cup of dressing so that you can adjust it to your needs!
To make this up to 12 hours beforehand:
- Prepare the Dressing and refrigerate.
- Cook the bacon and chop it up. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.
- Cook the pasta, let it cool, and toss with some of the dressing. Refrigerate in an airtight container overnight.
- Store the cleaned/cut lettuce in a freezer bag with the air sealed out.
- Dice the onions and store in an airtight container.
- Combine all prepared ingredients within 3 hours of serving.

Nutritional information provided is an estimate and is per serving. This recipe makes 10 servings.

Nutrition