🥓🎉 This Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad recipe is CREAMY, delicious, and ready in just 20 minutes! Made with rotini pasta coated in a creamy ranch dressing and tossed with bacon, peas, cheddar cheese, and more, it’s the perfect FAST and EASY side dish to bring to summer potlucks and barbecues. Or, serve it for a tasty lunch or as part of a quickie weeknight dinner that’s a sure-fire family FAVORITE!
Creamy Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Calling all ranch dressing lovers! This hearty pasta salad is a crowd-pleaser that’s full of taste and texture.
I typically serve this ranch and bacon pasta salad as a side dish, but it’s hearty enough to work as a great lunch, or try it as a main dish on busy weeknights as well. You can toss in some grilled chicken for additional protein, too.
Like most pasta salad recipes, this one feeds a crowd and can be made in advance, which is perfect if you’ve got a potluck, barbecue, graduation party, or family reunion coming up.
It’s also great for summer holidays like Memorial Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, and beyond for game day parties. Everyone loves this creamy pasta salad.
Everyone said it was the best pasta salad they ever had!
Nichole
Ingredients for This Recipe
You’ll need the following basic ingredients to make the bacon cheddar ranch pasta salad:
- Rotini pasta: Or another short or small-shaped pasta such as ziti, penne, wheels, small shells, bowties, etc. You can use gluten-free rotini if needed. I still recommend cooking it until al dente, though, otherwise the pasta will become soggy once tossed with the dressing. Gluten-free pasta can be prone to becoming gummy, so I don’t expect this salad (if made with GF pasta) to last quite as long
- Mayonnaise: If you’re wondering if you could use a combo of mayo + Greek yogurt (or sour cream), yes, it’s probably fine. I would do 1/2 cup mayo with 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, noting it won’t have quite as much creaminess and will be more tangy than if you use all-mayo
- Milk: I recommend using 2% whole milk for the richest flavor and creamiest consistency
- Dry ranch seasoning mix: If preferred, you can substitute 1 cup of bottled ranch dressing. Just omit the milk! You may need to add additional ranch dressing based on how dry (or not) it looks
- Extra seasonings: Garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper
- Bacon: Use fully cooked bacon to save time. You can also use turkey bacon or a vegetarian alternative. Or add diced leftover chicken. Or just keep it vegetarian.
- Cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
- Shredded cheddar cheese: I suggest buying pre-shredded sharp cheddar cheese instead of grating a block of it by hand. Gouda, Muenster, Colby Jack, or similar all taste great, too. Hand-grating cheese is preferred for recipes like mac and cheese when you need the cheese to melt super smoothly, but when adding to a pasta salad, go ahead and buy the pre-shredded kind
- Veggies: Fresh or frozen peas, red bell pepper (or your favorite color), red onion (yellow also works, or omit the onion entirely)
- Black olives: Look for a 4-ounce can of sliced black olives rather than whole olives. Canned, sliced olives are cheaper than whole olives. Or, omit if you’re not an olive fan
- Garnishes: Green onions, parsley, or your fave herbs are welcome
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
To keep the total time for this perfect side dish pasta salad under 20 minutes total time, you’ll want to chop the veggies while the water comes to a boil and then as the pasta cooks. Multitasking is your best friend in this recipe!
- In a large pot of lightly salted water, cook the pasta just to al dente according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, rinse it with cold water, and set it aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, milk, dry ranch seasoning mix, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Set aside momentarily.
- Add the cooked pasta to the serving bowl, then add the remaining ingredients.
- Add the ranch dressing to the bowl, toss to coat everything in the ranch dressing, taste, and see if it needs any additional salt or pepper.
- Serve immediately, or you can cover and chill the pasta salad for a couple of hours in the fridge.
What to Serve with Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Creamy Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 ounce dry rotini pasta, or other small-shaped pasta such as elbow macaroni, ziti, penne, wheels, bowties, etc.
- 1 cup mayonnaise*, see Tips in Step 2
- ⅓ to ½ cup milk*, see Tips in Step 2
- 1 ounce dry ranch seasoning mix
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup peas, if using frozen, make sure they are thawed and drained; or use fresh peasw
- 1 cup red bell pepper, diced into small pieces
- ½ cup red onion, diced very small
- 4 ounces black olives, sliced (from a can, drained well)
Instructions
- Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Rinse pasta under cold water when done boiling to stop the cooking process. Drain well and add pasta to a very large bowl. Tips – Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil to the pasta cooking water while it's boiling to help prevent sticking. Also work ahead by making the dressing and chopping the veggies while the pasta boils.
- While the pasta is cooking, to a medium bowl, add all the mayo, 1/3 cup milk, ranch seasoning mix, garlic and onion powders, salt, pepper, and whisk to combine. Tips – Depending on how thick or thin you want the dressing will determine how much milk to add. See how it looks after 1/3 cup milk, and if it's too thick add a bit more milk, as necessary. You may substitute 1/2 cup thick Greek yogurt or sour cream for 1/2 cup of the mayo (so use 1/2 cup mayo + 1/2 cup Greek yogurt/sour cream) noting the dressing will be more tangy than if you exclusively use mayo. Set aside momentarily.
- To the pasta, add the bacon, tomatoes, shredded cheese, peas, bell pepper, red onions, olives, and stir to combine. Tip – I use fully cooked bacon, sold alongside regular bacon in your grocer's refrigerated case. Zap in the microwave for about 1 minute or as directed, then slice, dice, or crumble. Huge timesaver!
- Add the ranch dressing and stir well to combine and coat everything evenly. Taste and check for seasoning and flavor balance. Flavor Tips – If the pasta salad tastes at all boring or dull, it likely needs more salt, so don't be afraid to add it. The same goes for pepper, but salt is more critical. If you want it to have a tiny bit of a kick, add some dried red pepper flakes. A pinch of cayenne pepper will also kick things up.
- You can serve it immediately, but I prefer to chill it covered for at least 30-60 minutes, and serve it chilled.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Everyone said it was the best pasta salad they ever had!
Thanks so much for letting me know everyone said it was the best pasta salad they’ve ever had!
Hi Averie! Are you draining the cut tomatoes in a colander before adding them to the salad, so it doesn’t get soggy? Thanks, as always. I appreciate all you do for us!
You could but I don’t. I don’t have a problem with sogginess and after all this is a “softer” salad recipe with the mayo, milk, etc. which is far wetter than the bit of tomato juice that could run off so I don’t think it’s really necessary.