Name: The Best BLT Pasta Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1 lb. (16 oz) Pasta; 2 cups Ranch Dressing; 1/2 cup Red onion, diced; 1 lb. bacon, cooked and chopped; 1 1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese, cubed or shredded; 1 1/2 cups Cherry Tomato, cut in half; 1 Avocado, diced; 2 cups Romaine Lettuce, shredded; Salt and Pepper to taste

The Best BLT Pasta Salad

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This is the best BLT Pasta Salad I have ever tasted! The kids went NUTS for it too! There were no leftovers, so next time I’m going to have to double the recipe.

Filled with all the goodness of a traditional BLT sandwich but turned inside out and served as a salad. Who would have thought of it? Can we do this with a club sandwich too? Guess who is going to try now. Yup, that would be me.

Pasta salads are great for family barbecues, potluck get gatherings, or just for any weeknight when you want something different. They are filling, and flavorful and usually a big hit. My family is not a fan of the standard macaroni salad, but call it pasta salad, and they are down for it 100%.

What You are Going to Need

You need a pond of cooked bacon, and a pound of cooked pasta. Any bacon will do, and that same with the pasta. I try to pick something kind of fancy when it comes to pasta salad. Shells, rotini, penne, gimelli, they all work. I used campanelle for this one.

The vegetables that need to me cut for this salad are red onion, avocado, cherry tomato, and lettuce. Also needed is some cheese either shredded or cut into cubes.

I always make ranch dressing from a packet; I never buy the bottled stuff. This is because my son would always get a rash on his face when I did. Plus, the packet makes a thicker, more flavorful dressing. Bonus if you use homemade mayo, then there really are no preservative to give a kid a rash.

Pasta Salad Creation

Once you have your bacon cooked to a nice crunchy crisp, cut it into bite sized pieces. The pasta should be just cooked to al dente, if it’s too done, it won’t hold up in the salad. Plus, then it can soak in some of the ranch to really take on a nice flavor.

The red onion should be finely diced, and the cherry tomatoes cut in half. Cube up that avocado and cheese. Shred the lettuce into bite sized pieces as well. Now you’re all set to just mix all of the ingredients together.

One word of caution, if you are making this for later, save the lettuce until just before you serve it. This will ensure that it still has its crispness that you are looking for. I found out the hard way (even though I knew it would happen) when I made this and put it in the fridge for a few hours before serving.