Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

Bacon ranch pasta salad is a delicious side dish for any meal.

Elbow macaroni pasta is mixed with crunchy bacon, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, peas, green onions, and a creamy ranch dressing.

The tasty combination will have you coming back for seconds.

Make it for your next potluck, cook out, or family gathering. Your friends and family will love it.

Watch how to make bacon ranch pasta salad

Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients to make this creamy bacon ranch pasta salad recipe.

• elbow macaroni pasta-You can substitute the macaroni pasta with any pasta favorite of your choice such as shells, farfalle, penne, or rotoni.
• cheddar cheese-I like sharp cheese for this recipe, but you can use mild or medium cheddar cheese. I shred the cheese for this recipe, but you can also dice the cheese into tiny bites.
• peas-I recommend using defrosted frozen peas. I do not suggest canned peas.
• tomatoes- I used cherry tomatoes. I find they have the best flavor. However, you can use any type of fresh tomatoes.
• green onions-You can substitute with chives or diced red onion.
• ranch seasoning mix- You can use the store bought mix or homemade seasoning mix.
• mayonnaise
• milk-I recommend whole milk.
• bacon-I recommend cooking real bacon. However you can substitute with real bacon bits. Do not use fake bacon bits.

*Full recipe with ingredient measurements is located at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.

Steps

Follow these simple steps to make bacon ranch pasta salad.

1. In a small mixing bowl, mix milk, mayonnaise, and ranch seasoning mix. Refrigerated while you prepare the pasta salad.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix cooked pasta, diced tomatoes, thawed peas, green onions, and cheddar cheese.
3. Mix ranch dressing into the pasta salad.
4. Mix in bacon into the pasta salad. You can serve immediately, but it is best to refrigerate an hour or more before serving.

Note:

Note: Ranch dressing will appear runny. Once it is mixed in the pasta, the pasta will soak it up and become creamy. 

Tips

Tip: Rinse pasta in cold water and completely cool before adding the dressing and other ingredients.

Tip: For a crispier bacon texture, make the pasta salad and refrigerate until ready to serve. Mix bacon into the pasta when ready to serve.

Additional Add-Ins

This pasta salad is delicious as-is, however, feel free to add in other ingredients for a different variation or to clean out the refrigerator! Here are a few suggestions.

• diced ham
• chopped or shredded chicken
• red, yellow, or green bell pepper
• broccoli
• dill
• celery
• black olives
• parmesan cheese
• chives
• boiled egg
• shredded carrots
• corn

Like this recipe? Then you will also love these:

• Bacon Ranch Potato Salad
• Italian Pasta Salad
• Crockpot Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes
• Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad
• Bacon Pea Salad

How did your creamy bacon ranch pasta salad turn out? Please leave me a comment below if you make this and tell me what you thought about it. I would love to hear back, and so would my readers.

Also post a picture of your pasta salad on Instagram or Facebook, and tag @aforkstale with #aforkstale hashtags! I will share with my followers! xoxo!

Recipe