BLT pasta salad in a white bowl
BLT pasta salad is a clever twist on your classic BLT sandwich! We take bacon, lettuce, tomato, and add in some homemade dressing and rotini pasta to make this delicious pasta salad.
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BLT pasta salad is a clever twist on your classic BLT sandwich! We take bacon, lettuce, tomato, and add in some homemade dressing and rotini pasta to make this delicious pasta salad.

It’s bursting with flavor and offers a quick and easy side dish for your next potluck or summer party or barbecue!

BLT Pasta Salad in a white bowl with a wooden spoon


Easy BLT Pasta Salad

You can never have enough pasta salad side dishes in your recipe book. They come in handy whether you’re searching for something quick to make for family dinner, or you’ve got a big group to feed at a potluck. This BLT salad is easily one of our favorite recipes out there.

Who doesn’t love a good bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich? My mouth waters just thinking about it. This salad puts everyone’s favorite sandwich into pasta format. The addition of Ranch seasoning in the dressing sends this pasta salad to the next level.

It’s quick and easy to make and super delicious. Everyone who tries this BLT pasta salad always gives a raving review. I can’t wait for you and yours to give it a try.

pasta salad on a wooden spoon

Ingredients/Shopping List

Ingredients For Salad:

  • Rotini pasta
  • Bacon
  • Red onion
  • Cheddar cheese, cut into cubes
  • Romaine lettuce
  • Avocado
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Parsley

Ingredients for Dressing:

  • Hidden Valley Dressing Mix (dry)
  • Mayonnaise
  • Sour cream

Ingredient Substitutions/Options

Pasta: You can use any type of small pasta in this recipe. Bow tie pasta, shells, rigatoni, or penne are other options that would work well.

Bacon: If you want to save a step, or don’t have time, you could use store-bought bacon bits instead of cooking your own bacon and chopping it up. However, fresh cooked bacon will have a much better flavor overall in your salad.

Cheese: Shredded cheddar cheese can be used instead of cubed cheese if you prefer. You can also use a different type of cheese if you prefer. Pepperjack, colby jack, provolone, or swiss would all be great options. All of them could be used in a shredded form or cut into cubes.

How to Make BLT Pasta Salad

Step 1: Mix the ingredients to make the dressing. Place in refrigerator for approximately 30 minutes.

Step 2: Cook rotini pasta per package directions.

Step 3: Add cooked and chopped bacon, red onion, cheddar cheese cubes, avocado, cherry tomatoes, parsley, and romaine lettuce. Mix dressing over ingredients

Step 4: Serve immediately.

Pictorial on the steps to make blt pasta salad

Pro-Tips

Tip 1: Cut all ingredient amounts in half if you are serving a smaller group, as this will make a large mixing bowl full of salad.

Tip 2: Get creative with the ingredients! Seriously, one of the best parts about this pasta salad is that you can pretty much add anything to it and it will still be amazing. One of my favorite additions is the avocado. Feel free to add any of your favorite vegetables.

Tip 3: It’s important that you store your BLT salad properly. It doesn’t keep well because of the romaine lettuce included in it. It’s best to leave the lettuce out if you don’t plan to serve it right away.

What to Serve with BLT Pasta Salad

BLT pasta salad is the ultimate dish to pass. It’s great for potlucks and gatherings because it can be served with a wide range of dishes. I particularly love this salad with burgers! It’s also fabulous on its own! I love eating the leftovers for lunch as a full meal.

BLT pasta salad close up 2

How to Store BLT Pasta Salad

The romaine lettuce in BLT pasta salad does not save well. Because of this I recommend serving it right away or waiting until you are ready to serve before mixing in the lettuce and dressing.

If you have leftovers to store, it’s best if you don’t add lettuce to the entire mixture and add fresh lettuce when you serve again. Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container for up to 24 hours and eat the next day. I don’t recommend keeping this in the fridge for more than 24 hours.

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5 from 28 votes
BLT pasta salad in a white bowl

BLT Pasta Salad

Serves — 8
BLT pasta salad is a clever twist on your classic BLT sandwich! We take bacon, lettuce, tomato, and add in some homemade dressing and rotini pasta to make this delicious pasta salad.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Chill 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients
  

Pasta Salad Ingredients

  • 1 16-ounce box Rotini Pasta cooked, drained, and rinsed with cold water
  • 13 slices bacon cooked and chopped
  • ½ large red onion finely diced
  • cups cheddar cheese cut into cubes (measured after it’s cubed)
  • 2 cups romaine lettuce cut or torn into bite size pieces (measured after it’s in pieces)
  • 1 avocado cut into small pieces
  • cups cherry tomatoes cut in half (measured after cut in half)
  • ¼ cip parsley chopped

Dressing Ingredients

  • 1 1-ounce packet Hidden Valley Dressing Mix dry
  • cups mayonnaise
  • ½ cup sour cream

Instructions
 

  • In a medium mixing bowl combine dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix, mayonnaise, and sour cream. Use a whisk to mix together. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • Cook rotini pasta per package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again. Place in a large mixing bowl.
  • Add cooked and chopped bacon, red onion, cheddar cheese cubes, avocado, cherry tomatoes, parsley, and romaine lettuce. Pour dressing mix over ingredients. Use tongs to gently toss salad until well coated.
  • Serve immediately.

Jenn’s Notes

Notes & Tips
  • The romaine lettuce does not save well in this salad. I recommend serving this salad right away or waiting to add in the lettuce and dressing until ready to serve.
  • If you do have leftovers you can store them in a tightly sealed container for 24 hours and eat the next day. I don’t recommend keeping this salad in the refrigerator for more than 24 hours.
  • This recipe makes a large mixing bowl full of salad. Cut the ingredients in half if serving to a smaller crowd.
  • You can shred the cheddar cheese instead of cutting it into cubes if you prefer.

Video

Nutrition Info

Calories: 599kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 59g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 662mg | Potassium: 342mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1539IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 185mg | Iron: 1mg

This BLT pasta salad recipe is a fun spin on a classic bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. This is a creamy pasta salad that is light and delicious. The addition of Ranch seasoning in the salad dressing makes this BLT salad unlike any other pasta salad you’ve ever had before. It’s simply the best!

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Comments

  1. This is delicious! I omitted adding the lettuce to the bowl and just served it over lettuce so I didn’t have to worry about it getting soggy. 🙂 I also didn’t have rotini but elbow macaroni worked fine!

  2. 5 stars
    I doubled this recipe for a large crowd, it was the “Talk” of the meal!! Everyone was asking “who made the pasta salad??? Definitely will be making it again, and what’s great about it is you can half the recipe R double it! It makes a lot, of course the little bit leftovers was taken home by guest. It’s a “A+”! Oh and I will add, I don’t like Ranch Dressing, but this was delicious.