BLT Pasta Salad Recipe
This BLT pasta salad recipe features spiral macaroni, fresh tomatoes, crispy lettuce and savory bacon tossed in a creamy, flavorful dressing. It’ll be the best summer side dish at your next barbecue or potluck.
What we love about this BLT pasta salad
- You can whip this salad up it up in no time. Plus, its extra flavorful when prepared ahead of time and the dressing has time to absorb into the pasta. Just don’t forget to hold off on the lettuce until right before serving.
- We love that it can be served as a main course or a side dish alongside grilled entrees or barbeque sandwiches.
- BLT pasta salad is the best pasta salad summer has to offer. It’s light, refreshing and loaded with seasonal ingredients that are their most flavorful during this time of year.
Here’s what you’ll need to make it
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- Bacon – You can use your favorite bacon, we recommend a thick cut bacon for nice big bites of bacon throughout the salad.
- Lettuce – We used romaine lettuce for this, to keep it classic.
- Tomatoes – Cherry or grape tomatoes work perfectly for this recipe.
- Pasta – We used a fun spiral pasta for this recipe, but a traditional elbow macaroni or shells would also be a good choice for this recipe.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
How to make BLT pasta salad
Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, white wine vinegar, parsley, garlic and salt & pepper to make the dressing. Set this aside.
Chop up the bacon, chives, and slice the tomatoes into halves. Place all these ingredients into a bowl.
Stir in the dressing to combine.
Note: You will want to wait on adding the lettuce until ready to serve to prevent it from getting soggy.
Everything you need to know about this BLT pasta salad recipe
How you cook bacon in the oven will depend on how thick your bacon is. You will have to cook it longer if it is thick cut if you want it to be crispy. It’s best to stay close by to make sure you don’t over cook it. Also, keep in mind the bacon will crisp up a bit still after you take it out of the oven.
No, you want to just drain the water. The pasta water will retain some of the starchiness of the pasta water which actually will helps the sauce absorb into the pasta. Check out our post on pasta water and this magical properties, if you want to know more about it!
Pasta salad is the best when served in the first 24 hours, but you also want to let the dressing absorb into the ingredients for the most flavor. In the recipe you will want to add the lettuce right before serving so it does not wilt.
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BLT Pasta Salad Recipe
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
Description
This BLT pasta salad recipe features spiral macaroni, fresh tomatoes, crispy lettuce and savory bacon tossed in a creamy, flavorful dressing. It’ll be the best summer side dish at your next barbecue or potluck.
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream or unsweetened plain yogurt
- 2 – 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For the salad:
- 1 16-ounce package spiral macaroni
- 1 1/2 cups quartered grape tomatoes
- 1 2.5-ounce package crumbled bacon pieces
- 1 1/2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1/3 cup finely diced red onion
Instructions
- Prepare macaroni according to package directions for al dente in a large pot of boiling salted water. When cooked, drain and rinse with cold water until cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients, adding the vinegar to taste. Add salad ingredients and stir to coat evenly. Serve immediately
- If you’re making this salad ahead of time, leave out the lettuce until just before serving. If salad seems dry when serving, add a tablespoon or two extra mayonnaise or vegan sour cream and stir to combine.
Notes
Add the lettuce before serving to keep it crispy!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Spiral
- Method: Mixing
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 198
- Sugar: 1.4 g
- Sodium: 227.4 mg
- Fat: 9.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.9 g
- Fiber: 1.2 g
- Protein: 4.6 g
- Cholesterol: 5.8 mg
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