Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

If you love the flavor of ranch dressing, you’re going to love this Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad. Our BLT pasta salad recipe is a tasty combination of turkey bacon, curly kale, cheddar cheese, pepper Jack cheese, cherry tomatoes, and red onion all tossed in our Homemade Ranch Dressing. 

This creamy pasta salad is loaded with flavor and It makes a perfect summer side dish for grilled chicken, burgers, sandwiches, soup and more.

We pull this pasta salad with bacon and ranch together with just a handful of ingredients. We first cook the pasta and while the noodles are cooking, we’ll blend the ingredients for the dressing together. While the dressing chills in the refrigerator, we’ll fry the turkey bacon. Then all that’s left to do is chop a few ingredients and grate the cheese. It’s a super quick and easy salad to make!

Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe Ingredients

• Noodles.  Use rotini, fusilli or penne noodles or whatever pasta you like. 
• Turkey bacon. We like to use uncured turkey bacon rather than pork bacon. If you fry turkey bacon in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, it’ll get nice and crispy like pork bacon.
• Cheese.  We use sharp cheddar and pepper Jack cheese for this recipe.
• Celery. Just a little celery adds some crunch to the mix.
• Tomatoes.  We use cherry tomatoes for this recipe, but you can also use Roma or garden ripe vine tomatoes if you like. 
• Red Onion. A little red onion adds flavor to the mix. If you want a more mellow onion taste, just soak the slices of onion in a little bowl filled with water for about 15 minutes. You can do this while the noodles cook. 
• Dressing.  We toss this salad with our Homemade Ranch Dressing.
• Seasoning. We sprinkle a pinch of dried dill and freshly ground black pepper over the salad after it has been tossed, then we toss it again.

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

Variations

• Use Romaine lettuce or broccoli florets instead of curly kale.
• Instead of tossing this pasta salad with classic ranch dressing, try our Blue Cheese Ranch Dressing, BBQ Ranch Dressing , Southwest Ranch Dressing, Avocado Ranch Dressing, or our Chipotle Ranch Dressing. They’re all SO good!
• Add chopped hard boiled eggs to the mix.
• Add more or less cheese as you like.

How To Make Pasta Salad With Bacon And Ranch

1. Make Ranch Dressing.  Blend the ingredients together in a blender. Or add the ingredients to a wide-mouth mason jar and use a stick blender (immersion blender) and blend the ingredients together.
2. Cook Noodles.  Cook the noodles in a pot of salted water according to the directions on the package. 
3. Fry Bacon. Cook the turkey bacon in a little olive oil until its crispy and can be crumbled into the salad.
4. Prep Ingredients.  Slice and chop the vegetables and cut the tough stems away from the kale.
5. Toss Ingredients.  After the noodles have cooled, toss all of the ingredients in a large bowl. 
6. Serve.  Pour the salad dressing over the ingredients and toss so everything is evenly coated. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Sprinkle a pinch of dried dill into the salad for extra flavor that enhances the flavors in the ranch dressing.

Tis For Making Bacon Lettuce Tomato Pasta Salad

1. When making this BLT salad recipe, I always start by making the dressing first. That way it can chill in the refrigerator allowing time for the flavors to really meld together while I prep the rest of the salad.  The ranch dressing is creamy and loaded with flavor. We toss in one garlic clove, green onion and Parmesan cheese to the mix which makes the dressing taste amazing. You’ll want to put it on all of your salads! 
2. Cook the noodles al dente for a better texture.
3. Refrigerate the salad in an airtight container until you’re ready to serve.
4. Toss the salad with dressing just before serving.
5. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, leftovers should last up to 2 days. If leftovers are a little dry, just add a little more dressing and toss again before serving. 

More Pasta Salad Recipes

• Kale Pasta Salad
• Summer Pasta Salad
• Italian Pasta Salad
• Tuna Pasta Salad
• Greek Pasta Salad

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Print

Yield: 6 Servings

Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

If you love the flavor of ranch dressing, you're going to love this Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad. Our BLT pasta salad recipe is a tasty combination of turkey bacon, curly kale, cheddar cheese, pepper Jack cheese, cherry tomatoes, and red onion all tossed in our Homemade Ranch Dressing. 

Ingredients

• 16 ounces rotini or fusilli noodles
• 2 cups curly kale, chopped
• 8 strips of uncured turkey bacon, crumbled
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1/3 cup celery, sliced
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup Jack cheese

For the Ranch Dressing

• 1 cup good mayonnaise
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
• 1-inch piece of green onion, green and light green parts (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

Cook Noodles

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until noodles are al dente according to the directions on the package. 
2. Strain the noodles and run under cold water until the noodles are cooled. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

For The Ranch Dressing

1. Add the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy, You can also add the ingredients to a wide-mouth mason jar and use a stick blender (Immersion blender) to blend the ingredients. Or imply add the ingredients to a bowl and whisk together using a wire whisk or fork.
2. Refrigerate up to 1 hour before serving so the dressing is nice and chilled and the flavors have a chance to blend together.
3. Store the dressing in a mason jar or an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, the dressing should last up to 5 days.

For The Turkey Bacon

1. Heat 3-4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat and add 4 slices to the pan at a time.
2. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side, turning once or twice until browned on both sides and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.
3. As the bacon cools, it will become more crispy so you'll be able to crumble the pieces into the salad.

Assemble Salad

1. Slice the kale leaves away from the ribs. Discard the ribs. Thinly slice or chop the leaves and add to the salad bowl
2. Add the cooled al dente noodles, cherry tomatoes, red onion and grated cheese to the bowl and toss.
3. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss again.
4. Season with freshly ground black pepper.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1093Total Fat: 74gSaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 45gCholesterol: 126mgSodium: 1434mgCarbohydrates: 69gFiber: 6gSugar: 8gProtein: 38g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.