• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Savory Nothings logo

  • Recipe Index
    • Easy Dinner Recipes
      • Slow Cooker
      • One Pot Meals
      • Quick Meals
      • Instant Pot
    • Side Dishes
    • Breakfast
    • Dessert
    • Small Meals
  • Dinner Ideas
  • About
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Dinner Ideas
  • Easter
  • Holidays & Occasions
  • About
  • Subscribe
×

Home / Recipes / Small Meals / Salad / Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

2 hrs 25 mins
| 4 Comments |
5 from 12 votes
Jump to Recipe 06/08/21 | Updated: 06/08/21 | by Nora
Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad Image Pin 2

Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is the creamy pasta salad you’ve been waiting for. With a delicious dressing and lots of bacon, cheese and yummy vegetables in this salad, this is the side dish your next BBQ party needs. Try it this weekend – it will be the star of the buffet!

overhead close up view of wooden spoon in bacon ranch pasta salad in glass bowl

Creamy ranch pasta salad recipe

  • This recipe is super easy to put together. Any busy mom’s dream, right?
  • It’s a total crowd pleaser! Again, dream come true. That creamy dressing really seals the deal.
  • The kids LOVE it. Well, at least mine do. Spearing up peas and corn on their little forks? I think I can stop giving them toys 🤷🏻‍♀️

Usually I’m more into things like my Greek Pasta Salad or a classic Italian Pasta Salad. But this creamy bacon ranch one is so much better than I ever would have expected it to be, if I can be honest with you for a minute. Try it! Even if you don’t usually go for creamy pasta salads. You’ll love this one.

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

ingredients for bacon ranch pasta salad with text labels
Ingredients in Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad: Pasta, ranch dressing, shredded cheddar, peas, corn, celery, red onion, green pepper and bacon.

Ingredient notes

  • Pasta: The best kinds of shapes for this salad are short ones like medium shells, bowties and rotini. I guess macaroni would work, too. But then it would be a bacon ranch macaroni salad 😉 I don’t recommend using something like penne or rigatoni, because the bacon, peas and things get stuck in them.
  • Peas: Please make sure to cook the peas according to package directions before adding them to the salad. Frozen vegetables that aren’t properly heated can be the cause of food borne illness.
  • Corn: Feel free to use fresh corn instead of canned – we love it air fried or grilled in foil!
  • Cheese: I used a shredded cheddar blend. Feel free to use diced cheddar, or a different cheese like Monterey or Colby Jack if you prefer.
  • Bacon: I air fried the bacon, but you can cook it any way you like. Feel free to use pre-cooked bacon or bacon bits for quicker prep.
  • Green pepper/red onion/celery: Feel free to leave out any of these. They add a lot of flavor and texture my family enjoys, but I know not everyone does. Entirely up to you!
  • Ranch dressing: I used a double batch of my homemade ranch salad dressing, but bottled is perfectly fine.

How to make a ranch pasta salad

  • overhead view of ingredients for bacon ranch pasta salad in glass bowl
    add ingredients to bowl
  • ranch dressing pouring over pasta salad ingredients in glass bowl
    add dressing
  • female hand stirring ranch pasta salad in glass bowl
    combine

Pasta salads have one step:

  1. Mix everything together, cover and chill.

It really doesn’t get any easier, does it? The perfect side dish for summer barbecues and picnics. I love pasta salads so much!

Recipe tips

  • Be sure to chill the salad. It just tastes better after the flavor had time to mingle for a bit!
  • Depending on your pasta and how long you cooked it for, it might soak up a lot of the dressing while chilling. Be sure to have some extra on hand to add to the salad in case it’s not as creamy as you’d like it to be.
  • I highly recommend rinsing the pasta under cold water right after draining it. This cools the pasta and washes away extra starches to help keep the pasta from sticking together.
  • If you’re a beginner and not sure how you need to cook pasta, I have a tutorial for how to cook pasta.
overhead view of glass bowl filled with bacon ranch pasta salad

Serving ideas

This recipe goes great with grilled meats or other summer-y dishes. Some of our favorites are marinated grilled pork chops or bbq pulled pork sandwiches. My children especially love this pasta salad with my pineapple bbq pulled pork!

And I sometimes serve it with oven fried chicken or buttermilk oven fried chicken (or lately air fryer fried chicken).

close up photo of bacon ranch pasta salad

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!

Printable Recipe Card
close up photo of bacon ranch pasta salad
Save Recipe Saved!

Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

This Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is a creamy side dish that's perfect for any summer BBQ party, picnic or potluck. Try it this weekend!
Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings
made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
5 from 12 votes
Print Add Review

Recipe details

Prep 15 mins
Cook 10 mins
Chilling Time 2 hrs
Total 2 hrs 25 mins
Servings 15 cups
Difficulty Easy

Ingredients
 

  • 1 pound short pasta shapes such as shells, rotini or bow ties
  • 8 ounces bacon browned and crumbled
  • 4 ounces cheese shredded (Monterey Jack or cheddar are good choices)
  • 1 cup frozen peas cooked according to package directions and cooled
  • 1 cup canned corn kernels drained
  • 1 green pepper finely diced
  • 1 stick celery finely diced
  • 1 red onion finely diced
  • 3 cups Ranch dressing plus extra if needed

Instructions
 

  • Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool. Drain again well.
  • Mix pasta with all other ingredients in a large bowl. Chill in frige for at least two hours. Add more dressing if necessary after chilling.
Want to save this recipe?Create an account for free to start your personal recipe box. Save any recipe by tapping the heart in the bottom right corner.
Join Now

Notes

  • Corn: Feel free to use fresh corn instead of canned – we love it air fried or grilled in foil!
  • Cheese: I used a shredded cheddar blend. Feel free to use diced cheddar, or a different cheese like Monterey or Colby Jack if you prefer.
  • Bacon: I air fried the bacon, but you can cook it any way you like. Feel free to use pre-cooked bacon or bacon bits for quicker prep.
  • Green pepper/red onion/celery: Feel free to leave out any of these.
  • Ranch dressing: I used a double batch of my homemade ranch salad dressing, but bottled is perfectly fine.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 458kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 9gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 15gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 693mgPotassium: 201mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 215IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 83mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American

Recipe first published on 05/01/2018. Updated with new photos, better text and slight improvements to the recipe on 06/08/2021.

More pasta salad recipes

  • Greek Pasta Salad
  • BLT Pasta Salad
  • Easy Italian Pasta Salad
  • Caprese Pesto Pasta Salad
  • Pepperoni Pizza Creamy Pasta Salad
  • Easy Macaroni Salad
  • Greek Orzo Salad
  • Mexican Macaroni Salad

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings
About Nora 
When I got married to my professional chef husband, I realized I had to step up my game in the kitchen. Now I share my favorite foolproof family recipes here on Savory Nothings: Chef-approved, kid-vetted and easy enough for everyday home cooks like you and me!   Learn more.

Reader Interactions

homemade ranch salad dressing pouring from glass measuring jug over salad ingredients

< Previous Post

overhead close up view of sliced strawberry oatmeal bars garnished with fresh strawberries

Next Post >

Add a Review or Ask a Question Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Made this recipe? Rate it:




Comments

  1. LEO says

    July 07, 2022 at 7:52 pm

    5 stars
    Had no corn but used dark red kidney beans instead ( drained & rinsed) Bottled ranch & cavatappi pasta. Really good!

    Reply
    • Nora says

      July 23, 2022 at 11:07 am

      That sounds delicious!

      Reply
  2. Linda says

    May 21, 2021 at 2:42 pm

    Great recipe. I had corn with red and green peppers so used that also. I added chicken cubes so it was a meal for us.
    Gave some to neighbors and it was a hit

    Reply
    • Nora says

      May 24, 2021 at 3:49 pm

      I love your changes, Linda! Sounds absolutely delicious.

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings

Hi, I'm Nora! I wasn't always a good cook, but then I fell in love with a professional chef and learned my way around the kitchen. Now I share all my secrets to effortlessly great food here on my blog, bite-sized for home cooks just like me and you.

More about me →

Cookie Recipes

  • The Perfect Soft Gingerbread Cookies
  • Chewy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
  • Christmas Pinwheel Cookies
  • The Best Cut Out Sugar Cookies

see all >

Popular

  • Garlic Parmesan Crispy Oven Fried Chicken
  • Oven Baked Chicken Breast
  • Crispy Oven Fried Chicken
  • TikTok Baked Oats: 6 Ways!
  • One Pot Rigatoni Bolognese
  • Southwestern Crockpot Chicken Tacos
  • Homemade Shepherd’s Pie
  • Whole Wheat Cinnamon Crunch Banana Bread

Trending on Pinterest

  • Balsamic Chicken Marinade
  • Swedish Meatballs
  • Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet
  • Instant Pot Pot Roast
  • Homemade Salisbury Steak
  • About
  • Contact

Footer

Footer

Follow Along













Recipes

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Sides
Dessert
Appetizers

Instant Pot
Slow Cooker
One Pot
Casseroles
Ground Beef
Chicken

Featured On

different logos of publications Savory Nothings' content has been featured on

↑ back to top

About | Contact | Work with Us

Copyright Savory Nothings © 2023

Made with lots of love and spices ♥︎
PRIVACY POLICY | ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT |
As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Yummly
  • Mix