Ready in under 30 minutes, this easy bacon ranch pasta salad recipe is a quick, creamy and flavorful side dish that’s perfect for any occasion. With the tangy taste of ranch, the crunch of fresh veggies, and the smokey goodness of bacon, it’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
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Why I Love This Creamy Pasta Salad
I was gifted this recipe almost 20 years ago at my first corporate job. We had office potlucks often and I was absolutely obsessed with this pasta salad from my first bite! For me, the combination of cubed cheddar cheese and salty, crispy bacon is what really sets it apart. Here’s why you’ll keep sneaking bites before it ever leaves the kitchen:
- Quick and Easy: Prepare this creamy pasta salad recipe in just 30 minutes.
- Potluck Favorite: This bacon ranch pasta salad can be made ahead and serves 10, but could easily be doubled for a party or larger gathering.
- Craveable Flavors: Smoky bacon, creamy ranch dressing, and lovely cheese cubes deliver a robust, savory flavor explosion from the first bite to the last!
- Simple Ingredients: This easy macaroni salad comes together with inexpensive ingredients, many of which you may already have on hand.
If you need easy, portable salads, check out my light and fresh Greek pasta salad. My tuna pasta salad and this dill pickle pasta salad receive rave reviews, too. All three are ready in 30 minutes or less!
Key Ingredients
Below you will find helpful notes for key ingredients used to make this easy bacon ranch pasta salad recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredient list and exact amounts!
- Pasta: Choose an any short pasta meant to hold sauce. Elbow macaroni, bowtie, or penne will all work great. Do not over cook your noodles or the salad will become soggy quickly!
- Ranch: An envelope of dry, ranch seasoning mix gives big, bold savory flavor. You do not want to use prepared ranch dressing!
- Cheese: Sharp cheddar cheese pairs so well with bacon, but you could substitute your favorite semi-soft cheese like Colby jack or Swiss. I highly recommend using cubes of cheese, it adds a great textural element!
How to Make Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
With little time spent boiling the noodles, this easy bacon ranch pasta salad recipe comes together in just about 20 minutes. Below is a quick recipe overview, but please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions and to watch the step-by-step video!
- Boil: Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. Let cool completely.
- Make the Dressing: In a large mixing bowl, combine the ranch packet mix, mayonnaise, and sour cream. Add cooked and drained pasta to the dressing and stir until mixture coats the pasta.
- Stir: Add in cheese, bacon, thawed green peas. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Mix gently until all ingredients look well incorporated.
- Serve: Serve and enjoy immediately at room temperature or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Chef’s Tips and Variations
- Pasta: Season the water before boiling by adding a couple of tablespoons of salt. This step adds needed flavor to pasta. Also, watch the time and drain al dente pasta immediately when finished cooking as directed. Overcooking causes mushy noodles that break down when mixing the other ingredients together.
- Prep Ahead: If making a day ahead, measure the mayo and sour cream generously to retain creaminess. Many people prefer to make this dish ahead so the flavors meld. When ready to serve, stir in a little extra sour cream or mayo, if needed.
- Variations: Try different semi-soft cheese cubes such as Colby jack, pepper jack, or swiss. No bacon? Feel free to add cubed leftover smoked or honey ham and add to the salad instead. You could increase the fiber and protein in the dish by using chickpea or lentil based pasta.
- Add Color: Amp up the veggie power and presentation points by adding diced purple onion and chopped red bell pepper.
- Greek Yogurt Substitute: Use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream for a lighter option. However, I recommend not using all yogurt, you need the mayonnaise to help keep it creamy.
- Bacon Bits: For convenience, use store-bought bacon bits also work, but freshly cooked bacon really will add the best flavor.
What to Serve with Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
This hearty salad makes a great light dinner or lunch, but you may want to pair it with cookout classics such as hamburgers or hot dogs. Here are a few suggestions:
- BBQ: Try my easy, hands off crockpot pulled pork or BBQ oven pulled chicken. These crockpot bbq meatballs are another crowd favorite.
- Grill: From a juicy grilled flank steak to grilled steak kabobs, both are easy to prep ahead for grilling when your guests arrive. For a lighter option, this Greek chicken souvlaki is a reader favorite!
- More Sides: When the kitchen gets hot, try my refreshing cucumber and tomato salad or tropical fruit salad! You also can’t go wrong with a batch of these epic baked beans.
Test Kitchen Review
Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (16 oz) box elbow noodles
- 1 (1 oz) package ranch dip seasoning mix, dry packet
- 1 (16 oz) container sour cream
- ⅓ cup mayo
- 1 (16 oz) block sharp or mild cheddar cheese, cubed
- 1 (10 oz) bag frozen peas, thawed
- 8 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
- salt and pepper, to taste
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Instructions
- Boil pasta according to package directions, until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water and stir so the noodles don’t stick. Let pasta cool while you prep the rest.
- In a large bowl, mix together the ranch seasoning, sour cream and mayo together until well combined. Add pasta to the bowl and stir to combine.
- Toss in cheese, peas and bacon. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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so good!!!! I love making this for a potluck!!
I added shredded chicken along with the bacon to this salad. It did have good flavor, but I did increase the ranch seasoning to a packet and a half. I also added cracked pepper and some salt to taste. I found myself adding some olive oil and milk to mayo and sour cream mixture. It was a little stiff. I like the dressing on my pasta salads to be creamier.
I think next time I would use more mayo in the recipe and less sour cream. Maybe even amounts of mayo and sour cream. Might help it to be creamier.
But the flavor of the salad was good.
I also added onion. Onion gives it an extra kick.
How come so many of you always have to comment or say that you made the recipe but added this or changed that or changed the entire recipe altogether?
Just post your own recipes.
I made this a few times last summer and again today and I actually only use 1/2 packet of the dry ranch dip which is absolutely perfect. How someone in a comment said this salad is too bland no flavor for her family, I completely disagree. Half a packet is plenty of the ranch dip. I’ll probably make it with 2 full packs of bacon the next time instead of an entire pack because bacon is what makes this salad so great and just 8 slices will never be enough for our liking. Such an easy and with hardly any ingredients salad.
Absolutely delicious. I’m always looking for the super of easy recipes and this one is a definite keeper.
Much appreciated by us at my house. Yum!
I must have made a mistake because mine came out tasteless.
I love this recipe.
Gonna make today or tomorrow and do my add in’s such as red onion, maybe green as well, plus chopped Roma tomatoes! Will probably double the bacon, bc, you can NEVER EVER, have too much bacon! Thanks for the recipe!
[…] The one I made thinking my hubby would be delighted with it… he was, as was my son. Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad. I did a herb garlic base and added 1/3 of a red pepper along with half a white onion. Total […]
This salad makes a lot and is PERFECT for a summer cookout! It’s easy and quick to make and is SO tasty! Leftovers did not dry out so that was a big plus so we could eat the leftovers with lunch the next day. I used light mayo and light sour cream and center-cut bacon to cut back on fat and calories. As usual, no one was the wiser! I also added chopped red onion to this salad to amp up the flavor. It was PERFECT!
Love the red onion addition! Glad you enjoyed it Christine!
This recipe was delicious and easy! Used up some items I needed to use in my pantry. Thank you!
I’ve made this 3 times already!! Every time it get’s eaten so quickly. It’s a great one to have on hand during the week to fill in gaps when you forget to cook and need something savory. This hits the spot so everytime!
Can’t wait to try this. Recipe says hidden valley ranch dip mix (which is what I bought), but your comments say dressing mix. Does it matter?
Absolutely love this, my daughter started eating the ranch dressing mix before I could put it in the salad lol. I was reading the nutrition info on your recipe and it states 1 serving but not how big the serving is. How would I find this out? I’m trying to count calories, thanks!