Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

This is an easy bacon ranch pasta salad. The bacon ranch flavor combo is so delicious and it goes great in this festive pasta salad! Try out all of these pasta salad recipes!

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I love to make pasta salad recipes for family gatherings, lunches throughout the week, and even just for snacking during the day. The great thing about any pasta salad is that they hold up pretty well in the refrigerator throughout the week.

I can make a batch of pasta salad on Sunday and have leftovers for the whole week! This recipe is really easy and flavorful, everyone loves it! I get requests for this recipe more than anything else for parties and gatherings.

What you’ll need to make my bacon ranch pasta salad:

Here’s the ingredient list for this easy pasta salad. You’ll love this one, it’s so good!

• 1 bag of tri-color rotini pasta
• 1 bottle of ranch dressing 
• 1 cup tomatoes
• 1 cup red, yellow, and orange bell peppers
• 2 large carrots or 6-8 baby carrots
• 1 medium avocado
• 1 cup of real bacon bits
• 1 cup of Colby jack cheese

How to make this tasty pasta salad recipe:

This is a great recipe if you don’t like any muss or fuss. Everything gets prepped and then boom, you throw it together and mix it up!

I usually give my pasta salad recipes a little bit of time in the refrigerator to sit and soak up the flavors before I serve them. You can definitely make this one the night before and it’ll be awesome the next day!

1. Add pasta to 4 quarts of lightly salted water. Cook according to the instructions on the bag. Remove pan from stove and drain the water. 
2. Add pasta into a large bowl and chill in the fridge. Once pasta is completely chilled, remove from fridge.
3. Cut your tomatoes in half and set aside.
4. Cut your peppers into rings and set aside. 
5. Peel your carrots and set aside
6. Slice your avocado and set aside.
7. Grab you chilled pasta and your other ingredients.
8. Using a large spoon, toss all the ingredients until well incorporated.

Can bacon ranch pasta salad be frozen?

I’m not a fan of freezing and thawing out pasta salad. There’s just something about the pasta that doesn’t seem to like the process. This bacon ranch pasta salad usually gets eaten in a hurry in our house so I don’t normally have a chance to freeze it!

If you do try freezing it I would say definitely let it thaw out in the refrigerator for a day or so before you try eating it. Thawing it out in the microwave or in hot water is going to make it a little overcooked I’d think!

Pasta options for bacon ranch pasta salad:

This recipe calls for tri-color rotini pasta but you could use a variety of pasta options and still have great results. I’d recommend a rotini style pasta or penne.

If you use elbow macaroni make sure you cook it until it’s soft. I’ve found that elbow macaroni tends to get a bit stiff in pasta salad recipes if it’s not cooked entirely!

Can I make this bacon ranch pasta salad gluten free?

I think this recipe would be great with gluten free pasta of any kind. It’s a delicious recipe and most of the ingredients are naturally gluten free.

Make sure to read your labels on the ingredients listed above, the only thing you should really need to swap out is the pasta!

Shopping Links for Pasta Salad Recipes:

Here are some affiliate links to products I think you’ll need for making awesome pasta salad recipes:

• Pasta Cooking Pot / Strainer
• Pasta Tongs
• Pasta Bowls
• Mixing Bowls

Printable bacon ranch pasta salad recipe:

Looking for even more delicious recipes to try?

Here is a list of some other recipes that I think you are going to love. These recipes are great for meal prep, dinners, parties, and more. Hopefully they’ll work into your meal planning needs in a variety of ways.

• Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe
• Creamy Pasta Salad Recipe
• Bow Tie Pasta Salad
• Orzo Pasta Salad Recipe
• Ruby Tuesday Copycat Pasta Salad
• The Best Pasta Salad Recipes
• Awesome Casserole Recipes To Try
• Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese
• Simple Beef Pot Pie Recipe