This post is sponsored by Rubbermaid® Freshworks™ and Socialstars™ as part of a #Freshworks sponsored series; all opinions are my own
BLT Pasta Salad brings back memories of summer potlucks with family. It’s served cold and it’s refreshing during the hot summer months. I love the combination of crisp green lettuce with juicy cherry tomatoes, crunchy bacon, and cold pasta. I often refer to this summer salad as my bacon pasta because it’s loaded with all my favorite summer potluck recipe ingredients.
Since it’s the first grill of the season, I want it to be special. I’ve been waiting for this day for months. If you like classic summer side dish recipes with a twist, then you’ll love this pasta salad side dish. It has incredible flavor and tastes just like a BLT sandwich that we’ve all come to love.
This time of year I love to hit up visit a few local farmer markets. I stock up on anything that is in season and store in the refrigerator then plan meals around each hull. What I dislike the most about stocking up on fresh fruits and vegetables is that some of it does go bad pretty quickly.
It’s a constant struggle to finish everything before it spoils. Often, I’ll make a summertime pasta salad with fresh summer produce to use up all those fresh garden vegetables.
Fresh vegetables and fruit that sit on the counter rot pretty quickly because of the humidity. This past week I started using Rubbermaid® Freshworks™ Produce Saver storage containers to help keep the produce fresher for longer.
What I love about these storage containers is that produce lasts three times as long as traditional stored fruits and vegetables. Rubbermaid® FreshWorks™ Produce Saver is a brand new food storage container that uses revolutionary FreshVent™ technology to keep produce fresher up to 80% longer (when compared to store packaging). The containers are BPA free and dishwasher safe which makes clean up that much easier.
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With spring in full swing, you’ll want to make a fun and flavorful dish that are perfect for barbecues. This ridiculously easy pasta with bacon BLT Pasta Salad is perfect as an appetizer, side-dish, or even a main dish.
What are some of your favorite picnic dishes to make this time of year?
BLT Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Ditalini shaped pasta elbow macaroni or rotini pasta may be substituted
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 12 slices bacon chopped
- 1½ cups diced tomatoes
- 2½ cups chopped romain lettuce
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1½ cups sharp cheddar cheese grated
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional to taste
Instructions
- In a medium pot over medium-high heat, cook 16 ounces of pasta according to directions.
- Cook bacon in a skillet over stove top then chop once cooled.
- Drain pasta and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil; set aside.
- Chop lettuce and tomatoes.
- In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, and pasta noodles then toss everything together until coated.
- Stir in lettuce, chopped bacon, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and cheddar cheese.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- red onions
- shallots
- dill
- green onions
- salt
- garlic powder
- freshly minced garlic
- mustard
- pickles
- elbow macaroni
- rotini pasta
- homemade ranch dressing
- black pepper
- sour cream
- vinegar
- turkey bacon
- flavored mayo
- roma tomatoes, or grape tomatoes
- pepperjack cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, monterey jack cheese, feta cheese, blue cheese, goat cheese
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate and it's accuracy is not guaranteed to be exact.
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19 Responses
Rwhat is something easy that this can be paired with……. Do not have a grill yet… Thanks!
Brats, and roasted chicken! I love to bring this BLT Pasta Salad and a side of Sweet Buttermilk Cornbread to parties but we also eat it at home!
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I just made this over the weekend and really loved it but jut wanted to know about how long it lasts… I am still amazed the lettuce hasn’t wilted…..It was AWESOME and I will for sure be making it for Summer Parties & OR BBQ’s this Summer 🙂
Hi Angie, I’d probably save it for 4-5 days. Re-wet it with the dressing if needed!
Can I make this 24 hrs. in advance? Should I mix the bacon, tomatoes and lettuce in when I’m almost ready to server? It sounds great!! Its for my son’s inlaws bbq and I want it to be perfect! Thanks😊
Hi Martha, go ahead and make the pasta ahead of time. Just be sure to toss it with a little olive oil before storing it in the fridge. Then just toss it all together when ready to serve.
I think I will make this tonight, sounds perfect paired with pork chops on the grill, some tangy bar-b-questions sauce and a cold beer. One question. Do you think that additional seasoning is necessary, or is the mayo and Greek yogurt enough?
I think it’s enough. Sounds delicious!
Yumm! This turned out tastier than I expected and went perfect as a side dish for a BBQ. I love the addition of red pepper flakes in this recipe, I even doubled the amount. Next time I’ll add some diced green onion. Thank you for this great, simple pasta salad.
Yay, glad you liked it! It’s such a simple and classic recipe to make this time of year. Thanks, Jillian!
Looks really yummy, planning on making it. But question, what do you do with the second tablespoon of olive oil? Did I miss something? Thanks for the great recipe!
I usually put about a tablespoon or less of olive oil in the pasta water while it cooks to prevent the noodles from sticking to each other and getting soggy.
Holy hell, this looks amazing. Like, super amazing. Like, super duper amazing. I need this in my mouth right now!
This is definitely perfect for spring and has spring written all over it. Fresh, vibrant and full of color. BLT pasta salad. Yum!
BLT pasta salad?! How creative! It looks so yummy!
I love love love macaroni salad. Your photos are gorgeous. I wish I had your Louisiana spring though…I live in Toronto and while it’s technically spring, we are expecting snow tomorrow lol! This salad might just be what we need to brighten up our day.
This looks fantastic! Love bacon in salads, this would be fantastic at a summer BBQ!
Oh wow, I want to dig into some of that! I know pasta salads kind of have a bad reputation but they’re so perfect for picnics. Can’t wait to take this on one.
I love that you added red pepper flakes! Pasta salads can be boring and bland sometimes. Not this one! 🙂