This fun pasta salad has all the flavors of a BLT sandwich packed inside and is generously covered with a homemade herb ranch dressing. Take this pasta salad to any summer cook-out and watch it disappear!

BLTS are hands-down my favorite kind of sandwich. There’s really nothin’ not to love about ’em. Smoky bacon, crisp lettuce, juicy tomatoes….You just can’t go wrong with a good ‘ol classic BLT.

Omit the bread, throw in some pasta and a little ranch dressing, and you get…..

A BLT pasta salad. Which, I’m pretty sure is gonna become a SUPA’-BIG thing this summer. 😀

This pasta salad is SO good. I mean c’mon, combine the classic BLT with pasta and a creamy homemade ranch dressing and you really can never go wrong.

All you need is a hamburger and some watermelon on the side, and you’ve got an epic summertime dinner.

And the booze. Don’t forget the booze. It’s practically Friday. 😉

My family declared this pasta salad “a keeper” so I’m pretty sure I’m gonna be begged to make it for the 4th of July which is coming up in only a FEW WEEKS.

AKA: Freak-out time. I haven’t even STARTED planning my cook-out menu.

Seriously, this summer is going by SO fast. Once we get to the 4th, it seems like summer picks up speed and just flies by. I have so many recipes on my must-share list before the 4th, it’s not even funny. Everyday I add more to the list and I’m still trying to figure out a way to share all of ’em before the 4th rolls around.

And I’m talking some pretty amazing recipes here, guys. Burgers, epic salads, grilled sliders, red white and blue-themed desserts. Stay tuned, because if I can, I’m gonna try and share most of them before the biggest barbecue of the summer rolls around.

Wish me luck. Ha-ha. I think I’m gonna need it…

This salad was at the top of that must-share-before-the-4th list. Mostly ’cause it’s the best dang pasta salad EVERRR.

I know, I say that about most salad recipes I share with you guys. I just have so many favs I can’t keep track of them all…

I’ve noticed that anything with bacon usually always works it’s way to the top of my list.

#obsessed.

This pasta salad is super-creamy, thanks to a wicked-good homemade herb ranch dressing.—If you’ve never tried making your own ranch dressing you should definitely change that!

They whip together SO fast and are so much tastier than the bottled stuff.

I threw a spin on classic ranch dressing, by adding some fresh herbs from my garden into the mix. SO good guys! Herb ranch dressing. I’m pretty sure that’s gonna be a thing now. 🙂

And um, YUM. It goes so good dressing some elbows, lettuce, bacon, ‘n’ tomatoes.

Looks pretty tasty too. 😀

If you want to make this a BLTA salad, you could sneak some sliced avocado in there. 😉 Just kinda my thing—I’m obsessed with avocados. So, SO good!

This is one of my favorite lunch salads, but it’s MORE than appropriate to include on your barbecue menu. It whips up in mere MINUTES so it’s a perfect last-minute side dish.

It also may end up being your main course of the evening. 😉

BLT’s fo’ eva! 🙂

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BLT Pasta Salad with Herb Ranch Dressing

Prep Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings servings

Ingredients

1 lb elbow pasta
8 strips bacon cooked and chopped
3 large tomatoes diced
2 cups finely chopped lettuce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
DRESSING:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/4 cup loosely-packed fresh basil
1/4 cup loosely-packed fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions and reserve 1/3 cup pasta cooking water. Place pasta in a large bowl and set aside to cool.
Add chopped bacon, tomato, lettuce, and lemon juice to cooled pasta and toss to combine.
Prepare the dressing: Place all dressing ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth and creamy.
Pour dressing over pasta salad and stir to coat. Stir in reserved 1/3 cup pasta water. Season salad with salt and pepper. Refrigerate salad at least 1 hour until cold.

Notes

Store pasta salad in refrigerator up to 3 days.

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below. Feel free to share a picture on Instagram and tag @wholeandheavenlyoven or hashtag it #wholeandheavenlyoven

Try my other cook-out favorites next!

Texas Potato Salad