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Jump to RecipeAn unexpected combination of flavors, this Italian Ranch Pasta Salad is so tasty. Make this for your next neighborhood BBQ! Bacon, pepperoni, and an Italian-seasoned creamy ranch make this pasta salad irresistible.
Ingredients for Italian Ranch Pasta Salad
- Rotini pasta: Penne, shells, or bowtie would work great too.
- Bacon and mini pepperoni: The combination of bacon and pepperoni is just so delicious!
- English cucumber and cherry tomatoes: You can swap out any veggies for your favorites, but I like classic cucumber and tomatoes.
- Cheddar cheese: Chop a big block of cheddar into small cubes. I wouldn’t recommend using shredded cheese as it will get smooshed with the rest of the ingredients.
- Mayonnaise, ranch seasoning, and Italian dressing: These flavors work together so well! Use your favorite brand of prepared Italian dressing.
How to Make Italian Ranch Pasta Salad
Making pasta salad is simple, but there are a couple of things you can do to speed up the process.
First boil your pasta according to the package instructions, once it’s done, rinse the pasta under cold water to help it cool down faster. I like to use this over the sink strainer to easily rinse it. The cold water will help the pasta cool down more quickly so I don’t have to chill it in the fridge for hours before I want to serve it.
Next, fry up the bacon and chop the ingredients.
Then, whisk the dressing ingredients together. You can do this in a separate bowl or the bottom of a large bowl. Add the cooled pasta along with the other ingredients and mix everything up together.
Store this pasta salad in the fridge if you’re not serving it immediately. During the summer, pasta salad can spoil pretty quickly without even realizing it, especially if it has dairy and other perishable ingredients in it!
More Pasta Salad Recipes
If you’re a pasta salad fanatic like me, you’ve come to the right place! I have so many delicious pasta salad recipes on my blog.
Pepperoni Mozzarella Pasta Salad
Italian Ranch Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Pasta Salad
- ½ lb rotini pasta
- 6-8 pieces bacon
- 1 English cucumber, diced small
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
- ½ cup mini pepperoni
- 8 oz cheddar cheese block, cubed
Dressing
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbs ranch seasoning
- ½ cup Italian dressing
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the box instructions. Once the pasta is cooked, strain it over the sink and rinse it super well with cold water to let it completely cool down. Add the cooled pasta to a large bowl.
- Cook bacon on the stove and cook through. Crumble the bacon and add to the pasta salad, along with the rest of the pasta salad ingredients. Combine everything together.
- To make the dressing, add all of the dressing ingredients to a small bowl, then whisk together. Top the pasta salad with the dressing and stir well to coat evenly. Serve immediately or keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this delicious pasta salad and ate on it for a few days. It kept it freshness and flavorful taste. I highly recommend! 10/10!
This is delicious. Anything I’ve tried from Julia, tastes wonderful!
Just the right amount of dressing — there’s plenty of flavor but salad is not at all gooey. A quarter recipe made a nice salad-as-main-dish supper for my husband and me, with enough left for one of us to have as a side for lunch tomorrow. I served it with a warmed dinner roll. I did not have cucumber so used some chopped-small iceberg lettuce for green and crunch.
Oh my! Chose to make this one because it was the first on your YouTube pasta salad sight this morning. Only made half a recipe because it’s just hubby and me. Mistake!!!! Should have made the whole recipe…..’cause I can’t stop eating it! It’s so good. Thank you!!!!!!😋