Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe with Tortellini + Video
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Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is the ultimate summer side! With copious amounts of bacon, a perfectly tangy ranch dressing, and fresh vegetables, this cold tortellini pasta salad is sure to please! This creamy pasta salad is the perfect side dish!
This bacon ranch pasta salad recipe is an easy side dish and perfect for a potluck dinner or your next BBQ. Every time I’ve made it, it’s been a crowd pleaser!
While you can use any type of pasta, the steps, and ingredients listed on the recipe card show you an easy cooking process for making al dente pasta every time.
The key to making this delicious pasta salad is making sure that you have perfectly cooked pasta combined with the rest of the simple ingredients.
The ranch flavor is the perfect combination with the fresh ingredients, making it a great option for summer BBQs.
This recipe is an easy way to make the best pasta salad to pair with any main dish. When it comes to a cold pasta salad recipe, this is a great recipe to have on hand!
It’s one of my favorite pasta salads!
Table of Contents
Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
When temperatures outside start to rise, I immediately start craving cold, refreshing salads.
And while I do love greens, there’s nothing like a cold tortellini pasta salad to fill you right up!
They pretty much incorporate all my favorites into one bowl: pasta, cheese, veggies, and yummy dressings and toppings. Summer salad perfection!!
Recipe Video
Want to combine the best of both worlds? You’ve got to try this Green Goddess Pasta Salad with veggies, bacon, and eggs in a creamy herbaceous dressing.
My BLT Pasta Salad is delicious and filling too, and a great option when you need to hold off on the cheese!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Pasta – You can use refrigerated or frozen tortellini for this bacon ranch salad recipe.
Want to go the extra mile? Make these cheese-stuffed noodles from scratch! - Veggies – Dice half a red onion, slice grape tomatoes in half, and chop bell peppers and English cucumber into bite-sized pieces.
Sliced black olives are easy — just open a can and drain! - Cheese – I prefer to use sharp cheddar, but you can use your favorite as long as it is firm and easy to slice into cubes.
- Dressing – Find a quick and easy ranch dressing recipe below, or grab a bottle of your favorite. This bacon ranch pasta salad is delicious either way!
Creamy Tortellini Pasta Salad Recipe Tips
- Don’t overcook the pasta. Cook just to al dente according to the package directions.
If overcooked, the tortellini will fall apart when tossed with the other bacon ranch salad ingredients. - Rinse pasta in cold water. This will stop it from cooking further.
Drain and immediately add the tortellini to a large bowl, then toss with half of the dressing to keep it from sticking together.
It will also soften a bit after soaking up some of the dressing. - Make fresh bacon crumbles. Bagged salad topping crumbles are tough and chewy — gross! Instead, cook up thick slices of bacon in the oven or the air fryer.
Once cooled, you can chop or break strips into smaller pieces for a crispy addition to your creamy tortellini pasta salad!
Kitchen Tools You Will Need
- Colander – This kitchen essential makes life so much easier! You can use it to drain pasta or wash veggies and fruit.
- Cutting Board – Grab a big solid cutting board so you can prep all your veggies on one surface. I use my cutting board daily, so it’s worth the investment!
- Quality Knives – Quality knives make prep time much quicker and are important for safety as well. If you make one kitchen investment, I believe it should be in quality knives.
Bacon Ranch Salad FAQ
Honestly, just about anything. I don’t know if I would go so far as to use fish, but you can combine tortellini with bacon, chicken, ham, steak, and even shrimp!
You bet! In fact, it’s even tastier the next day after the flavors have had time to meld together.
Combine tortellini with bacon, cheese, and veggies, then toss with only half of the dressing.
Store the remaining dressing separately in the fridge, then add to bacon ranch pasta salad just before serving.
Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days when stored in an airtight container.
Keep in mind that the veggies will soften and the tortellini will absorb most of the dressing the longer it sits. So the sooner you can gobble up leftovers, the better!
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Other Tortellini Pasta Salad Recipes
Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe with Tortellini + Video
Ingredients
- 15 ounces cheese-filled tortellini pasta
- 16 ounces grape tomatoes, halved
- 2 bell peppers, 1 orange and 1 yellow, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 English cucumber, cut into spears and then sliced
- 1/2 medium red onion, rough dice
- 4.25 ounce can sliced black olives
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
- 1 cup bacon crumbles, 1 pound cooked, cooled and crumbled
Easy Ranch Dressing
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons dry ranch salad dressing mix
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 cloves minced garlic, or 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon course ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook tortellini according to directions on the package (do not add salt to the water). Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, prepare the salad dressing: In a medium bowl whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, and milk. Add remaining dressing ingredients. Place in refrigerator until ready to dress the salad.
- Combine tortellini 1/2 of salad dressing and toss to combine.
- Add remaining salad ingredients in a large bowl, toss until combined. Reserve the remaining dressing. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss with salad tongs until well coated.
Video
Donna’s Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published May 2015, updated and republished July 2024
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Weโre Donna and Chad, the dream team behind The Slow Roasted Italian. Our focus is on taking complicated OUT of the kitchen. Life is busy enough, making meals should be fast and easy, to help make your life as simple as possible. Read More >>
This salad was so delicious!! My husband and I loved it, and so did both our next door neighbours. It combines a lot of the flavours we really like. It was amazing. It's going in my salad rotation. Thank you!
Looks delicious! Pinning. Love winter in Az, but summer is the reason why we come back home to NW IN.!
Vicky
would probably add chicken or even shrimp to this…
This recipe is so fresh and delicious ๐
I love pasta salad, and the bacon ranch is amazing! This would be so good if you put in chicken instead of pasta too! A very good recipe and one I’ll keep on hand.