This creamy pasta salad is going to quickly become one of your favorite side dishes. It’s perfect for pairing with almost any dinner, and we especially love it with some grilled chicken, a nice salad, or some burgers. It’s also perfect for taking to a potluck style dinner!
It’s finally warming up, and we are ready for all things sunshine, and being outside as much as possible. That includes eating dinner outside as much as possible. Our favorite is cooking some yummy meat on the grill, and pairing it with a yummy side dish, some fresh or grilled veggies, watermelon, and of course a yummy pasta salad like this!
This pasta salad is one of my favorites, and that’s saying a lot, because we have a lot of pasta salad recipes. This pasta salad is coated in a flavorful, creamy dressing, and paired with bacon, and peas to give it a great texture and flavor in every bite.
It’s so simple to make, and so delicious! It’s a great recipe because you can customize the mix-ins however you want, if you don’t like peas, add corn instead. Want tomatoes, throw them in too? Want a little more protein, add in some cooked chicken.
How to make Creamy Pasta Salad?
Start by boiling a large pot of water and cooking the noodles until they are cooked al dente. Drain the water out of the noodles with a colander and rinse the noodles with cold water to stop them from cooking. Dry off the pasta noodles as much as you can.
While the pasta is cooking make sure the peas are thawed, and cook the bacon, and crumble it up.
Add the noodles, bacon, peas, and parmesan cheese to a large bowl, and stir them together.
In another bowl whisk together all the ingredients for the creamy dressing in a small bowl, mayo, olive oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper.
Pour the sauce over the salad ingredients and stir everything together to coat them evenly. Place it in the fridge for about an hour or serve immediately.
Tips for making this Creamy Bacon Pasta Salad:
- This pasta salad is a great make ahead recipe. Add everything together, except for the bacon and half the dressing, cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve the dish, toss in the crumbled bacon pieces, and the remaining dressing and serve.
- I like to use medium sized pasta for this salad, I love medium shells, rotini, and farfalle the most.
- Don’t overcook your pasta noodles. You want it cooked al dente so it’s not too soggy, especially as it sits in the dressing.
- Add in any additional veggies or mix-ins that you think would be delicious, chopped up carrots, bell pepper, corn. Even making it more hearty with some grilled chicken pieces, or cubed ham would be delicious too. Also some cubed cheddar cheese would be yummy.
This creamy pasta salad is full of peas, bacon, and pasta, all coated in a creamy and flavorful dressing. It’s the perfect side dish for any dinner, and perfect for a potluck!
More Pasta Salad Recipes:
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Creamy Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 12 oz small pasta noodles
- 2 cup frozen peas (thawed)
- 12 oz thick cut bacon (cooked and chopped)
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
For the Creamy Dressing:
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 1 TBS apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp granulated sugar (to taste)
- 1 tsp salt (to taste)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (to taste)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder (to taste)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper (to taste)
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Instructions
- Cook the pasta noodles in a large pot of water according to their package directions, until cooked al dente. Drain the water out, and rinse the noodles in cold water.
- While the pasta is cooking, make sure the peas are thawed, bacon is cooked and crumbled, and parmesan is grated. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, add the mayonnaise, olive oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Whisk them together till combined.
- Add the pasta, peas, bacon, and parmesan to a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the top. Stir it all together till everything is coated evenly in the dressing.
- Cover the pasta bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for 1 to 2 hours, or serve immediately.
Kellyn Ruiz says
This is one of my favorite pasta salads. It is different than any other I have had. I make it all the time, sometimes I crave it!! I do add more vinegar because I love vinegar.
Stacy says
I normally make an Italian dressing based pasta salad. I wanted a change and tried your recipe. Three words- Oh. My. Goodness. My family can’t get enough! We’ll eat it for dinner and then my 20 y.o. son claims the rest of the leftovers for his lunches that week. The only things I do different is double the sauce and add havarti and white cheddar in addition to the Parmesian (our family LOVES cheese lol) Thank you for sharing!
Aimee says
You just made my day, so glad you love it! You can’t beat extra cheese and dressing!
Amy says
THIS is the pasta salad recipe I’ve been looking for this summer! I tried several others … too much dill, too much ranch seasoning … this one was just right. I made some extra dressing and did end up needing it the next day; I live in the desert and everything dries out very easily. Thank you again – this is a keeper!
Aimee says
So so glad you loved it! 🙂
Boop says
Awesome recipe! I made this and added diced chicken and it was a hit. Thank you for sharing this recipe Aimee. This is a great summer recipe.
Aimee says
Adding chicken is a great idea. Glad you loved it!
Michelle says
I have made this SOOOOO many times. It is always a hit. I am wondering… can I make it Wednesday for a Friday party? TY!
Aimee says
I’d probably keep the dressing in a separate bowl until serving, or make extra to add when serving because the pasta will soak it up a lot over a couple days. But should be great!
Tammy Lawrence says
I made this using chickpea pasta, more bacon, because you can never have too much, a couple cups of chopped spinach and minced sundried tomatoes. Sooo good! Next time, fresh cherry tomatoes instead. Almost like a BLT. 😉 My husband really liked it.
Aimee says
That sounds delish! Glad you liked it!
Crystal says
This recipe is a huge hit with my family and extended family. It fed 10 adults and 2 children and there wasn’t a bite left. I will be making this again! Loved it! ❤️
Diane W. says
Added red pepper flakes to taste and sunflower seeds for texture and crunch. Will make again but next time will also add in cherry tomatoes halved or orange pepper cut up for color and variety
Deborah says
Based on the reviews, I was excited to try this recipe. Made it today as written and was very disappointed with the bland flavor. What a waste of bacon and parmesan cheese.
Aimee says
You should always taste test a dressing before adding it to a salad, that’s why recipes say things like “to taste” on flavoring ingredients 🙂
Tabitha says
I added 3 stalks of celery 3 green onions and used real bacon bits turned out amazing
Holly says
This is so good! I add some very finely diced shallots & chopped baby spinach. You’ve got to use freshly grated grana padano or parm cheese. Yum, yum, yummmm!!
Aimee says
Ooh love the sound of adding spinach and shallots!
KJ Smith says
This is absolutely delicious! A real crowd pleaser for sure! I added a tablespoon of celery seed and two finely chopped hard boiled eggs (I usually add egg to mayo based cold salads, it makes it even creamier and I have Rhode Island Reds who are great layers so I always have a whole lot of eggs)! This went faster than my standard tuna pasta salad with peas which is always a favorite so I KNOW EVERYONE LOVED IT! Thank you for this! I love these cold salads in the summer and this one is perfect as is, and is also very versatile, you can add all kinds of other veggies, herbs, spices to suit your taste…YUMMY!
Aimee says
Ooh I definitely have to try adding eggs next time! We’ve got backyard chickens too, and they give us the best eggs
Lyn says
Hi. I have a couple questions. Do you think this would be good with pasta made from chickpeas? Also, I have the Green Goddess seasoning from Trader Joe’s that I would like to use. Any suggestions on how I could incorporate it? Thank you so much!!
Aimee says
I think chick pea pasta would work fine. I’ve never used that seasoning, so I’m not sure, you could try adding as much as you like to taste.
CJ Fernandez says
I have this made and ready to serve! It tastes amazing even before chilling in the fridge. Also, it was so easy to make. My question is for what serving size is the nutritional information about?
Aimee says
Its about 1 heaping cup
Kathy says
My family loves this recipe!.. I made exactly as written… I was looking for something different I found it.. I did grate fresh Parmesan it makes a big difference.. thank you for sharing.
Aimee says
Yes, fresh parm on top is a game changer 😉
Jessica says
This looks delicious!!! Do you think subbing sour cream instead of mayonnaise will work?
Aimee says
It’s definitely a different flavor – but you could make it with sour cream and taste to see if you like it. Add extra salt and pepper, or other seasonings as needed.
Sara says
I’ve made this so many times and it’s perfect! I don’t even add the parmesan and it’s delicious. The dressing is so flavorful and simple to make.
I add the bacon crumbles at the end or serve them on the side so people can add to the top, so it stays crispy.
I also add a minced bell pepper and some shredded carrots for extra crunch.
Aimee says
Ooh love it. I’ll have to add bell pepper and carrots next time!
Elaine says
Recipe is great. Finding it was frustrating. Too many ads.
Aimee says
Sorry you felt that way Elaine, we have a jump to recipe button at the top of all our posts that will take you straight over the ads to the recipe.
shannon says
Made this today and it was pretty good! Thank you for the recipe
Katie says
So yummy. I ate this all by myself in a couple of days. So addicting 🤣
Traci says
So yummy flavor bomb! This will be my new go to
Veronica Villalobos says
I made your Creamy Pasta Salad, it was so easy to make, and was a big hit at my Easter Dinner. Everything was gone, no leftovers. I plan on making this recipe more often.