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
- 1 tsp salt (to taste)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 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.
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.