This yummy, rich, creamy, crunchy BLT Pasta Salad recipe is the ultimate summer comfort food that combines two faves!
Crave comfort food all year long? We love a good food mashup here at Urban Bliss Life. From savory dishes like Taco Pasta to sweet baked goods like Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Cookies, mashup recipes are yummy ways to enjoy two food faves in one!
This BLT Pasta Salad is one of our longtime FAVE recipe mashups. It combines the savory crunchy bites of BLT sandwiches with the creaminess of a summertime pasta salad.
Friends, this is truly the ultimate summertime comfort food. This creamy BLT pasta salad is perfect for BBQs, picnics, potlucks, and any al fresco dining experience!
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❤️ Why you’ll love this BLT pasta salad
There are so many reasons to love this pasta salad recipe!
- You can make this from start to finish in under 30 minutes.
- It’s a great make-ahead dish (see FAQ section below for storage and serving ideas)
- It’s a simple recipe that involves just a little cooking. It’s mostly tossing the ingredients together.
- This easy summer side dish is rich and creamy, with crunchy bits of bacon and bright fresh summer tomatoes and spinach.
🥓 Ingredient notes
Pasta – I normally use regular pasta shells when making this pasta salad. But you can use farfalle (bow tie) pasta, elbow macaroni, ziti, or rigatoni. The pasta I buy comes in 12-ounce packages. If yours comes in a 16-ounce package, be sure to use a kitchen scale to weigh out 12 ounces of pasta. Or, just eyeball it! It’s a very forgiving recipe.
Dijon mustard – I love adding this to give the dressing a little bit of tang.
Bacon – thick center-cut bacon is great for this pasta salad. But you can easily leave bacon out to make it a vegetarian pasta salad.
Dairy free options- It’s easy to make this a dairy-free BLT pasta salad: simply substitute a vegan mayo and vegan sour cream.
✅ Step-by-step instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, mayonnaise, sour cream, dijon mustard, paprika, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat. Once the bacon starts to get to your desired level of crispness, add the garlic and sauté together for 1-2 minutes. Strain out the grease (save for cooking use later) and transfer bacon and garlic to a bowl or plate to let cool slightly.
4. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse for 1 minute under cool water to cool the pasta.
5. Add the cooked and cooled down pasta to a large bowl, along with the tomatoes, spinach, half of the cooked bacon & garlic.
6. Add the sauce to the bowl of ingredients. Toss together to coat the pasta.
Serve immediately and top each serving with remaining crispy bacon
Recipe FAQs & tips
Yes! I use a vegan, dairy-free mayonnaise and non-dairy sour cream to make the sauce you see here.
Yes! In fact, I love it even better after it’s had at least a couple of hours in the refrigerator. You can make this up to two days in advance. Just before serving, remove the bowl from the refrigerator and drizzle a little olive oil. Then toss the ingredients together to redistribute the sauce. You can even reheat leftovers in the microwave for 30 seconds to re-liquify the sauce.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 3 days. Drizzle some olive oil over the top then toss together to redistribute and “wake up” the sauce just before serving. You can even reheat leftovers in the microwave for 30 seconds to re-liquify the sauce.
This salad is best eaten either fresh or refrigerated; I do not recommend freezing this salad. In general, pastas with this kind of sauce do not freeze well, and do not retain their texture or flavors after thawing.
🍽 Serving ideas
This BLT Pasta Salad is made for BBQs, picnics, and all outdoor al fresco dining experiences!
Serve it alongside barbecue classics like our Asian Beef Burgers, Filipino Pork BBQ Skewers, Grilled Honey Garlic Chicken Skewers, or Grilled Salmon with Lemon and Herbs.
More pasta salad recipes
Looking for more pasta salad recipes? Try one of these three, or this delicious chicken salad!
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
BLT Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 12 ounces pasta shells
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 slices bacon, sliced into 1-inch pieces
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2½ to 3 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 2 cups spinach, stems trimmed and roughly chopped
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
Make the Sauce
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, mayonnaise, sour cream, dijon mustard, paprika, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Cook the bacon and garlic
- In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat. Once the bacon starts to get to your desired level of crispness, add the garlic and sauté together for 1-2 minutes. Strain out the grease (save for cooking use later) and transfer bacon and garlic to a bowl or plate to let cool slightly.
Assemble the pasta salad
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse for 1 minute under cool water to cool the pasta. Add pasta to a large bowl.
- To the bowl of pasta, add the tomatoes, spinach, half of the cooked bacon & garlic, and sauce. Toss together to coat the pasta.
- Serve immediately and top each serving with remaining crispy bacon.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was originally published on September 8, 2017. It was updated with all new photos, new step-by-step instructions, more helpful cooking info, and updated recipe card on July 13, 2022.
What a super easy pasta salad! I can see me making this for lunch very soon!
Crispy bacon, juicy tomato, your pasta salad is really delicious. If I can get bowl I will be happiest person in the earth.
It’s one of my favorite flavor combinations. Thanks so much!
Even only I could reach through my screen and scoop some of that up for myself! This looks absolutely delish!
If only ;) Thank you!
This is my kind of food! Tasty and easy to make. My kids love this too!!
Thank you so much! I appreciate that :)
Well, you know you had me at BACON, right? I would love to hear what brands of vegan mayo and sour cream you use – I have friends who are dairy free, and I love to cook for them (maybe this salad next!)
This pasta salad looks so delicious. I love the BLT combo. This will be perfect for the holidays. Or today. :)
Glad you like this flavor combo, Teri! I do too! Thanks :)