I had been craving pasta salad and went to Pinterest to find a new recipe to try. I came across this one and decided to try it out because I like bacon (a lot) and ranch, and cheese, so it seemed like an easy winner! I made it when we had an impromptu football party at our house a few weeks ago and it was a great addition to our huge spread!
Bacon & Ranch Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 (16 oz) box elbow noodles
- 1 (1 oz) package hidden valley ranch dip seasoning mix
- 1 (16 oz) container sour cream
- 1/3 cup mayo
- 1 (16 oz) block cheddar cheese (sharp or mild), cubed
- 1 (10 oz) bag frozen peas, thawed
- 8 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
- salt and pepper, to taste
Boil the noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water, stir so they don’t stick. Let cool while you prep the rest.
Mix the ranch seasoning, sour cream and mayo together. Place noodles in a large bowl. Mix pasta together with ranch mixture. Toss in cheese, peas and bacon. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve immediately or store in an airtight container until ready to serve. Know that the pasta might suck up some of the sauce over time, so you can add a little more sour cream and mayo if needed.
Edits: I used rotini noodles instead of elbow (I love the spirals) and also doubled the amount of bacon. Then I put in the fridge until everyone was over and we wanted to eat.
Results: It was good! When you get a bite with everything in it (cheese, bacon, noodles & peas) it tastes great together. It was ranchier than I imagined though (if that is a word) so expect that flavor to really come out.
