I love a good old classic BLT, but I also love pasta, so this recipe takes all the best parts of a BLT and adds them in with some curly Cavatappi and ranch dressing to make a delicious meal. Plus, I jazzed it up a little with some added avocado and white cheddar cheese to really turn it into a full one bowl meal. This pasta salad keeps well for a few days too, so it makes a quick and easy lunch when on the go. I wait to add the lettuce and avocado right before eating to keep the pasta salad fresh and have nice crunchy romaine.

Ultimate BLT Pasta Salad

Pasta salad with ranch dressing, tomatoes, lettuce, bacon, avocado and white cheddar cheese

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 3 servings

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups uncooked Cavatappi pasta
• 1 1/4 cups cherry tomatoes
• 1 avocado
• 1 1/2 cups romaine lettuce
• 3/4 cup white cheddar cheese cubed
• 1/4 cup basil
• 1/2 cup ranch dressing
• 6 slices bacon
• Fresh cracked black pepper

Instructions

 

• Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente. While the pasta is cooking cook the bacon until crispy. I prefer placing it on a plate between two paper towels and microwaving for several minutes to not make a huge mess and cook the bacon quickly.
• Drain the pasta once cooked and rinse off with cold water. Pat dry the pasta with a paper towel to help the ranch dressing stick to it better. Transfer cooled and dried pasta into a medium-large bowl. Pour the ranch dressing over the pasta and stir so that the pasta is all coated. It will seem like there is quite a bit of ranch, but when you add the other ingredients, it will get distributed more.
• Slice the tomatoes in half, cut up the cheese into cubes and cut the basil into long strips. Add to the bowl with the pasta and stir to combine. Break the cooled bacon up into bite sized pieces and stir into the pasta.
• If eating all right away add the full avocado and lettuce to the bowl and stir to combine. Otherwise just add half a cup of lettuce to each serving and part of the avocado. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and divide into three bowls.
• Keep left over pasta salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Keyword blt pasta salad, ultimate blt salad