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Crack Pasta Salad is a flavorful explosion of crispy bacon, cheddar cheese, and a pop of ranch seasoning; all combined for the perfect side dish. Once you try this easy recipe I’m sure it will be one of your favorite pasta salad recipes, and the hit of every summer potluck.

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What is better than bacon and ranch? Pasta salad with bacon and ranch! This easy bacon ranch pasta salad is the perfect summer side dish. It takes just a few minutes to pull together and is perfect for prepping ahead of time.

What does “crack” mean?

Crack recipes contain bacon, cheddar, and ranch like our bacon ranch chicken dip. The flavor trio is delicious and hard to stop eating so the nickname stuck!

Ingredients

pasta
olive oil
buttermilk
mayonnaise
Ranch dressing mix
bacon
cheddar cheese
parsley

Step by step

This recipe is super easy and fail-proof, if you can cook boil water and stir, you can make this tasty dish!

Cook the pasta al dente according to the package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool.
Mix oil, buttermilk, mayo, and ranch dressing in a large bowl and stir to mix.
Add pasta, bacon, cheese, and parsley to the creamy ranch dressing and stir to coat.
Refrigerate 8 hours before serving.

bacon ranch pasta salad ingredients in large bowl before mixing

Tips for best results

you can use any hearty pasta-I used penne pasta but elbow macaroni, bow ties, and shells are all great options
buy precooked bacon to make this recipe super easy and reduce cleanup
use a good quality mayonnaise in this recipe, Dukes is my personal favorite but Hellman’s is a close second

Variations

add fresh veggies if you like: toss in some sweet peas, chopped red bell pepper, green peppers, red onion, black olives, or grape tomatoes
add protein to make it a full meal: chopped chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken, chopped turkey, or sliced hard-boiled eggs

Serving suggestion

This makes a great side dish for any number of main courses: steak, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken salad sandwiches, or grilled chicken are all great options. I tend to eat it with any food you’d typically see at summer BBQs. Serve it alongside other picnic favorites like deviled egg potato salad or egg salad to round out the menu.

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container up to 5 days. I do not recommend freezing this recipe.

If you try this recipe please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!