BLT Ranch Pasta Salad
BLT Ranch Pasta Salad. Every good Labor Day weekend barbecue needs a good pasta salad. And who doesn’t love a good bacon, lettuce, tomato combo with saucy homemade ranch for the dressing topped with lots of avocado, grilled corn, and fresh basil leaves. This one is definitely a crowd pleaser and for sure addicting. Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend with lots of good food & cocktails !! Cheers !!
I don’t think there is ever a good BBQ without a pasta salad. Yes, of course there are burgers, steak, seafood, whatever is on the grill, you name it. But the sides are always where it is at. And while pasta is usually a main dish, when it comes to a barbecue I always think of pasta salad as a side. It’s right there with the potato salad. Both equally important and honestly, both are my two favorite dishes when it comes to a barbecue.
I am actually so shocked it is Labor Day. Like I swear it was memorial day JUST yesterday. As you guys can probably guess, I would love to go back and do the summer all over again. It was one of my favorite summers yet. The new beach house, the bars being open again, and most importantly…alllllll the amazing food and drink recipes this summer.
So while I sit here reflecting on the summer, super happy that it was so amazing but so sad that it is over, we are doing our labor day barbecue. The season finale of the summer. And tonight we went with a BLT Ranch Pasta Salad. I was inspired by all the fresh veggies we had. So many tomatoes, so many avocados, and so much corn left over from the weekend. So the first thing that popped into my mind was a creamy ranch BLT pasta salad. Refreshing but decadent at the same time. Lots of veggies, lots of bacon, and lots of creamy ranch.
So, I’ve been told summer can’t last forever and I thought that was pretty rude. Summer forever, am I right? But, this weekend has been another amazing one for the books. I am definitely sad it is over, and I am even more sad that summer is over. But I am so SO thankful for such an amazing summer season. It is definitely one I will be reminiscing on for a while !! So cheers to labor day weekend and summer 2021 !!
Ingredients
1 pound short-cut pasta
2 cups green leaf lettuce
1 cup cherry tomatoes; halved
2 ears corn; grilled and kernels removed
1/3 pound thick-cut bacon; chopped
1 avocado; diced
fresh basil leaves for serving
For the Ranch Dressing
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon buttermilk
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons fresh chopped chives
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried dill
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper
Directions
Cook the pasta. Drain saving 1 cup of pasta water. Transfer the hot pasta to a large serving bowl. Add the green lettuce, tomatoes, corn, and bacon.
Make the ranch dressing. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, milk, lemon juice, chives, dried parsley, dried dill, garlic powder, and onion powder. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Add the ranch dressing to the bowl with the pasta, adding pasta water as needed. Toss to combine. Serve topped with avocado and fresh basil leaves.
