Whip up this easy bacon ranch pasta salad for your next barbecue or potluck. 
Spring is definitely the best time of the year in central California. It’s a few months of perfect weather, where you don’t feel like melting and can actually enjoy being outdoors for long periods of time. We like to take advantage of the beautiful weather by enjoying picnics at the park and often eating dinner al fresco. During spring break a few weeks ago the kids asked to eat outdoors almost everyday, of course we happily agreed. While my husband grilled, I quickly whipped up this Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad. I’m always trying to find ways to change up our normal dinner meals and this pasta salad made a great side dish to our barbeque. It’s light and makes a great potluck meal. 
Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
- 1 box Barilla® Pronto™ rotini pasta
- 1 cup Hidden Valley® ranch dressing
- 8 bacon strips, cooked
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 small red onion
- 2 tomatoes
- ½ cup sliced olives
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- Garnish with chopped green onions and pepper to taste
- Cook pasta according to package directions and set aside to cool.
- Once pasta has cooled combine all ingredients together in a large bowl. Add pepper to taste and garnish with chopped green onions.
- Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
Reading this and looking at the pictures is making me so hungry! My kids love all those ingredients so it would be an automatic crowd pleaser! I would love to highlight this in a roundup post – let me know!