BLT Pasta Salad
This BLT Pasta Salad is perfect for all the summer BBQs and potlucks. It has the classic flavors of a BLT with juicy tomatoes, crispy bacon, fresh spinach, and a creamy dressing but served up pasta salad-style.
I first made this BLT pasta salad way back in 2009 when this ye olde blog was just a few months old, and since then, it’s been my go-to summer salad. It’s a crowd-pleaser with its classic BLT sandwich flavors and goes with pretty much any main dish served up at BBQs, cookouts, and potlucks.
How to Make It
The secret to making the best pasta salad is chilling the cooked pasta before you mix it with the dressing. This is especially important with a mayo-based dressing, like with this BLT pasta salad.
If you mix the mayo with warm pasta, the heat breaks down the mayo, making the dressing runny and not-so-great. It adds a little bit of time, but it’s worth it.
More Pasta Salads
Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad | Italian Pasta Salad | Orzo Pasta Salad | Pesto Pasta Salad
PrintBLT Pasta Salad
A fun twist on a traditional BLT this salad has a creamy mayo dressing, crispy bacon, and sweet cherry tomatoes. Be sure to read the recipe notes for tips and make-ahead recommendations!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dishes
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 12 ounces rotini pasta
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 8 ounces bacon slices
- 4 cups chopped fresh spinach
- 10 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
For the Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
- Juice from half of a lemon, plus 1 teaspoon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Cook and chill the pasta: Boil pasta according to package directions. Drain well. Spread the pasta out in a single layer on a large baking pan. Stick the pan in the refrigerator to chill the pasta while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
- Cook the bacon: While the pasta is chilling cook the bacon until crispy. Remove from the pan and let the slices drain on a paper towel. Once the bacon is cool enough to handle, chop it into bite-sized pieces.
- Make the dressing: Combine the mayo with the thyme, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt in a small bowl.
- Assemble the salad: Add the chilled pasta to a large bowl. Add the onion, chopped spinach, half of the chopped bacon and cherry tomatoes and toss to combine. Add the dressing and toss everything together until everything is coated evenly in the dressing. Top with the rest of the chopped bacon and serve.
Notes
I like to use rotini pasta for this salad because its corkscrew shape is a great vehicle for the creamy dressing, but other short pasta shapes like penne, small shells, or cavatappi will work, too.
Chilling the pasta first is important because if you toss warm pasta with the dressing, the dressing will break down, making it runny. Warm pasta also tends to absorb more of the dressing, so when it’s time to serve it, your pasta salad will be dry. So, don’t skip the chilling step 🙂
You can make the salad a day ahead and store it in the refrigerator. I like to leave it out at room temperature for a bit before serving so it’s not ice cold. Also, give it a good stir before serving.
Since this is a mayo-based pasta salad, don’t leave it at room temperature for more than two hours (or less if it’s very warm).
Nutrition
- Calories: 477
- Sugar: 2.9g
- Sodium: 597.2mg
- Fat: 32.6g
- Saturated Fat: 7.1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 24.1g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 35.1g
- Fiber: 2.3g
- Protein: 10.3g
- Cholesterol: 30.3mg
The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
I hope you enjoy this easy pasta salad!
Happy salad-making,
More Summer Recipe Ideas
This BLT pasta post has been updated from the archives. It was first published in September 2009.
Lovely idea – we should have planted cherry tomatoes this summer too. Just posted about our BLT from scratch:
http://www.eatlivetravelwrite.com/2009/09/they-say-it-takes-village-to-raise.html
What a great way to put all of your tomatoes to use! Anything with bacon is a winner in my book.
Great idea! My family would love this!
That’s so creative and looks delicious!
We used to grow tomatoes but now it’s gone. That’s a great pasta dish. If it’s not a sandwich then it would be a pasta.
Yummy! I was craving a BLT yesterday, this is a nice unique twist!
with BLT in the title – i knew i had to take a look! fantastic idea!
Your pasta salad looks so yummy. Perfect for labor day weekend! Pinned to try it.
What a great use for our late season tomatoes! Love this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
This looks amazingly delicious! I love a good pasta salad, but never thought of doing a BLT pasta salad.
Bacon really doe make the world a better place, what a wonderfully simple but beautiful recipe 🙂
I made this last night as a side for pulled pork sandwiches to feed a group of people ranging from my 86 year old dad who has not had much of an appetite lately down to 4 teenage boys. Everyone LOVED it and couldn’t stop raving. I doubled the recipe, hoping for leftovers, but the whole bowl was gone. Yay! You got my dad and some picky kids to eat!
I thought about omitting the red onions for my boyfriend, who I love dearly but has the sad cross to bear of claiming to hate onions. But I bought the pre diced ones, gave them an extra chop, and even he couldn’t complain just said he loved the flavor.
Total homerun and I will be making this again.
This is my “go-to” recipe to bring to a party. Everyone loves it! I also love making a big batch for myself and I enjoy it for lunch throughout the week. Great recipe, thank you!
What a perfect salad for a potluck!! Everything is better with bacon and what a great way to use your cherry tomatoes!
i was looking around for some sides tonight and found this and omg…i brought it to every party i went to this past summer and it was a hit every time. I think i’m going to make it this weekend and channel warm weather. It’s seriously perfect.