Made with crispy bacon, juicy tomatoes, crisp lettuce, tender pasta, and rich dressing, BLT Pasta Salad perfectly mimics the flavors of a classic BLT sandwich in pasta salad form.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Once the pasta has been cooked, drain, DO NOT RINSE, and cool the pasta completely. You can speed the process up by spreading the cooked pasta onto a rimmed baking sheet.
While the pasta is cooking, dice the bacon into ½-inch strips and cook over medium-high heat until the bacon is crisp and browned. Remove the cooked bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to cool. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease to use in the pasta salad dressing.
In a small bowl, mix together the reserved bacon drippings, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, and salt for the pasta salad dressing.
Toss the dressing, cooked and cooled pasta, chives, tomatoes, lettuce, and bacon bits together until evenly distributed.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours before serving.
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Notes
Bacon Grease: Feel free to omit the bacon grease from the dressing. It adds incredible flavor, but the pasta salad is delicious without this addition. Noodles: Use any variety of noodles with curved edges, just as campenelle, corkscrew, or rotini. To make this a Gluten-Free BLT Pasta Salad, use gluten-free pasta.Tomatoes: If using vine-ripened tomatoes, be sure to seed them before adding them to the pasta salad, to prevent the pasta salad from becoming watered down.Lettuce: I love the crispness of hearts of romaine or iceberg lettuce in this pasta salad. Both stand up well to the dressing.Bake Bacon: Rather than pan-fry the bacon, you can opt to bake your bacon. To bake the bacon, lay the bacon slices out onto a baking rack fitted over a rimmed sheet pan. Bake at 400 degrees F, until crispy and browned. Reserve 1 tablespoon of drippings from your pan for the dressing. Let the bacon cool, then dice up into bite-sized pieces.Storage: Store any leftover BLT pasta salad in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container.