BLT Pasta Salad

This BLT Pasta Salad is such a fun twist on a classic recipe. It’s bursting with tomatoes, green onions, and plenty of crisp bacon. We skip the lettuce in favor of green onions, but you can add chopped romaine for even more crunch!

We’re big on pasta salad in this house and whip up a different version at least once a week. We serve it with dinner or lunch until it’s gone, usually in just a few days.

Like I said, big on pasta salad around these parts.

Today I’m sharing my recipe for BLT Pasta Salad with you. When I share this one, I inevitably get someone asking where the “L” is in the BLT and I’ll just be honest…we prefer this with green onions instead of lettuce.

The green onions don’t get wilty like lettuce does and it adds a big pop of flavor. Of course, you can absolutely stir in a cup or two of chopped romaine to this BLT pasta salad! It’s delicious, but just keep in mind the lettuce will soften up the longer it sits in the fridge.

While this BLT Pasta Salad is a huge favorite in my house (hello, hard to beat bacon!), we do have quite a few other recipes in our rotation! Try my mama’s macaroni salad recipe some time if you like green olives. Or our Amish macaroni salad if you want something real different! Or, and I’m begging you here, give this Italian Pasta Salad a try. It’s full of every good thing you can imagine.

Ingredient Notes:

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Macaroni – This pasta salad recipe starts with macaroni! Feel free to use any other shaped pasta such as rotini or fusilli if you have a preference.

Bacon – Did I mention that I like bacon? This BLT pasta salad doesn’t actually have any lettuce in it, but that’s okay. We’ve got lots of bacon.

Green Onion – Look, this is green and crispy, like lettuce. We’re counting it as the L. 😉

Tomato – You’ll need a couple of tomatoes for dicing. Farm fresh tomatoes are always best.

Lettuce – We don’t add lettuce ourselves, but you’re more than welcome to stir in 1-2 cups of chopped romaine. Just keep in mind that the lettuce will wilt after it’s sat in the dressing so this is best done just before serving.

Mayonnaise & Vinegar – It’s a simple, creamy, tangy dressing for this pasta salad recipe! You’ll also salt and pepper to taste.

How To Make BLT Pasta Salad:

Bacon: Fry up some bacon in a skillet (or use the air fryer, microwave, or oven!) and crumble it into bite sized pieces. Set that aside for now.

Veggies: Chop up some tomatoes and green onion and add it to a small mixing bowl. If you’re adding romaine, save that until just before serving for the best results.

Dressing: Add the mayonnaise and vinegar to the mixing bowl with the veggies along with some salt and pepper to taste.

Combine & Chill: Pour the dressing over the cooked macaroni and stir it together until well combined. Place it in the fridge to chill for about 2 hours and then stir in the bacon (and romaine, if using).

What pasta for pasta salad?

We prefer to use macaroni in our BLT pasta salad, so that everything is similar in size. You could also use rotini pasta, if you like that curly shape.

Variations:

There are lots of ways to dress this BLT Pasta Salad up and make it your own. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Avocado: Add chunks of creamy avocado just before serving.

Chicken: Stir in grilled chicken to add more protein!

Romaine: Add 1-2 cups of chopped romaine lettuce to your salad just before serving.

Turkey Bacon: Swap the pork for turkey bacon to keep things a bit lighter.

Miracle Whip: We personally are mayo fans in our house, but this recipe can be made with Miracle Whip if that’s what you prefer.

Dressing: If you like your pasta salad to be more saucy, stir in an extra spoonful of mayo just before serving. It’ll make it even more creamy and decadent. Don’t forget to add additional salt and pepper, if needed.

FAQ’s:

(These images were updated March 2024 – original image below!)