Bacon Tomato Avocado Pasta Salad
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Crispy bacon, juicy tomatoes and creamy avocado dressing make THE BEST pasta salad recipe! This BLT Pasta Salad is quick and easy to prepare. It’s delicious served warm or cold, and it’s the perfect side dish for summer BBQ’s!
Serve it on the side of Grilled Tomato Basil Chicken Skewers, Buffalo Turkey Meatball Subs or Onion Fried Cheeseburgers!
I was never a big fan of potato or pasta salads growing up. Blasphemy, I know! I wasn’t a big fan of mayonnaise, which is the base for a lot of potato and pasta salad dressings.
I also found a lot of pasta salads to be boring. They were lacking in the delicious bold flavors that I was looking for!
But today, I’m here to introduce you to THE SECRET ingredient for making a creamy, flavorful pasta salad dressing without mayonnaise, avocado! That’s right, the creamy avocado dressing in this salad packs a serious punch of flavor and the texture is deliciously creamy.
Bonus, you only need 6 ingredients to make it, two of which are salt and pepper! Simply add all of the ingredients to a blender and you’ve got one tasty pasta salad dressing.
I love replacing mayonnaise with avocado on a BLT sandwich. So I decided to make a BLT Pasta Salad with homemade avocado dressing. Who can deny the combination of crispy bacon, creamy avocado and juicy tomatoes? I know I sure can’t!
This recipe will be your new go-to summer and BBQ staple! My family loves this recipe. And every time I make it for a party or BBQ, it gets rave reviews from all of my friends!
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil on the stove. Add small shell pasta to the boiling water. Macaroni noodles or penne pasta would also work for this recipe. Boil the pasta according to package directions, approximately 8 minutes or until al dente. Drain and set aside to cool.
- Prepare the avocado dressing. Add avocado, white balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Traditional balsamic vinegar will also work for this recipe. It will simply result in the dressing being more brown in color than green in color. White balsamic vinegar can be found in most major grocery stores with the other vinegars.
- Toss the salad together. Toss the cooked pasta shells and prepared avocado dressing together in a large bowl. Add the halved cherry tomatoes and cooked and crumbled bacon. Toss everything together. Top the salad with fresh grated parmesan cheese.
How to cook crispy bacon
To make deliciously crispy bacon in the oven, place a wire rack on top of a foil-lined baking sheet. The foil isn’t 100% necessary, but it helps make clean-up a breeze! Place bacon slices across the wire rack. For this recipe, I cooked 4 bacon slices to make 1/2 cup of cooked, crumbled bacon.
Cook the bacon in a 400°F preheated oven for 20 minutes. You can adjust the time based on you desired level of crispiness. Subtract 5 minutes for non-crispy bacon or add 5 minutes for extra crispy bacon.
You can purchase bacon bits at the grocery store or make your own crumbled bacon at home for this recipe. I like to make my own, so I cook the bacon in the oven while the pasta is boiling.
Make ahead and storage
This pasta salad recipe can be made the night before. I do recommend waiting to add the bacon until right before serving the salad. Once tossed with the dressing, the bacon will begin to lose it’s crispy texture.
If I’m making this salad ahead of time, I cook the pasta, make the dressing and slice the tomatoes. I then place each ingredient separately in the refrigerator and toss everything together right before serving.
It takes about 2 minutes to toss together. I do this because the texture of the ingredients is better right after everything has been tossed together.
Leftover pasta salad can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
What to serve it with
This BLT pasta salad is a delicious side dish for a BBQ. Try it with these amazing recipes on the grill or smoker!
Bacon Tomato Avocado Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups small shell pasta, uncooked
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup bacon, cooked and crumbled
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
Avocado Dressing
- ½ avocado, skin and pit removed
- 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Prepare the avocado dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor.
- Toss the pasta with the avocado dressing, cherry tomatoes and bacon.
- Top with fresh grated parmesan cheese and serve.
Notes
- Cook the bacon. If you don’t already have cooked bacon available, be sure to cook the bacon prior to starting the recipe. Place 4 slices of bacon on a wire rack on top of a foil lined baking sheet. Place the bacon in a 400°F oven for 15-20 minutes, or until your desired level of crispiness.
- Vegetarian Option: Omit the bacon to make this recipe vegetarian.
- Gluten Free Option: Use gluten-free pasta to make this recipe gluten-free.
- Macaroni or penne pasta can be used instead of small pasta shells in this recipe.
Nutrition Facts
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One Comment on “Bacon Tomato Avocado Pasta Salad”
Yum! Can’t wait to try!