Crunchy bacon meets smooth cheddar cheese while vibrant peas and olives bring a refreshing twist to this bacon ranch pasta salad. Topped off with a creamy, homemade ranch dressing, this dish proves that salads can indeed be the star of the show.
Cook rotini pasta as per package instructions. Once cooked, drain and rinse with cold water until pasta is cool.
Prepare your add-ins while the pasta is cooking. This includes cooking and crumbling the bacon if needed, cubing the cheese, ensuring peas are thawed, draining the sliced olives, and slicing green onions.
Prepare the ranch dressing. To do this, combine the mayonnaise, milk, granulated garlic, dried parsley, dried chives, onion powder, salt, and black pepper in a blender. Blend until smooth.
In a large bowl, combine the cooled pasta with the dressing, ensuring the pasta is thoroughly coated.
Add the prepared bacon, cubed cheese, thawed peas, drained olives, and sliced green onions to the pasta and dressing mix. Toss the salad to ensure all ingredients are evenly coated.
You can serve the salad immediately, or cover and refrigerate it until ready to serve.