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Delicious Cowboy Pasta Salad with Ranch featuring beef, bacon, cheese, and fresh veggies.

Cowboy Pasta Salad

A hearty, delicious pasta salad that's creamy, smoky, and packed with crunch, perfect for potlucks or meal prep.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 350
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Pasta and Mix-Ins
  • 12 oz Short pasta (rotini, shells, or bowties) Cooked and cooled
  • 6 slices Cooked bacon, chopped
  • 1 cup Cheddar cheese, diced or shredded
  • 1 cup Corn, canned and drained or thawed frozen corn
  • 1 cup Black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 medium Bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 medium Red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 optional diced jalapeno, diced tomatoes, or chopped pickles Optional mix-ins according to taste
Dressing
  • 1/2 cup Ranch dressing Your favorite bottled ranch or homemade
  • 2 tbsp BBQ sauce To taste
  • 1 whole lime, juiced Or splash of pickle juice
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder or hot sauce Optional, for heat

Method
 

Preparation
  1. Cook the pasta in well salted water until just tender. Drain and rinse with cold water until fully cooled. Shake off excess water.
  2. While the pasta cools, chop the mix-ins into even sizes.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the cooled pasta with bacon, cheese, corn, beans, pepper, and onion.
Mixing
  1. In a separate bowl, mix the ranch dressing, BBQ sauce, lime juice, and optional heat. Pour over the pasta salad.
  2. Stir gently but thoroughly. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Serving
  1. Taste and adjust seasoning before serving. Add more dressing as needed.

Notes

For best results, save some dressing to add just before serving. Rinse pasta quickly to avoid sogginess and consider chilling for longer to enhance flavor.