Easy Ranch Pasta Salad

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Easy Ranch Pasta Salad

All of you folks looking for an easy to make summer pasta salad, this is for you! I recently got an email from Sophia (a long time CCC fan and regular commenter) who told me that she loved the idea of my Bacon Cheddar Ranch Pasta Salad, but she didn’t want to have to measure out all of the seasonings. I promised I’d come up with a variation that was a bit quicker, so Sophia, here it is!

The main difference between my original Ranch Pasta Salad and this version is the use of a Ranch seasoning packet from the grocery store. You can’t get much easier than this! You’ll start with 12 ounces of mini shells, cooked according to package directions.

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When the shells are cooking, you’ll chop up some broccoli, green onions, red peppers, and crispy cooked bacon. You may want to toss the broccoli in with the pasta for the last few minutes to cook it just a bit. I went with raw broccoli, but sometimes I change it up. 

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Now for the sauce. To keep is as easy as possible, I combined 1 cup mayonnaise with a ranch seasoning packet from the grocery store, and a couple tablespoons of milk. When the pasta is done cooking, drain it, then run it under cold water for a bit so that it cools. Toss all of the ingredients together in a large bowl.

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Cover the pasta salad and allow it to chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours so that all of the flavors can come together. You may need to adjust the seasonings with a bit of salt and pepper, I’ll leave that up to you. If necessary, add a bit more milk right before serving. There you have it, a super easy version of Ranch Pasta Salad!

If by chance you aren’t crazy about using the ranch salad dressing packet from the grocery store, checkout my original Bacon Cheddar Ranch Pasta Salad!

This Easy Ranch Pasta Salad is perfect for summer BBQ’s!

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Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 12 min
Total Time: 22 min

INGREDIENTS

  • 1- 12 ounce box mini shells cooked according to package directions, and cooled
  • 1 cup mayo
  • 1 ranch dressing seasoning packet
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • salt, pepper to taste
  • 1 cup broccoli floretts, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 6-8 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a small bowl, combine mayo, milk and ranch reasoning packet.
  2. In a large bowl, toss together cooled pasta, broccoli, red bell pepper, green onions, bacon, and mayo mixture.
  3. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
  5. Add in a tablespoon or two of milk right before serving if needed.

Recipe from
CenterCutCook

Hi, I’m Ashley & I’m so happy you’re here!

Ashley is the founder of CenterCutCook and a former teacher that now spends her days in the kitchen so that she can share her favorite recipes with you!