This is the Best Creamy Pasta Salad for a BBQ. It is one of our favorite summer recipes. It’s a great pasta salad to serve at bbq’s, picnics, and pool parties.
I am so happy summer is finally almost here.
Because with summer comes all the fun of BBQ’s, picnics, potlucks, pool parties and more.
And food… lots of great food.
I love summery foods from fresh fruits and vegetables, to tropical desserts and more.
But what I especially love, is BBQ food.
And this week it’s all about both.
It falls smack dab in the middle of burger month, which seems perfect since it all seems to go together.
Welcome to BBQ Week 2019!
I’m bringing the best Creamy Pasta Salad for a BBQ today!
What makes this the Best Creamy Pasta Salad for a BBQ?
There are a few ways this pasta salad is perfect for a BBQ.
- It’s loaded with all sorts of tasty, delicious ingredients to tantalize your taste buds.
- Flavor bursting in every single bite.
- It’s a pretty inexpensive salad to make, and it’s incredibly easy to double, triple or even quadruple to feed quite the crowd.
I love recipes that can feed a crowd, and this is the best creamy pasta salad to feed a crowd! Hands down!
Why Is This The Best Pasta Salad for a BBQ?
- This salad is super easy and relatively inexpensive, especially when serving to a large crowd or group.
- You can add or remove ingredients to make this pasta salad your own, however making it as is will guarantee a delicious, creamy addition to any occasion you make this for.
- It can be made up to a day ahead of time (and we prefer it that way) to allow the flavors to all have some time to meld together.
You can also whip up this recipe and enjoy it as is for a simple lunch idea with a side of fruit or simply by itself.
Cold pasta salad, yes please.
What to serve with Creamy Pasta Salad for a BBQ?
This pasta salad goes great as a side item for any meal or occasion, including holidays. It’s a favorite at our summer BBQ’s and we love to serve it with:
- Garlic Overload Burgers with Creamy Garlic Burger Sauce
- Easy Summer Berry Salad Recipe
- Grilled Corn with Garlic Herb Butter
- Bacon Ranch Potatoes on the Grill (external link)
Do you love pasta salad as much as we do? We eat it as a side dish, yes, but we will also make it for lunch, dinner, snacks or just because!
If you love pasta salad just as much, we also have this Creamy Bacon and Avocado Pasta Salad, Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad, Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad, Grilled Duck Breast Pasta Salad and Retro Cold Pasta Salad which is a Suddenly Salad Copy Cat Recipe.
Recipe for the Best Creamy Pasta Salad
The Best Creamy Pasta Salad
Ingredients
FOR THE SALAD
- 16 ounces Ditalini pasta
- 1 large red bell pepper chopped
- ½ cup black olives sliced and drained
- 1 cup peas frozen and then thawed
- 1 cup bacon cooked and crumbled
- ¼ cup red onion finely chopped
- 1 cup mild cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives chopped
FOR THE DRESSING
- 1 ½ cups mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoons sriracha
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
FOR THE SALAD
- In a large pot, boil water and add pasta. Cook under very tender. About 12 minutes.
- Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water until pasta is no longer hot. This also helps rinse away extra starches keeping your pasta from sticking together. Place pasta in a large serving bowl.
- Add all salad ingredients and vegetables to the pasta. Set aside.
FOR THE DRESSING
- In a medium bowl, whisk the mayo, sour cream and milk together until smooth. Add the garlic powder, Dijon mustard, sriracha and Worcestershire sauce and whisk until well blended.
- Add the dressing to the bowl of pasta and stir gently until well coated.
- Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
- Cover and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.
I love creamy pasta salads and this has so much goodness! I can’t wait to try it.
Everything’s better with bacon!
This is such a good looking pasta salad. It’s one of those things that you need a great, go-to recipe of for sure!
I love Pasta Salad and this looks amazing! Love that you used the Ditalini Pasta! Can’t wait to give this a try!
These are the kinds of salads I midnight snack on too!
This pasta side dish is so perfect for summer cookouts!
Always happy for new potluck recipes and this one sounds delicious. I much prefer pasta salads over potato salads.
Oh yeah! Pasta salad has got to me creamy!!! Love that you used mayo and sour cream!!!
We make pasta salad all summer long! Can’t wait to try a new version!
I love the addition of sriracha to give a little kick to the creamy dressing!
I love that you can make a large batch and it is very inexpensive. Sometimes making an expensive dish is just out of the question. Love it.
Pasta salad is one of the most versatile dishes to bring to a barbecue! Mayo, no mayo, egg, no egg, roasted veg; so many choices. This one looks like the BEST one! So creamy good.
I am loving the olives, bacon, and fresh chives in this pasta salad! Yum!
My wife and I have made this once and are making it again here in a couple days. This is a wonderful blend of ingredients and goes with pretty much anything, any time of year. We used a medium salsa instead off Sirracha.