Summer BBQ ready? Creamy Bacon Avocado Pasta Salad is the star side dish you’ve been looking for! Packed with creamy goodness, smooth avocado, juicy tomatoes, and crispy bacon, it’s a flavor explosion in every bite.

Plus, it’s super easy to make and budget-friendly. Just scale up the recipe to feed a hungry crowd – they’ll be begging for seconds!

Creamy Bacon Avocado Pasta Salad

Why this pasta salad is the perfect BBQ side

  • Crowd-Pleasing: This salad has something for everyone – creamy, salty, and fresh! It’s guaranteed to be a hit with all your guests.
  • Summery Vibes: Light, refreshing, and bursting with flavor, this salad is perfect for those warm BBQ days.
  • Easy to Scale Up: Need to feed a large group? Simply double or triple the recipe – it’s that easy!
  • Budget-Friendly: Made with simple ingredients, this salad won’t break the bank.

So ditch the boring side dishes and whip up this creamy avocado masterpiece! It’s the perfect way to impress your guests and bring a touch of summer fun to your next BBQ.

Tips for Making the Best Creamy Bacon Avocado Pasta Salad

Pasta Perfection:

  • Pick the Right Pasta: Short pasta shapes like rotini, penne, or farfalle work best in this salad. They hold onto the creamy dressing and other ingredients well.
  • Don’t Overcook: Cook the pasta according to package directions for “al dente” – meaning it should have a slight bite to it. Overcooked pasta can become mushy in the salad.
  • Rinse it Right: After draining the pasta, consider rinsing it with cold water to stop the cooking process and prevent it from sticking together.

Bacon Bliss:

  • Crispy is Key: Cook the bacon until it’s nice and crispy. This adds a delicious salty and smoky flavor to the salad. Drain the bacon on paper towels to remove excess grease.
  • Size Matters: Chop the bacon into bite-sized pieces for even distribution throughout the salad.

Avocado Allure:

  • Perfect Timing: Avocados can brown quickly, so wait until just before serving to chop and add them to the salad. Tossing them with a bit of lemon juice can help prevent browning.
  • Ripeness Matters: Choose avocados that are ripe but still firm. If they’re too soft, they’ll become mushy in the salad.

Black Olive Bonanza:

  • Variety is Key: Explore different types of black olives for a flavor twist. Kalamata olives offer a briny and slightly bitter taste, while black mission olives are milder.
  • Slice it Up: Slice the olives into rings or halves for easier eating and better distribution throughout the salad.

Dressing Delight:

  • Make it from Scratch: Consider making your own creamy dressing for a fresher flavor. You can use mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, buttermilk, or a combination for a creamy base. Add herbs like dill or parsley for extra depth of flavor.
  • Don’t Drown it: Add the dressing a little at a time and toss gently to coat the pasta and ingredients evenly. It’s better to start with a little less and add more to your desired consistency.

Bonus Tip:

  • Assembly Matters: For the best texture, if you’re making this up a bit ahead of time. Wait to add the avocado and chopped fresh herbs (like parsley or chives) until just before serving. This prevents the avocado from browning and the herbs from wilting.
Creamy Bacon Avocado Pasta Salad

What are the best main dishes to serve with pasta salad?

To be honest, pasta salad goes with almost anything. But these are three things we love to eat it with.

Things like hot dogs, barbecue chicken, burgers, brats, steak and more!

Complete BBQ Meal Plan:

Creamy Bacon Avocado Pasta Salad

Additions and Substitutions

pasta – Use any type or style of pasta to make this salad. We also really love it with Farfalle (bow tie pasta).

sauce – you can substitute the mayo for prepared ranch dressing if desired, to give it a whole different flavor.

crunch – if you want a bit more crunch in this salad, adding chopped nuts, chopped pickles or capers is a great way to add a little crunch to the salad.

additions – sliced hard boiled egg, chopped peppers, sliced mushrooms, chopped herbs, shredded cheese, feta or goat cheese or mozzarella pearls.

Truthfully the possibilities are endless.

Creamy Bacon Avocado Pasta Salad

How to Store Leftover Pasta Salad

Safe Storage Strategies:

  • Cool It Down Completely: This is crucial to prevent bacterial growth and keep the flavors fresh.
  • Separate is Best: The key to storing this salad is to keep the avocado and dressing separate from the other ingredients. This prevents the avocado from browning and the pasta from becoming soggy.
    • Here’s how to do it: Divide the leftover salad into two separate airtight containers. In one container, store the cooked pasta, bacon, black olives, and any other non-avocado ingredients.
    • In the other container, store the leftover dressing and any chopped fresh herbs (like parsley or chives) you might have added.
    • Leftover chopped avocado can be stored in a separate container with a little lemon juice to prevent browning.

Fridge or Freeze?

  • Fridge Friendly: Leftovers will stay safe in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, although the avocado will start to brown.
  • Freezing Not Recommended: Freezing the entire salad with the avocado is not recommended as the texture of the pasta and avocado will be negatively affected upon thawing.
Creamy Bacon Avocado Pasta Salad

Making the Recipe

Creamy Bacon Avocado Pasta Salad

Nicole Cook
A creamy and delicious pasta salad filled with delicious bacon, tomatoes, and avocado.
4.84 from 25 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Servings 12
Calories 450 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 16 ounces tri-color spiral pasta
  • 1 ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons garlic salt
  • ½ teaspoons white pepper can use red or black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons dry dill
  • 1 lemons juiced
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
  • ½ cups sliced black olives optional
  • 2 avocados pitted and cut into 1" pieces
  • 12 slices bacon cooked, drained and cut into 1" pieces

Instructions
 

  • Boil the pasta as directed on the package. Drain and then rinse with cold water to cool the pasta.
  • In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, garlic salt, white (or red or black) pepper, the dill and the juice from the 1-2 lemons. Remember to save a few tablespoons of the lemon juice for the avocado. (keeps it from browning).
  • In a small bowl, toss the avocado in a few tablespoons of lemon juice. (Usually what I do is squeeze ALL the lemon juice into the avocado bowl, toss well and then the remainder gets poured into the mayo mixture).
  • Pour the drained and cool pasta into a large serving bowl. Add the tomatoes, sliced bacon, black olives and the avocado. Gently stir in the mayo mixture.
  • Cover and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
  • Serve cold. Delicious with burgers, sandwiches, steaks – whatever!

Nutrition

Calories: 450kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 8gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 13gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 1320mgPotassium: 374mgFiber: 4gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 510IUVitamin C: 15mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 2mg
Keyword easy pasta recipes, easy salad recipes
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27 Comments

  1. This would be a hit with our family. My toddler will eat anything with black olives in it 🙂 Looks great as a side for parties, too!

  2. Awesome flavors in your pasta salad!The bacon and avocado just takes it another level :)Hope your husband feels better and you all have a great memorial day weekend 🙂

  3. Nicole, I can’t wait to try this Pasta Salad… Avocados, Olives and Bacon… Are you kidding me? Love it!

  4. Hi Nicole,

    What a colorful and healthy looking salad–perfect for a grilling supper. Bacon seems to be al the rage these days in culinary circles and, although I’m a pescetarian, I give a thumbs up for this dish because it’s just enough bacon to provide big flavor.

  5. My mouth watered at the very first picture! This looks amazing, Nicole – I can’t wait to try it!

  6. I’ve been waiting for you to share the recipe! It has bacon and looks unbelievably creamy! Fantastic recipe, nicole!

  7. You need to save this post and your tweets so you can show your kids how much you missed them! It’ll mean a lot for them to know.

    Anyway, I’m not a fan of avocado, but I’m thinking your comfort pasta salad will change my mind! Plus it has bacon. Bacon can make me change my mind on almost anything.

  8. I’ve been waiting for you to share the recipe! It has bacon and looks unbelievably creamy! Fantastic recipe, nicole!

  9. It looks delicious I might just make the salad in the weekend were the menu is spareribs and chicken wings.
    But I’ll omit the black olives, I just can’t stand them. 😉

    I will of course be back and rate the recipe after we had it.! 😀

  10. This looks amazing, Nicole. I am going to try it out at my daughter’s birthday party on Saturday. I think it will accompany the pulled pork sandwiches perfectly! I think I may sub a little ranch dressing in place of some of the mayo. I just love a ranch dressing on pasta salad and I think it will go with the bacon and avocado too. What a beautiful salad!

  11. Hi Nicole

    We tried it out now and it’s just as good as it looks:! 🙂
    The next thing I have to try is the nutella muffins, I have to try anything with nutella at least once.! 😉

  12. Hi Nicole

    We tried it out now and it’s just as good as it looks:! 🙂
    The next thing I have to try is the nutella muffins, I have to try anything with nutella at least once.! 😉

  13. My three favourites, bacon, avocado and pasta, in one recipe! This is making my gob water. I cannot wait to try this out this weekend. And I have a feeling the hubby and the wee ones are going to love this as well. Cheers for the recipe!

  14. This would be a hit with our family. My toddler will eat anything with black olives in it 🙂 Looks great as a side for parties, too!

  15. I’ve been waiting for you to share the recipe! It has bacon and looks unbelievably creamy! Fantastic recipe, nicole!

  16. Hi Nicole

    We tried it out now and it’s just as good as it looks:! 🙂
    The next thing I have to try is the nutella muffins, I have to try anything with nutella at least once.! 😉

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