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Best Creamy Pasta Salad for a BBQ
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The Best Creamy Pasta Salad

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.
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword easy salad recipes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Refrigerate 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings 12 servings
Calories 505kcal

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.

Video

Notes

Making this ahead of time and chilling overnight is perfectly fine. If you need to make the sauce creamy again, just add a couple of tablespoons of milk and mix well. 

Nutrition

Calories: 505kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 530mg | Potassium: 248mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 772IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 116mg | Iron: 1mg