Pasta salad is always fun to make for a potluck lunch with friends or coworkers. It's easy, it doesn't need to be reheated on location, and the relative vagueness of the concept allows for a massive amount of creativity. Small pasta or long noodles? Spinach, kale or lettuce? What about other vegetables? Protein options? The possibilities are endless, and that's not even taking into account your choice of dressing. But Laura Vitale, a famous cooking enthusiast, has an idea that'll knock the pasta salad competition right out of the ring: BLT pasta salad with avocado ranch dressing.
While perhaps not the healthiest or lightest of meals, the BLT pasta salad is sure to make a great many people happy. The deliciously addictive flavor of the bacon, the tender, al dente orecchiette, and the juicy tomatoes all team up with the tangy, creamy avocado dressing for a match made in pasta salad heaven. Here's a full list of ingredients.
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Salad ingredients:
12 oz. orecchiette, or other short cut pasta
12 oz. chopped tomatoes, baby or full-size
8 slices thick cut bacon
4 cups arugula
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
12 oz. orecchiette, or other short cut pasta
12 oz. chopped tomatoes, baby or full-size
8 slices thick cut bacon
4 cups arugula
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Dressing ingredients:
2 avocados
3/4 cup greek yogurt (2% recommended)
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, for juice
1 tbsp ranch dressing mix
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 avocados
3/4 cup greek yogurt (2% recommended)
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, for juice
1 tbsp ranch dressing mix
Salt and pepper, to taste
Vitale insists that you run your cooked pasta through cold water immediately so it stops cooking and can avoid getting mushy after it's combined with the other ingredients. She also swears by orecchiette for this recipe, because of how the dressing will get into the hollows in the pasta and really permeate it – but you're free to use another kind of pasta, like shells. Likewise, while this recipe calls for arugula, you may choose to replace it with spinach or another leafy ingredient if you prefer.
Beloved Italian-American cook Laura Vitale has made hundreds of highly successful cooking videos on her YouTube channel, in addition to publishing a book, "Laura in the Kitchen: Favorite Italian-American Recipes Made Easy," and starring in her own TV show on the Cooking Channel, "Simply Laura." Between her bubbly personality and her easy recipes, it's no surprise she's so successful.
Check out Vitale's BLT pasta salad with avocado ranch dressing below, then share it with your friends and family on Facebook!
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