Name: Suddenly Salad Ranch Bacon Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 2 cups dry shell pasta; 8 ounces green peas; 2/3 cup Mayonnaise; 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch ranch dressing mix; 1/2 cup shredded carrots; 2 tablespoons bacon bits; 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

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The Suddenly Salad bacon ranch salad is a great side dish to bring to a picnic or to serve as a side dish.

Make Suddenly Salad Ranch & Bacon Salad at home

If you aren’t familiar with the Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad packages, you are missing out on an easy way to make pasta salads. The Suddenly salad pasta salads are easy to fix and tasty. Suddenly Salad boxes come with flavoring packages. This copycat suddenly salad recipe for Ranch & Bacon comes with a festive mix of vegetable blend and seasoning and imitation bacon bits. However, you can make this pasta salad at home without using the prepackaged mix. Pasta salads are ideal for picnics or a potluck. I get requests for this pasta salad for every get-together and cookout.

Pasta Salads Aren’t Dainty

It might be true that real men don’t eat quiche or salads, especially if salads conjure up images of dainty lunches for ladies. However, pasta salads are robust combinations of pasta, vegetables, and often cheese and meat, bound together by a distinctively-flavored dressing. Pasta salads are decidedly macho and the men in your life will love them.

Pasta Salad is not Italian

Pasta, of course, is associated with Italy where they take their pasta very seriously. But pasta salad is actually more American than Italian. Italians generally prefer their pasta hot and served as a separate course. Pasta salad is relatively new in the US as far as culinary trends go. It only really became popular starting in the 1980s when there was a mayonnaise-based macaroni salad that could be found in every deli and became tiresome.

Three Rules for Making a Pasta Salad

Don’t overcook the pasta.
Rinse the cooked pasta in cold water. Normally you wouldn’t do this with pasta, but it’s necessary when preparing a pasta salad to keep the pasta from cooking further. Cool the pasta completely before making the salad.
Choose your brand of pasta carefully. Although pasta is cheap, spend a few extra pennies on a name brand that you trust.

Variations on this pasta salad

Thanks for my readers who sent in some good ideas like this one.
If you think that using mayo makes the dish too heavy, swap the mayo out for sour cream and a few splashes of milk. This makes the salad creamier and lighter.

Want Some More Copykat Pasta Salad Recipes to Try?

Barbara’s Pasta Salad
Fresh Broccoli Cheese Pasta Salad
Ponderosa Steakhouse Seafood Penne Pasta Salad
Taste of Texas Shrimp and Pasta Salad

You can make this Suddenly Salad Ranch & Bacon Salad in your kitchen. Pasta, mayonnaise and a few extra ingredients create a very flavorful pasta salad. And, the crispy bacon adds a nice flavor. This is a great knock-off recipe – in fact, it’s even better than the box!