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This crowd-pleasing creamy bacon ranch pasta salad does more than feed your friends and family at your next summer get-together — its ingredients help the planet, too!
Dairy Farmers of America’s
Nerd Herd, a team of DFA farmer-owners, engineers, scientists, veterinarians, nutritionists and more, are working to cut
greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable dairy farming practices. So, when you use buttermilk and cheddar cheese from our family of
DFA-owned brands to bring this side dish to life, you’re supporting sustainable dairy, made possible by dairy farmers in your community.
A cold pasta salad like this one is perfect for an easy meal or snack on a hot summer day. Just cook the pasta, add in the ingredients and chill until you’re ready to enjoy!
Our pasta salad recipe will be the star of the show (whether that show is a potluck, picnic, pool party or regular family dinner is up to you). This is all thanks to the added ranch seasoning mix, which makes this dish more than your average pasta salad recipe.
Why this ranch pasta salad is perfect for a potluck:
Feeds a crowd
Our recipe feeds eight but could easily be doubled (or tripled!) to please a larger group. The beauty of pasta salad is it goes a long way — one bowl can feed a lot of people.
Pairs well with a spread
What doesn’t pasta salad go with? It pairs perfectly with all the hallmarks of a cookout like burgers and hotdogs, barbecued meats and chicken wings. It’s a staple you must have alongside bowls of potato salad and mac and cheese.
Prevents food waste
Make this ranch pasta salad when you need to use up what’s in your fridge — and prevent food waste at the same time. Toss in the half-used bag of frozen corn sitting in your freezer or give the zucchini chilling in the bottom of your crisper drawer a quick sauté and add it into the mix.
Easily customizable
Make this ranch pasta salad your own by swapping out the ingredients to suit your tastes. Pasta salad is super versatile and complements a variety of vegetables.
Uses real, sustainably made dairy
Featuring buttermilk and cheddar cheese, this ranch pasta salad recipe is creamy and satisfying because it’s made with real dairy produced sustainably on family dairy farms.
When you’re enjoying this creamy bacon ranch pasta salad, you can feel good about supporting local dairy farmers and the unmatched nutritional value of real, sustainable dairy, which includes essential vitamins and nutrients.
Learn more about DFA’s efforts on sustainable dairy from our
Nerd Herd, and find our
local brands in your grocery store’s dairy aisle.