Recipes 4 min read
Creamy Bacon and Pea Pasta Salad with Tangy Dressing
The sweet pop of tender baby peas, creamy dressing, crunchy red onion, hard‑boiled eggs, and crispy bacon combine with shell pasta to create a new favourite side: Easy Bacon Pea Pasta Salad. This simple, fresh salad comes together quickly and is perfect for warm weather meals.
The days are getting longer and warmer, and that means less time spent inside and more time enjoying the sun. Easy Bacon Pea Pasta Salad is the ideal make‑ahead dish for picnics, barbecues, or a light weeknight meal. It’s a heartier take on a classic bacon and pea salad, upgraded with shell pasta so every forkful is satisfying.
Sweet peas, crisp bacon, shredded sharp cheddar, chopped hard‑boiled eggs, and thinly sliced red onion are wrapped in a creamy dressing that clings perfectly to the pasta shells. The mix of textures—creamy, crunchy, and tender—makes this salad a crowd pleaser.
This pasta salad is easy to prepare in advance and actually improves after resting in the refrigerator for at least an hour. For best flavour and texture, serve within three days of making it. It works wonderfully on its own as a light main, or as a side for grilled or roasted proteins like chicken, pork, beef, sausages, burgers, or hot dogs.
Below are tips and the full recipe so you can make this salad with confidence.
Bacon Pea Pasta Salad
Important tips:
- Do not cook fresh or frozen peas for this salad. Frozen peas are blanched before freezing, so simply thaw them in the refrigerator overnight or in a microwave bowl—then add them straight to the salad for the best texture.
- Avoid canned peas; their texture is too soft for this dish.
- Cook the shell pasta until firm but fully cooked. Drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water to stop cooking and remove excess starch. Drain well before mixing to avoid a gummy salad.
- Mix all ingredients except the pasta first, then gently fold in the cooled, rinsed pasta. Toss carefully so delicate peas and pasta remain intact.
- If you enjoy a hint of tang, use dill pickle brine in the dressing. Cider or white wine vinegar can be substituted, and horseradish pickle brine is a great option if you have it.
- For best texture, use crisp bacon. The bacon will soften slightly as it sits in the dressing, so starting with crunchy pieces helps maintain pleasant bite.
- Allow the salad to chill at least an hour before serving. If the pasta absorbs the dressing during refrigeration, loosen it with a little extra mayonnaise or ranch dressing a tablespoon at a time.
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Do you love this Easy Bacon Pea Pasta Salad? Try these other salads out!
- Light Marinated Broccoli Salad with Grapes
- Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad
- Cheeseburger Salad
- Asian Pasta Salad
- Melting Sweet Potato Salad with Candied Maple Pecans and Bacon
- Dorito Taco Salad
Easy Bacon Pea Pasta Salad
Rebecca Lindamood
Ingredients
- 1 pound baby peas thawed
- 1 pound bacon fried or baked until crisp, drained and crumbled
- 1/2 red onion peeled and finely chopped
- 3 hard boiled eggs roughly chopped
- 3/4 cup coarsely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons dill pickle brine or vinegar
- 1 pound medium shell pasta cooked firm, drained and rinsed with cold water
Instructions
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In a large mixing bowl, gently combine the thawed peas, crumbled bacon, chopped red onion, chopped hard‑boiled eggs, shredded cheddar, mayonnaise, and dill pickle brine or vinegar until evenly mixed. Fold in the cooled, rinsed pasta gently so ingredients stay intact.
Serve immediately, or cover tightly and refrigerate at least one hour to let flavours meld. For best results, chill up to three days. Stir gently from top to bottom before serving.
If the salad seems dry after chilling, stir in extra mayonnaise or ranch dressing, one tablespoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.
Nutritional information is an estimate. Calculate nutrition using the exact ingredients you use if needed.
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