Need a quick summertime side dish? With just a few ingredients, you can whip up this Super Easy Ranch Pasta Salad! I like to serve it alongside barbecue, fried chicken, or even a deli sandwich. If I make it early in the day and refrigerate it, it’s perfect by dinnertime!
I start with two boxes of Ranch & Bacon Suddenly Salad. If I time it right, I usually get this on a Buy One, Get One deal.
This is my secret ingredient. I absolutely love the taste of balsamic vinegar, so when I saw that it was now available in mayonnaise, I was in heaven.
From here, I basically follow the instructions on the Suddenly Salad box. I boil the pasta and drain it. As you can see, it already has peas and carrot strips in it. Then I toss the drained pasta into a 13×9 glass dish.
I mix in the balsamic mayonnaise and add a little seasoning.
Then I dice up a couple of tomatoes and throw them in.
I peel and slice an entire cucumber and throw it in as well.
Mix it all up and…finito! We’re done!
If you wanted to make this a complete meal, you could add diced ham, cooked chicken, or maybe even canned salmon right into the pasta salad. This pasta salad literally comes together in about 30 minutes and then dinner is done!
If you don’t have time to make it early in the day and refrigerate it, you could pop it into the freezer for an hour instead. 🙂
Ranch Pasta SaladÂ
2 boxes Ranch & Bacon Suddenly Salad
1 cup balsamic-flavored mayonnaise
2 whole tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Boil the Suddenly Salad mix according to the package directions. Place the drained pasta into a 13×9 glass dish. Mix in the balsamic-flavored mayonnaise, tomatoes, and cucumber. Season to taste.
Chill in refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours. Serve alongside a main dish.
– Serves 8 to 12
