Instant Pot BLT Pasta Salad

Instant Pot BLT Pasta Salad featured image.

Print Recipe

4.80 from 72 votes

Creamy BLT pasta salad with crispy bacon, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, and ranch dressing. Instant Pot or stovetop.

Prep Time10

Cook Time4

Total Time14

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bbq, BLT, blt pasta salad, blt pasta salad instant pot, blt pasta salad recipe, cookout, creamy blt pasta salad, holiday, instant pot pasta, pasta salad, pasta salad with bacon, potluck, pressure cooking, summer recipe

Servings: servings

Calories: 453kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

16 oz. cavatappi pasta cellentani, rotini, or fusilli works well too
4 cups romaine lettuce chopped
8 slices bacon cooked and chopped
1 cup tomatoes chopped
1 small red onion diced
¼ cup chives diced
¼ cup sour cream
1 cup ranch dressing
¼ cup mayonnaise
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 cups water for liner

Instructions

Instant Pot instructions below. For stovetop, cook pasta according to package directions, drain, rinse with cold water, and toss with the remaining ingredients.
Prepare the bacon by either chopping already cooked bacon or frying bacon and chopping it.
Add the pasta to the inner liner of the Instant Pot.
Pour 3 cups of water over the pasta. Make sure the pasta is fully submerged.
Close the lid and the vent.
Set the Instant Pot to 4 minutes on High Pressure/Manual.
Once the 4 minutes is up, quickly and intermittently release the pressure from the pot.*
Meanwhile, while the pasta is pressure cooking, prepare the lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, and chives by washing and chopping them.
In a bowl, combine the ranch dressing, mayonnaise, sour cream, apple cider vinegar, and ground pepper together.
Once the lid is removed from the pasta, give it a stir and and in the ranch dressing mixture.
Stir in the romaine lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, and the bacon.
Serve or chill in the refrigerator to serve cold later.
Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

Notes

Submerge pasta fully in the Instant Pot. Quick release immediately when timer ends.
Cool pasta before adding dressing if not serving right away.
Cavatappi or any spiral pasta works best for grabbing the dressing.
No Instant Pot? Cook pasta on the stovetop and follow the same steps.

Nutrition