.75 -1 lb rotini pasta, *about 4 cups
8 oz bacon, *see notes
½ cup cheddar cheese , shredded or cubed
2 cups dill pickles, chopped, *about 7 whole pickles
Ranch Style Dressing
▢⅓ cup Mayonnaise
▢⅓ cup pickle juice
⅓ cup sour cream , *see notes
2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
2 tsp dried dill
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp cracked black pepper |
Start the bacon, cook however you prefer. I cook in the oven on 350º for about 20-25 minutes but pan fried is great too! In a large salad bowl add the cooled pasta, dill pickles, cheese, fresh dill, and dressing.
Cook pasta according to package (al dente). While everything is cooking, shred your cheese, chop the dill and pickles. Set aside, and in a medium size bowl, mix together mayo, sour cream, seasonings, pickle juice, dill. Set aside.
Chop the cooked bacon. Once the pasta is done, drain and rinse under ice cold water to get the heat out.
In a large serving bowl, add pasta, cheese, bacon and dressing (reserve 1/4 cup of dressing for serving) and toss together well. Serve and add extra dressing if needed or save for later if pasta salad soaks up all the dressing, you may need to just add a little more sour cream mixed with a Tbsp or two of extra pickle juice to re hydrate the salad. Pasta brands will vary on absorption!!! |