blt pasta salad with tomatos lettuce and bacon on white plates.

Why I love this BLT pasta salad

Bacon, lettuce tomato sandwiches are such a classic American dish, but, if I have to be honest, I’m really not a fan. BLT-inspired recipes, on the other hand, are my jam. I love them. My friend makes an awesome BLT dip that I absolutely love, and I love a good BLT pasta salad.

My other favorite macaroni salad has a mayonnaise and pickle juice based dressing, but I wanted this one to have a lot of flavor because I find that BLT ingredients need a little extra help sometimes.

Unfortunately, so many of these recipes call for sour cream or cheese. Not so fun when you’re living dairy free. Luckily, there’s vegan sour cream. It’s such an easy swap, and I use it in so many things.

My favorite right now is Tofutti’s Better Than Sour Cream because I think it tastes the most similar to the real thing. I use it in my dairy free ranch dressing and the sauce for my favorite salmon recipe.

If you like this recipe, you have to try this tomato salad recipe, and this strawberry poppyseed salad and this farro salad recipe.

Searching for more summer side dishes? easy macaroni salad / grilled peach salad / spicy cucumber salad / mexican street corn salad

close up of blt pasta salad with a spoon scooping some out.

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close up of blt pasta salad in a serving bowl.

Ingredients & substitutions

Vegan sour cream or unsweetened coconut yogurt – Either of these options work very well for the dressing in this recipe. Whichever you have on hand!
Bacon – You can use your favorite bacon, we recommend a thick cut bacon for nice big bites of bacon throughout the salad.
Romaine lettuce – You can’t have a BLT without the L. Make sure to add this just before serving to retain some of its crisp bite.

Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.

serving bowl with tomatoes, pasta, chives, chopped bacon, and chopped lettuce in sections ready to be mixed.

The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.

How to make BLT pasta salad

Cook the pasta. In a large pot of salted water, cook the pasta according to the package directions for al denté. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water before draining and set aside to cool. Don’t rinse the pasta to cool it, this removes important starches from the pasta, these starches help marry the dressing with the salad – making it extra creamy.

Make the dressing. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, vegan sour cream, white wine vinegar, parsley, garlic, plus the salt and pepper to make the dressing. Set this aside while you prep the other ingredients.

Mix the salad ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining salad ingredients (except the lettuce) with cooled pasta. Pour the dressing into the bowl and stir to combine. If you are serving immediately, you can stir in the lettuce – otherwise cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, and stir in the lettuce at that time.

More dairy free pasta recipes: dairy free alfredo sauce / pasta carbonara / cheesy butternut squash pasta sauce / penne bolognese

two plates with blt pasta salad ready to eat with a fork on one of the plates

FAQs and tips on how to make BLT pasta salad

How do you cook bacon in the oven? How you cook bacon in the oven will depend on how thick your bacon is. You will have to cook it longer if it is thick cut if you want it to be crispy. It’s best to stay close by to make sure you don’t over cook it. Also, keep in mind the bacon will crisp up a bit still after you take it out of the oven.
Should you rinse the pasta when you are making pasta salad? No, you want to just drain the water. The pasta water will retain some of the starchiness of the pasta water which actually will helps the sauce absorb into the pasta.
How long will pasta salad last? Pasta salad is the best when served in the first 24 hours, but you also want to let the dressing absorb into the ingredients for the most flavor. In the recipe you will want to add the lettuce right before serving so it does not wilt.

a serving bowl full of blt pasta salad with a spoon resting in the bowl.

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 6

Total Time 26

Servings servings

This dairy free BLT pasta salad features spiral macaroni, fresh tomatoes, crispy lettuce and savory bacon tossed in a creamy, flavorful dressing. It’ll be the best summer side dish at your next barbecue or potluck.

Ingredients

For the dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup vegan sour cream or unsweetened coconut yogurt
2 – 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For the salad:

1 16- ounce package elbow macaroni
1 1/2 cups quartered grape tomatoes
1 2.5- ounce package crumbled bacon pieces
1 1/2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1/3 cup finely diced red onion

Instructions

Prepare macaroni according to package directions for al dente in a large pot of boiling salted water. When cooked, drain and rinse with cold water until cool.
In a large bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients, adding the vinegar to taste. Add salad ingredients and stir to coat evenly. Serve immediately
If you’re making this salad ahead of time, leave out the lettuce until just before serving. If salad seems dry when serving, add a tablespoon or two extra mayonnaise or vegan sour cream and stir to combine.

Notes

Add the lettuce before serving to keep it crispy!

Nutrition

Calories: 204kcal Carbohydrates: 26g Protein: 7g Fat: 8g Cholesterol: 9mg Sodium: 446mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 2g Vitamin C: 2mg

Recipe adapted from She Wears Many Hats.

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5 Comments

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Wendy says:

April 18, 2018 at 6:42 am

Hi, where do you buy vegan sour cream?
Thanks

Sarah says:

January 10, 2020 at 11:50 am

Hi, there must be a typo in this recipe to have 3 tablespoons of vinegar. I use that and that vinegar flavor was so overwhelming, I had to throw the whole salad away!! Please correct the recipe if this is a typo.

1. Melissa Belanger says:
  
  January 13, 2020 at 3:21 pm
  
  This wasn’t a typo. The dressing is supposed to be a tangy ranch-style dressing. I’m sorry you didn’t care for it.
  
Krystin says:

March 25, 2022 at 5:13 pm

My family loves this recipe. I would love to share this recipe with a friend, but she has to watch her servings sizes and calorie count. In your summery of the recipe, it says it yields 16 servings. Is the serving size a half cup of the salad or more or less?

Dairy Free BLT Pasta Salad