Today I want to share with you a delicious, cool BLT summer salad recipe, which was given to me by my sister-in-law, Jenny. This is a great one to make mid-way through the summer when you start getting your tomatoes and lettuce from the garden. The best thing about it is the bacon, though, because…well, it’s bacon! If you feel like being a little lazy you can go ahead and buy the pre-cooked bacon for this, but I usually just bake my bacon in the oven, let it cool, break it up into bits, then set it aside. You can use any “cute” pasta for this salad – Jenny’s recipe listed wagon wheel pasta or rotini. I used Italian Trio pasta, but I think penne would look good, too.
BLT Summer Salad
BLT Summer Salad Ingredients
1 lb. pasta cooked,drained, and rinsed with cool water.
8-10 pieces Bacon, broken into small pieces
3 C. Romaine or Iceberg Lettuce, chopped into 1 inch pieces
3 Roma Tomatoes, diced
How to Make BLT Summer Salad
While the pasta cooks, prepare your lettuce and tomatoes. Place them in a large bowl with the bacon pieces.
In a small bowl, combine the following ingredients to make the dressing:
- 1 C. Mayo (can use low-fat, if desired)
- 4 T. Lemon Juice or Apple Cider Vinegar (recipe called for the vinegar, didn’t have any, but lemon juice worked great as a substitute)
- 2 t. Sugar
- 1 t. Salt
- 1/2 t. Pepper
Place half of the mixture on top of the lettuce/tomato/bacon combination and toss ingredients together. Once the pasta has finished cooking, pour it into a strainer that has been placed in the sink. As the pasta drains, I rinsed it well with cool water. You don’t have to do that, but it will cool the noodles faster than your refrigerator will. You could skip that step and let them cool on their own if you aren’t planning to eat the BLT Summer Salad until the next day. Once your pasta is well-drained, pour it over top of the other ingredients, add the rest of the dressing, and toss again until everything is coated.
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Ingredients
- 1 lb. pasta cooked,drained, and rinsed with cool water.
- 8-10 pieces Bacon, broken into small pieces
- 3 C. Romaine or Iceberg Lettuce, chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 3 Roma Tomatoes, diced
While the pasta cooks, prepare your lettuce and tomatoes. Place them in a large bowl with the bacon pieces.
In a small bowl, combine the following ingredients to make the dressing:
1 C. Mayo (can use low-fat, if desired)
4 T. Lemon Juice or Apple Cider Vinegar (recipe called for the vinegar, didn’t have any, but lemon juice worked great as a substitute)
2 t. Sugar
1 t. Salt
1/2 t. Pepper
Place half of the mixture on top of the lettuce/tomato/bacon combination and toss ingredients together.
Once the pasta has finished cooking, pour it into a strainer that has been placed in the sink.
As the pasta drains, I rinsed it well with cool water. You don’t have to do that, but it will cool the noodles faster than your refrigerator will. You could skip that step and let them cool on their own if you aren’t planning to eat the BLT Summer Salad until the next day.
Once your pasta is well-drained, pour it over top of the other ingredients, then add the rest of the dressing.
Toss the BLT Summer Salad again until everything is coated. Enjoy!
Calories
Fat
Carbs
Protein
This BLT Summer Salad is a great side dish for a summer barbecue. Quite honestly, the hubby and I have eaten it for our main dish. YUM! It is delish! Speaking of summer barbecues, what is your favorite summer barbecue side dish?
See you next time!
Deb
P.S. Check out another great summer pasta salad recipe: my marinated pasta salad. It’s delish!
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