Tangy Tomato Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Pasta Salad

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The Summer Salad I Make Over and Over

Tangy Tomato BLT Pasta Salad is everything I love about a BLT sandwich turned into one big bowl of summer pasta salad.

You get crispy bacon, crunchy romaine lettuce, juicy tomatoes and rotini tossed with a creamy dressing made with mayonnaise, dill, celery salt, black pepper and my secret ingredient:

Tomato powder.

This has been a family favorite for decades and it’s one of those recipes I make repeatedly once summer starts.

Serve it alongside anything from the grill, bring it to a cookout or make a bowl and eat it for lunch for the next couple of days.

I’ve done all three. Maybe all in the same day.

A BLT Without the Sandwich

I love a BLT. Are there people who do not?

But there is a specific window during summer when tomatoes are so good that I start trying to put BLT flavors into everything.

That’s where this salad comes in. Instead of bread, we have rotini. Because who also doesn’t love pasta?

Instead of spreading mayo on toast, we’re turning it into a creamy tomato dressing.

We’re adding enough lettuce that I can call the entire thing a salad and feel very responsible. If you never heard of lettuce and pasta before, now you have.

Tomato Powder Is the Secret

The most unusual ingredient is tomato powder. Many people have never heard of this.

Tomato powder is essentially dehydrated tomato ground into a powder. There is no salt, it is not the same as the more familiar, tomato bouillon.

It gives the mayonnaise a concentrated tomato flavor without adding extra liquid. It is the zip your salads have been missing.

That’s especially helpful in a pasta salad because fresh tomatoes already release moisture as they sit.

The tomato powder gives us MORE tomato flavor without making the dressing watery.

Tomato Powder Is NOT Tomato Bouillon

There is a big difference and it is important you do not mix the two up.

Plain tomato powder and tomato bouillon are not interchangeable tablespoon for tablespoon.

Bouillon usually contains additional salt and seasonings. If you substitute a seasoned tomato product, you need to adjust the celery salt and other salty ingredients accordingly. Otherwise you will have a salt bomb on your hands. For this recipe, plain dehydrated tomato powder is my preference.

Can I Leave the Tomato Powder Out?

Yes.

The salad will still be a BLT pasta salad. But I think the tomato powder is what makes the dressing particularly good. Without it, you’ve essentially got a dill-seasoned mayonnaise dressing. Still good, but just missing the little ingredient that will have people asking you how you made it.

Use Good Tomatoes

This is not the recipe for the sad pale tomato that’s been sitting in your refrigerator since February.

Use ripe tomatoes.

Cherry tomatoes work.

Grape tomatoes work.

Roma tomatoes work.

Garden tomatoes are fantastic.

If your tomatoes are extremely juicy, remove some of the excess seeds and liquid before adding them.

We want juicy tomato. Those juices are what makes the whole salad over the top fantastic.

A Great Way To Use Those Garden Tomatoes

We are all always looking for ways to use up all the tomatoes we grow before they go bad. This is a great way to include them in summer meal planning.

It’s a much better alternative to chasing your friends down with baskets full of tomatoes, begging them to take them before the chill of winter sets in.

A Great Way to Use Garden Tomatoes

If you grow tomatoes, you know there comes a point every summer when your garden goes from:

“Oh look! A tomato!”

to:

“PLEASE SOMEONE TAKE THESE TOMATOES.”

Make this.

It uses a couple cups of diced tomato and is exactly the kind of cool summer recipe that makes homegrown tomatoes shine. That being said, if it is winter and you are craving the summer, make this salad and enjoy.

Let’s Talk Bacon

The recipe uses one full pound of bacon.

That’s why it’s good.

Cook the bacon until crisp, drain it well and let it cool before chopping. Soft bacon disappears into a creamy salad. Crispy bacon gives you those salty little bites throughout the entire bowl.

My Easy Oven Bacon Method

I like making bacon in the oven because you can cook the whole pound at once.

Arrange the bacon on a rimmed baking sheet.

Place it in a cold oven.

Set the oven to 350°F and cook until the bacon is crisp.

The exact time will vary depending on the thickness of your bacon and your oven, so start checking rather than treating the clock like a legally binding contract.

Drain on paper towels and cool before chopping.

Save Some Bacon for the Top

If I’m serving this for company, I like holding back a handful of bacon.

Toss most into the salad.

Then scatter the rest over the top right before serving.

People eat with their eyes first.

And their eyes like bacon. There is nothing prettier than crisp bacon on top of a salad.

Why Rotini?

Rotini is ideal because all those spirals hold onto the creamy dressing.

You get dressing in the little grooves rather than having it slide straight off.

Bow ties, shells or another short pasta can work too.

I wouldn’t use spaghetti.

How Much Pasta?

The original recipe uses 3 cups rotini pasta.

I would clarify this as approximately 3 cups of dry rotini, cooked according to package directions, drained and cooled.

The exact finished volume will vary somewhat by pasta shape and brand.

Rinse the Pasta for THIS Recipe

I know people have opinions about rinsing pasta.

For a hot pasta dinner, I usually want that surface starch.

For this cold salad, I want to stop the cooking and cool the pasta down.

Rinse it under cool water and drain it VERY well.

Warm, wet pasta plus mayonnaise and lettuce is not where we’re headed. You also don’t want gummy starch from the cooked pasta in your cold salad dressing.

Get the Lettuce DRY

Wash the romaine thoroughly.

Then dry it.

A salad spinner is great here if you have one.

Water clinging to the lettuce dilutes the dressing and contributes to sogginess.

Can I Use Miracle Whip?

You can if you genuinely prefer it.

It will make the dressing noticeably sweeter and tangier.

I prefer mayonnaise because it lets the tomato, dill and bacon flavors stand out.

Hellmann’s Works Beautifully

Use your favorite full-fat mayonnaise.

A good mayonnaise creates the creamy texture we’re looking for.

If you use a lighter mayonnaise, the dressing may be a little thinner.

I am a Hellmann’s lover, but I know mayonnaise is very personal. I have a little secret for you. I truly believe the Burman’s mayo from Aldi is actually Hellmann’s dressing in an Aldi outfit.

Should I Mix Everything Ahead?

You CAN.

I’ve always been perfectly happy mixing mine and keeping it refrigerated to snack on.

But if you’re extremely concerned about lettuce losing its crunch, prep the components separately.

You can have:

Cooked pasta

Cooked bacon

Chopped lettuce

Diced tomatoes

Prepared dressing

all ready in the refrigerator.

Then toss everything closer to serving.

The Best Make-Ahead Method for a Party

If I’m taking this to a barbecue several hours later, here’s what I would do:

Make the dressing.

Cook and cool the pasta.

Cook and chop the bacon.

Wash, dry and chop the romaine.

Dice the tomatoes.

Refrigerate everything.

Then combine shortly before leaving or serving.

Save some bacon for the top.

Chill Before Serving

Once mixed, give the salad about an hour in the refrigerator.

This gives the pasta time to pick up the flavor of the dressing and makes the whole salad cold and refreshing.

If the salad has been sitting awhile, give it another toss before serving.

Turn It Into Lunch

This is substantial enough that I happily eat it for lunch.

If you want even more protein, add:

Chopped grilled chicken

Rotisserie chicken

Hard-boiled eggs

Turkey

Or extra bacon.

Extra bacon is technically protein right?

How Long Does BLT Pasta Salad Keep?

Because this contains mayonnaise, cooked pasta, bacon and cut produce, keep it refrigerated.

For best TEXTURE, I think this salad is at its best within the first couple of days, especially once the romaine has been mixed in.

If you’re making enough for several days, keeping components separate will give you fresher lettuce.

Keep It Cold at Cookouts

Don’t leave a big bowl of creamy pasta salad sitting in the summer sun all afternoon.

Put out a smaller serving bowl and replenish it from the refrigerator or a well-chilled cooler as needed.

That also keeps the lettuce crisper.

More Summer Salads

I rounded up a few more of my favorite pasta salads. Especially the ones that include lettuce and pasta. That is my favorite combination. Try it, you’ll like it!