Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta Salad
Everything But The Burger
This Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta Salad is everything you love about a loaded backyard burger tossed into one creamy, crunchy, flavor-packed bowl. Crispy bacon, pickles, cheese, tomatoes, and fried onions get coated in a tangy burger sauce dressing to create the perfect cookout side dish for summer parties, Memorial Day, and graduations.
This Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta Salad was inspired by all those cheeseburger pasta salads you see at summer parties. I wanted mine to feel more like the perfect side dish to serve alongside grilled burgers instead of trying to actually be one.
Something about cold ground beef in pasta salad just never appealed to me. I loaded this version up with crispy bacon, American cheese, pickles, and a creamy burger-style dressing.
Serve with sesame breadsticks on the side for the perfect burger-and-fries vibe.
Doctoring Up The Sauce
If you want to enhance the burger sauce dressing even more, you can add a couple tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds to give it that true burger bun flavor. You could also stir in some extra minced pickles, onions, or both to make the dressing taste even more like a classic burger sauce.
Sesame breadsticks on the side of the salad also really bring out that burger flavor! This could really be a complete meal even without actual burgers.
The Powder To End All Powders
*This link below is an Amazon Affiliate link which means Amazon pays me a small commission for every item sold. There is at no extra cost to you.*
I like using Worcestershire powder in this recipe. The powder adds that deep savory burger flavor without watering down the dressing.
It gives the pasta salad a unique punch of flavor that people can never quite put their finger on, but makes it taste more like an actual cheeseburger. I get my Worcestershire powder on Amazon, which I linked in the previous paragraph.
It is the same powder I use for my Caesar Salad.
Make It A Burger Night
This would be the perfect pasta salad to serve alongside my Busia’s Sizzle Burgers or my Cheeseburger Recipe because it has all those classic burger flavors packed into one cold and creamy side dish. Add those sesame breadsticks or chips on the side and you have the ultimate summer cookout meal.
Double It Up
I highly recommend making a double batch of the dressing. Pasta salad tends to soak up a lot of it as it chills, so I like to fully coat the pasta salad before serving.
Leave extra dressing on the side for people to drizzle over their portions for even more creamy burger flavor.
If you purchased the tomato powder for my Tangy Tomato BLT Pasta Salad, you can absolutely use it in this recipe too. I would decrease the amount of ketchup slightly then add a little extra mayonnaise and mix in some tomato powder.
This will make for an even richer, more concentrated burger flavor punch in the dressing.
Make It Your Own
One of the best things about this pasta salad is that it can be totally customized to your tastes . I prefer the classic combination of pickles, onions, tomatoes, cheese, and crispy fried onions but you could add shredded lettuce, jalapeños, banana peppers, chopped bacon, sesame seeds, or even switch up the cheeses.
I do think cheddar holds up better than American if you are doing this salad as a meal prep.
Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta Salad Recipe
This Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta Salad is loaded with crispy bacon, pickles, cheese, tomatoes, and crunchy fried onions all tossed in a creamy burger-inspired dressing. It tastes just like your favorite backyard cheeseburger turned into the ultimate summer cookout pasta salad.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces rotini pasta
- 1 pound bacon, cooked crispy and chopped
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, diced
- 1 medium red onion, minced
- 2 cups diced pickles
- 1 to 2 cups American cheese, cubed small
- 1 cup crispy fried onions, plus more for topping
- DRESSING:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons of yellow mustard
- 3 tablespoons pickle juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of white sugar
Instructions
- Cook the rotini pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool completely.
- Cook the bacon until crispy, then chop into bite-sized pieces.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooled pasta, bacon, tomatoes, red onion, pickles, cheese cubes, and crispy fried onions.
- Whisk together all dressing ingredients until smooth and creamy. Pour about half to three-quarters of the dressing over the pasta salad and toss well to coat. Add more dressing as needed. I like to reserve extra dressing on the side because the pasta absorbs a lot as it sits.
- Top with extra crispy fried onions before serving.
- You can also add chopped onions and pickles to the top of the salad for presentation or a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.
- This pasta salad can be made several hours ahead of time and actually tastes even better after chilling. If making ahead, reserve some dressing to stir in right before serving to freshen it back up. I prefer to add the dressing right before serving.
- I served this salad with sesame bread sticks as well, to get that burger vibe. I also topped with a lite dried parsley and chives for color!